Presque rien (Almost Nothing), 1999 (in Hors Saison)
"Presque rien” is available online in two versions. One version features a static image of the Hors saison jacket cover for the album in which the song appears. The version presented below, on the other hand, includes a beautiful video directed by Cabrel’s Argentine collaborator Maxime Ruiz that adds an entirely new and enriching dimension to the experience.
The video is shot in black and white. It begins with a lovely, slender woman of color opening drapes at a recording studio. She arranges the microphones and other equipment while Cabrel and his bandmates make music. She silently mouths words to the song but there is no explicit communication between the parties. Eventually, she gathers her passport, slips away and settles into a train compartment going....
The song features poetic words of humility (“c’est presque rien…comme du verre…tellement peu…comme un rêve, comme un jeu, Des pensées prises dans des perles d'eau claire”) (“It’s almost nothing…like glass…so little…like a dream, like a game…thoughts caught in pearls of clear water”).
Elsewhere, Cabrel expresses resignation about the role of artists in a world filled with wars, pollution, racism and other insults to man and nature. He comments in an interview with the newspaper La Voix du Nord: “Face à la réalité, la vraie, brutale et violente, l’homme n’a que le pouvoir de création pour s’échapper… La poésie n’est nulle part, mais chacun peut se la créer pour trouver refuge et traverser la vie.” (“Faced with brutal, violent reality, man has only the power of creation to escape…poetry is nowhere, but everyone can create it to find refuge and get through life.”
So, the song advises that the creation of small things (“bamboo chests…pieces of sky…light melodies…cats on your lap…favorite flowers…”) provides a way forward through life, though evidently providing little contribution to the resolution of larger issues, a message conveyed not so much by what the song and video say but by what they don't say.
The video is shot in black and white. It begins with a lovely, slender woman of color opening drapes at a recording studio. She arranges the microphones and other equipment while Cabrel and his bandmates make music. She silently mouths words to the song but there is no explicit communication between the parties. Eventually, she gathers her passport, slips away and settles into a train compartment going....
The song features poetic words of humility (“c’est presque rien…comme du verre…tellement peu…comme un rêve, comme un jeu, Des pensées prises dans des perles d'eau claire”) (“It’s almost nothing…like glass…so little…like a dream, like a game…thoughts caught in pearls of clear water”).
Elsewhere, Cabrel expresses resignation about the role of artists in a world filled with wars, pollution, racism and other insults to man and nature. He comments in an interview with the newspaper La Voix du Nord: “Face à la réalité, la vraie, brutale et violente, l’homme n’a que le pouvoir de création pour s’échapper… La poésie n’est nulle part, mais chacun peut se la créer pour trouver refuge et traverser la vie.” (“Faced with brutal, violent reality, man has only the power of creation to escape…poetry is nowhere, but everyone can create it to find refuge and get through life.”
So, the song advises that the creation of small things (“bamboo chests…pieces of sky…light melodies…cats on your lap…favorite flowers…”) provides a way forward through life, though evidently providing little contribution to the resolution of larger issues, a message conveyed not so much by what the song and video say but by what they don't say.
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Et voilà tout ce que je sais faire Du vent dans des coffres en bambou Des pans de ciel pour mettre à tes paupières Et d'autres pour pendre à ton cou C'est rien que du ciel ordinaire Du bleu comme on en voit partout Mais j'y ai mis tout mon savoir-faire Et toute notre histoire en-dessous Tu vois, c'est presque rien C'est tellement peu C'est comme du verre, c'est à peine mieux Tu vois c'est presque rien C'est comme un rêve, comme un jeu Des pensées prises dans des perles d'eau claire Je t'envoie des journées entières Des chats posés sur les genoux Des murs couverts de fleurs que tu préfères Et de la lumière surtout Rien que des musiques légères Une source entre deux cailloux Du linge blanc sur tes années de guerre C'est tout c'que je sais faire c'est tout Tu vois, c'est presque rien C'est tellement peu C'est comme du verre, c'est à peine mieux Tu vois c'est presque rien C'est comme un rêve, comme un jeu Des pensées prises dans des perles d'eau claire |
So here is all I know how to do Some wind in bamboo chests Pieces of sky to put on your eyelids And others to hang on your neck. It's nothing but usual sky, Some blue like you can see everywhere, But I put all my craft into it, And our whole story below. You see, it's almost nothing It's so little It's like glass, it’s hardly better You see, it's almost nothing It's like a dream, like a game. Some thoughts caught in beads of clear water. I send you whole days With cats on your lap, Walls covered with your favorite flowers And light, above all Nothing but light melodies, A spring between two rocks White linen over your warring years, That’s all I know how to do, that’s all... You see, it's almost nothing It's so little It's like glass, hardly better You see, it's almost nothing It's like a dream, like a game. Some thoughts caught in beads of clear water. |
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