Octobre (“October”), 1994
This song is about the approaching month of October. Cabrel drapes with affection and hints of positive energy a transitional month that some view with trepidation as the harbinger of winter and the loss of freedom. The video by Maxime Ruiz and Chandelle Productions unfolds in black and white. Deploying the future verb tense in its many guises (at least 17 times), the narrator describes expectations for the month’s physical manifestations and how people will cope. Sure, there will be wind, fog, fallen leaves and branches scattered on stones, low-hanging clouds will skim the rooftops and shroud the sun. People will huddle in woolen clothing and scarves. Abandoned outdoor tables and chairs will remain in parks and cafés with empty vases and a few lingering, pensive men recalling past days. But people will also gather evenings, exchange flowers and colorful tablecloths, climb atop hills to view the newly bare countryside, draw finger pictures on window condensation, and play outdoors. The narrator relates this to his partner in familiar terms (“tu”), and at the end to others, perhaps children, in formal or plural terms (“vous”).
The lyrics in the song are sparse and direct, much like the month itself. There are 7 stanzas: 4 verses, 2 choruses, and 1 outro. The basic scheme is 5 lines per stanza with an AABBA rhyme scheme but the chorus in stanzas 3 and 5 has an extra line at the beginning (each with an internal rhyme of “ent”/”anc”/”ancs”) while the outro in the last stanza (7) has only 3 lines that repeat the final 3 lines of the preceding stanza.
NB: Francis Cabrel has a clear affection for early autumn and the month of October, at least in his home region of Occitanie. It is no coincidence that the semi-annual academy for young musicians with which he is associated since 1994, Les Rencontres d’Astaffort, holds sessions in spring and autumn each year in his home town of Astaffort in the Lot-et-Garonne department.
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Le vent fera craquer les branches, La brume viendra dans sa robe blanche, Y aura des feuilles partout Couchées sur les cailloux, Octobre tiendra sa revanche. Le soleil sortira à peine, Nos corps se cacheront sous des bouts de laine. Perdue dans tes foulards, Tu croiseras le soir, Octobre endormi aux fontaines. Il y aura certainement, sur les tables en fer-blanc, Quelques vases vides et qui traînent Et des nuages pris aux antennes. Je t’offrirai des fleurs Et des nappes en couleurs Pour ne pas qu’Octobre nous prenne. On ira tout en haut des collines Regarder tout ce qu’Octobre illumine, Mes mains sur tes cheveux, Des écharpes pour deux Devant le monde qui s’incline. Certainement, appuyés sur des bancs, Il y aura quelques hommes qui se souviennent Et des nuages pris sur les antennes. Je t’offrirai des fleurs Et des nappes en couleurs Pour ne pas qu’Octobre nous prenne. Et, sans doute, on verra apparaître Quelques dessins sur la buée des fenêtres. Vous, vous jouerez dehors Comme les enfants du Nord, Octobre restera peut-être. Vous, vous jouerez dehors Comme les enfants du Nord, Octobre restera peut-être. |
The wind will crack branches, The fog will come in its white garment, Leaves will be everywhere Lying on pebbles, October will have its revenge. The sun will barely shine, Our bodies will hide under fragments of wool. Lost in your scarves, You will gather in the evening, October asleep at the fountains. There will certainly be on tin-plated tables, Some empty left-over vases And clouds caught on antennas. I will offer you flowers And colorful tablecloths So that October does not seize us. We will climb to the top of hills To survey all that October reveals, My hands on your hair, Scarves for two Before the world that succombs. Surely, leaning on benches, There will be some men who recollect And clouds caught on antennas. I will offer you flowers And colorful tablecloths So that October does not seize us. And, surely, we will see appear Several drawings on the misted windows. You, you will play outdoors Like children of the North, October will perhaps remain. You, you will play outdoors Like children of the North, October will perhaps remain. |
NB:
- Octobre endormi aux fontaines: this line generates an image of sleeping fountains--water spouts extinguished for the winter season.
- Il y aura quelques hommes qui se souviennent: autumn is a time with waning light and warmth that encourages nostalgic recollection of gentler days just past and by extension memories of prior times.
- Pour ne pas qu’Octobre nous prenne; “pour ne pas que” is a somewhat unusual expression that means “so as not to,” which is pretty convoluted in English as well.
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