Le Lac d’Allos, Parc National de Mercantour
Le Lac (The Lake) (Album: “&” or "Et"), 2016
The line “La Madone au nord” is a curious way to start a song. It is the first line of Julien Doré’s song “Le lac” and is emblematic of the poetic and ambiguous nature of Julien Doré’s oeuvre.
Julien Doré
Doré’s song “Le Lac” was a single release in July 2016 from his upcoming 4th studio album named “&” (or “Et”) that appeared later in October. Both the album and the song reached the #1 position on French charts. Doré’s song “Sublime & Silence,” released in September, also came from that same album. The two songs are like musical bookends that share similar structure and chords but different stories. This staggered preliminary release was effective staging from both a commercial and artistic standpoint since the narrative in “Le lac” concerns a love relationship that, by the time of “Sublime et silence,” had become history.
The first line of “Le lac” ("La Madone au nord...") invokes the Chalet de la Madone de Fenestre, a refuge for hikers located at the heart of a geographic amphitheater in the Parc Nationale du Mercantour that straddles the Alpes-Maritimes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence departments. It lies just north of Monaco/Nice and west of Italy. The park includes several lakes, including the Lac d’Allos, pictured above, the largest natural mountain lake in Europe. The refuge includes several chalets that offer beds and meals, and provides a marvelous panorama of the Cime du Gélas, the highest peak in the region. As a youth, Julien Doré spent time nearby with his grandmother at her chalet in the town of Saint-Martin-Vésubie (the “Switzerland of Nice”), the principal point-of-entry to the national park. The region served as inspiration for song-writing and was also the venue for shooting the official “Le lac” video clip. That is a rather silly clip in which Julien climbs boulders and wears a "mad Max" helmet while riding a Honda Monkey Baja lookalike miniature motorcycle through the park. The video provides a visual display that has little to do with the song's lyrics, but lots to do with panoramic vistas. In an unlikely encounter, Julien eventually joins Pamela Anderson lakeside. Self-deprecation is an endearing Doré quality.
“Le lac” is a love song that commemorates time spent together and alone in a glorious environment of lakes, peaks, forests, and rivers. The song includes 3 verses. Each verse has 2 stanzas with 4 lines each and is followed by the same refrain. Verse stanzas rhyme in an ABAB pattern while the chorus lines rhyme ABCB.
As usual, bold italicized words in the lyrics receive commentary below.
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French Lyrics Verse 1 La Madone au Nord Et le lac se dessine Courageux et fort Où rien ne respire Corps contre corps Ciel contre cimes La forêt se tord L’horizon soupire Chorus T’aimer sur les bords du lac Ton cœur sur mon corps qui respire Pourvu que les hommes nous regardent Amoureux de l’ombre et du pire Verse 2 Je reviendrai fort Surprendre la cime La rivière et l’or Font prendre racine J’ai trompé la mort La pente est facile Serre-moi encore Que mes anges vacillent Chorus T’aimer sur les bords du lac Ton cœur sur mon corps qui respire Pourvu que les hommes nous regardent Amoureux de l’ombre et du pire T’aimer sur les bords du lac Ton cœur sur mon corps qui respire Pourvu que les hommes nous regardent Amoureux de l’ombre et du pire Verse 3 Si demain tu regrettes Le miroir écorché Que le lac te reflète Promets moi d’oublier Si demain tu regrettes Le miroir écorché Que le lac te reflète Promets-moi d'oublier Chorus T'aimer sur les bords du lac Ton cœur sur mon corps qui respire Pourvu que les hommes nous regardent Amoureux de l'ombre et du pire Pourvu que les hommes nous regardent Amoureux de l'ombre et du pire |
English Translation (Pendergast) Verse 1 The Madonna in the North And the lake appears Courageous and strong Where nothing breathes Body against body Sky against peaks The forest twists The horizon sighs Chorus Loving you on the lakeshores Your heart on my breathing body Let's hope that people watch us In love with darkness and bad things Verse 2 I will return strong To surprise the peak The river and the gold Help put down roots I cheated death The slope is easy Hold me again So that my angels waver Chorus Loving you on the lakeshores Your heart upon my breathing body Let's hope that people watch us In love with darkness and bad things Loving you on the lakeshores Your heart upon my breathing body Let's hope that people watch us In love with darkness and bad things Verse 3 If tomorrow you regret The scarred mirror That the lake reflects you Promise me to forget If tomorrow you regret The scarred mirror That the lake reflects you Promise me to forget Chorus Loving you on the lakeshores Your heart upon my breathing body Let's hope that people watch us In love with darkness and bad things Let's hope that people watch us In love with darkness and bad things |
1)Pourvu que: means “provided that” or “as long as” when it expresses a condition for something else to occur (the verb in the following dependent clause requires the subjunctive mood). In a non-conditional exclamation like the one above, however, it can also mean “let’s hope that…”
2)Font prendre racine: “font” is the third person plural of the verb “faire.” Its use in this phrase, followed by a verbal expression, indicates an ancillary role of assisting in the activity of the following expression (“prendre racine”).
2)Font prendre racine: “font” is the third person plural of the verb “faire.” Its use in this phrase, followed by a verbal expression, indicates an ancillary role of assisting in the activity of the following expression (“prendre racine”).
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