Né quelque part (Born Somewhere)
This song, released in 1987, ended a fallow period in Maxime’s popularity that occurred after his breakout first album “Mon Frere” appeared in 1973. That album and its song “San Francisco” prospered from a congruence with the “babacool”* spirit of the times during the years following the 1968 upheavals.
This song, released in 1987, ended a fallow period in Maxime’s popularity that occurred after his breakout first album “Mon Frere” appeared in 1973. That album and its song “San Francisco” prospered from a congruence with the “babacool”* spirit of the times during the years following the 1968 upheavals.
“Né quelque part” is a fine but little-known or forgotten protest song. It is a shoutout on behalf of universal human rights in the face of growing political limitations and restrictions. Contemporary circumstances make this as relevant a global message in 2024 as it was in 1988 in France. During the 1980s and until 1993, France reformed its immigration laws on 8 separate occasions to stem the growing influx of immigrants from its former colonies. Interior Minister Charles Pasqua championed laws to reverse France’s traditional post-revolutionary policy of support for universalist principles of human rights and specifically its welcome for disadvantaged foreigners. The Pasqua laws of 1986 generated resistance in some quarters because of their severe provisions. This was not a surprising response among musicians, given the historic association between immigration and French arts including “chanson.”
Maxim’s song “Né quelque part” (“Born Somewhere”) celebrates the commonality of mankind and incorporates African lyrics, melodies and performers. Basically, the song posits that one’s place, time, and ethnicity at birth is a matter of chance, not choice, and that people are born with equal rights whether or not they are the same at birth. Notably, the lyrics seek to reconcile the universality of human rights with the specificity and sense of identity through memory that arises from one’s birthplace. Maxime wrote the lyrics and the music with collaboration by Jean-Pierre Sabard. Gérard Pullicino produced the video. The title of Maxime’s song alludes to a 1972 piece by Georges Brassens (“La ballade des gens qui sont nés quelque part”) that mocked the common manifestation of “pride and vanity” associated with a place of birth. Brassens delighted in poking fun at "happy imbeciles" who take inordinate pride in having been born someplace, which of course is everybody and therefore of no particular distinction. Brassens was a great inspiration for LeForestier, who commented: "Brassens est l'équivalent pour la chanson de Bach pour la musique classique." In 1996, LeForestier released "12 Nouvelles de Brassens," an hommage of 12 unreleased Brassens songs.
Maxim’s song “Né quelque part” (“Born Somewhere”) celebrates the commonality of mankind and incorporates African lyrics, melodies and performers. Basically, the song posits that one’s place, time, and ethnicity at birth is a matter of chance, not choice, and that people are born with equal rights whether or not they are the same at birth. Notably, the lyrics seek to reconcile the universality of human rights with the specificity and sense of identity through memory that arises from one’s birthplace. Maxime wrote the lyrics and the music with collaboration by Jean-Pierre Sabard. Gérard Pullicino produced the video. The title of Maxime’s song alludes to a 1972 piece by Georges Brassens (“La ballade des gens qui sont nés quelque part”) that mocked the common manifestation of “pride and vanity” associated with a place of birth. Brassens delighted in poking fun at "happy imbeciles" who take inordinate pride in having been born someplace, which of course is everybody and therefore of no particular distinction. Brassens was a great inspiration for LeForestier, who commented: "Brassens est l'équivalent pour la chanson de Bach pour la musique classique." In 1996, LeForestier released "12 Nouvelles de Brassens," an hommage of 12 unreleased Brassens songs.
Maxime on the Metro
The video launches in black and white (blue-gray?) with the sound and images of an escalator plunging deep into a Paris Metro tunnel, followed by the unmistakable horn and the click of shutting doors by a departing train. Playing an expressionless everyman, Maxime takes a seat and gazes passively out the window until a black woman (Aura Msimang Lewis) joins him in the facing seat. When she gets up to leave, he follows at a close distance while the images come to life in color. The visual narrative takes them inside a building to a room lit by candles and a fire-spitting oil drum tended by people. Women sing, men smoke and talk, a messy-faced child smiles. Maxime joins the singing for a bit (it’s heavy in Zulu at this point), then turns and leaves.
The video and chorus significantly enhance the impact of the song, so this video is one of a kind. Maxime’s lyrics and diction are crisp and rap-like, punctuated by bursts of choral singing. The choral chants are in Zulu language: “Nom’inq wand’yes qwag iqwahasa.” For the Zulu passages, we have translations only into French, so the English translations are actually from the French into English at second remove. The song won Song of the Year in the French 1988 “Victoires de la Musique” competition.
The video and chorus significantly enhance the impact of the song, so this video is one of a kind. Maxime’s lyrics and diction are crisp and rap-like, punctuated by bursts of choral singing. The choral chants are in Zulu language: “Nom’inq wand’yes qwag iqwahasa.” For the Zulu passages, we have translations only into French, so the English translations are actually from the French into English at second remove. The song won Song of the Year in the French 1988 “Victoires de la Musique” competition.
Aura Msimang (Lewis)
The African women singing the reggae chorus make a colorful contribution to the success of the song and lend it authenticity. The lead singer was Aura Msimang (Lewis) (1947-2015), who is featured in the video and the song. The other singers were Princess Erika and her sister Esther. Born in South Africa in 1947, Aura became an extraordinary singer with an exceptional (if itinerant) history. She moved to the US in 1968 to attend Hunter College in New York and married jazz drummer Art Lewis in 1972. Her subsequent extensive travels led to Jamaica, various African countries, and to London where she sang with Bob Marley and the Wailers. Eventually, she ended up in Paris where she did backup vocals for Maxime before returning to South Africa.
Reggae, bossa nova and African rhythms were very much in the air in France at the time, so “Né quelque part” suited the contemporary music environment. Georges Moustaki had visited Brazil during the 1970s and later exhibited Brazilian influences as did Pierre Barouh at “Saravah.” Serge Gainsbourg had barely survived his 1979 notorious rendition of the French national anthem “Marseillaise” (which he renamed “Aux armes et caetera”). He recorded it in Kingston, Jamaica with a reggae groove that generated an extensive right-wing and nationalist backlash along with death threats at his desecration and profit from the national anthem.
*NB: “babacool” refers to a french version of a hippie lifestyle.
Reggae, bossa nova and African rhythms were very much in the air in France at the time, so “Né quelque part” suited the contemporary music environment. Georges Moustaki had visited Brazil during the 1970s and later exhibited Brazilian influences as did Pierre Barouh at “Saravah.” Serge Gainsbourg had barely survived his 1979 notorious rendition of the French national anthem “Marseillaise” (which he renamed “Aux armes et caetera”). He recorded it in Kingston, Jamaica with a reggae groove that generated an extensive right-wing and nationalist backlash along with death threats at his desecration and profit from the national anthem.
*NB: “babacool” refers to a french version of a hippie lifestyle.
Zulu text is in bold, followed by translation into either French or English. Note how Maxime omits the "ne" in negative phrases, which is a common convenience in conversational circumstances.
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On choisit pas ses parents,
On choisit pas sa famille On choisit pas non plus Les trottoirs de Manille De Paris ou d'Alger Pour apprendre à marcher Être né quelque part Être né quelque part Pour qui est né C'est toujours un hazard Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (Quand on a l'esprit violent, on l'a aussi confus) Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (Quand on a l'esprit violent, on l'a aussi confus) Y a des oiseaux de basse cour, et des oiseaux de passage Ils savent où sont leur nids, qu'ils rentrent de voyage Ou qu'ils restent chez eux Ils savant où sont leur œufs Être né quelque part Être né quelque part C'est partir quand on veut, Revenir quand on part Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (Quand on a l'esprit violent, on l'a aussi confus) Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (Quand on a l'esprit violent, on l'a aussi confus) Est-ce que les gens naissent égaux en droits A l'endroit où il naissent Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (Quand on a l'esprit violent, on l'a aussi confus) Est-ce que les gens naissent égaux en droits A l'endroit où il naissent Que les gens naissent pareils ou pas Abantwana bayagxuma, becahselana bexoxa (les enfants jouent et parlent les uns avec les autres) On choisit pas ses parents, On choisit pas sa famille On choisit pas non plus Les trottoirs de Manille De Paris ou d'Alger Pour apprendre à marcher Je suis né quelque part Je suis né quelque part Laissez-moi ce repère Ou je perds la mémoire Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (Quand on a l'esprit violent, on l'a aussi confus) Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (Quand on a l'esprit violent, on l'a aussi confus) Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (Quand on a l'esprit violent, on l'a aussi confus) Est-ce que les gens naissent égaux en droits A l'endroit où il naissent Que les gens naissent pareils ou pas Buka naba bexoshana (Comme vous les poursuivez) Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (Quand on a l'esprit violent, on l'a aussi confus) Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (Quand on a l'esprit violent, on l'a aussi confus) Est-ce que les gens naissent égaux en droits A l'endroit où il naissent Que les gens naissent pareils ou pas Buka naba bexoshana (Comme vous les poursuivez) Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (Quand on a l'esprit violent, on l'a aussi confus) Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (Quand on a l'esprit violent, on l'a aussi confus) |
We do not choose our parents,
We do not choose our family Nor do we choose The sidewalks of Manila Or Paris or Algiers To learn how to walk To be born somewhere To be born somewhere For one who is born It’s always a risk Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (a violent soul is a confused soul) Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (a violent soul is a confused soul) There are farmyard birds and birds of passage They know where their nests are whether they return from a trip Or stay at home They know where their eggs are To be born somewhere To be born somewhere Is to leave when you want Come back when you leave Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (a violent soul is a confused soul) Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (a violent soul is a confused soul) Are people born equal in rights Where they are born Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (a violent soul is a confused soul) Are people born equal in rights In the place where they are born Whether people are born the same or not Abantwana bayagxuma, becahselana bexoxa (children play and speak to one another) We do not choose our parents, We do not choose our family Nor do we choose The sidewalks of Manila Or Paris or Algiers To learn how to walk I was born somewhere, I was born somewhere Leave me this marker Or I lose my memory Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (a violent soul is a confused soul) Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (a violent soul is a confused soul) Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (a violent soul is a confused soul) Are people born equal in rights In the place where they are born Whether people are born the same or not Buka naba bexoshana (as you follow them) Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (a violent soul is a confused soul) Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (a violent soul is a confused soul) Are people born equal in rights In the place where they are born Whether people are born the same or not Buka naba bexoshana (as you follow them) Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (a violent soul is a confused soul) Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa (a violent soul is a confused soul) |
NB: Zulu translations
1) Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa
(Quand on a l'esprit violent, on l'a aussi confus) (a violent soul is a confused soul)
2) Abantwana bayagxuma, becahselana bexoxa
(les enfants jouent et parlent les uns avec les autres) (children play and speak to one another)
3) Buka naba bexoshana
(Comme vous les poursuivez) (as you follow them)
1) Nom'inqwando Yes Qxag Iqwahasa
(Quand on a l'esprit violent, on l'a aussi confus) (a violent soul is a confused soul)
2) Abantwana bayagxuma, becahselana bexoxa
(les enfants jouent et parlent les uns avec les autres) (children play and speak to one another)
3) Buka naba bexoshana
(Comme vous les poursuivez) (as you follow them)
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