Lumière sur Zaho de Sagazan
Une Artiste. Une poète.
This week, let’s discover some modern poetry in motion by shining the spotlight on mon gros coup de coeur musical, the one and only Zaho de Sagazan.
She masterfully blends raw emotion, powerful lyrics, and minimalist electro sounds to create music that feels...deep, powerful, beautiful…and a lot more. So in short, it makes you FEEL.
This week, I’m sharing 3 songs that showcase the poetic force of her writing. Each includes a brief excerpt, mes passages préférés, a few words of vocabulary, and more reason to love (and learn from) her.
Alors voilà :
Trois chansons. Trois éclats de poésie moderne.
Les dormantes
L'extrait :
L'amour qui fait tomber les cheveux
L'amour qui nous bande les yeux
L'amour vendu aux plus sensibles
Par des putains de vicieux
L'amour qui nous faire croire que lui, c'est eux
Que ça n'sera jamais mieux
L'amour qui nous rendra peureux
Même des plus belles histoires à deux
Même des plus beaux amours heureux
On a beau croire qu'on a gros caractère
Ah, ces gens là ont beaucoup de savoir-faire
Si tu veux pas rester bloqué dans leurs filets
Mieux vaut filer dès que t'y es
Mais comment savoir que t'y es
Alors que l'eau est bleue
Et que les oiseaux se font rares
La Traduction :
Love that makes hair falls
Love that blindfolds us
Love sold to the most sensitive
By fucking perverts
Love that makes us believe it is them
That it will never be better
Love that will makes us nervous
Even about the most beautiful couple' stories
Even about the most beautiful happy love
We might believe that we have a strong personality, ah
These people there have a lot of еxpertise
If you don’t want to get stuck in their trap
You better run as soon you're inside
But how do you know you're inside ?
While water is blue
And the birds become scarce
Vocabulaire :
tomber les cheveux – hair falling out
bander les yeux – to blindfold
les plus sensibles – the most sensitive
putain de vicieux – (vulgar) f*cking perverts
faire croire – to make someone believe
gros caractère – strong personality
filets – nets, traps
filer – to run away / slip away
t'y es – you’re in it / you're caught
se faire rare – to become scarce
Tristesse
L'extrait :
Qui va là, tristesse
Vous ne m'aurez pas ce soir
J'ai enfin trouvé la sagesse
Et désormais les pleins pouvoirs
Quelle audace de me faire croire
Que je ne suis qu'un pauvre pantin
Manipulé par vos mains
Dégoulinantes de désespoir
Marionnettiste je suis
Et sûrement pas l'inverse
Les émotions sont des couleurs
Je suis le peintre qui les renverse
Marionnettiste je suis
Et sûrement pas l'inverse
La Traduction :
Who's there, Sadness ? You won't get me tonight
I finally found the wisdom and now full powers
What an audacity to make me believe that I'm just a poor puppet
Manipulated by your hands dripping from despair
Puppеt master, I am
And surely not the oppositе
Emotions are colours
I'm the painter who spill them
Puppet master, I am
And surely not the opposite
Vocabulaire :
tristesse – sadness
pleins pouvoirs – full powers / complete control
pantin – puppet
manipulé – manipulated
dégoulinant – dripping
désespoir – despair
marionnettiste – puppeteer
l'inverse – the opposite
renverser – to spill / to overturn
Dis-moi que tu m'aimes
L'extrait :
Car moi, j'en ai vécu des amours malheureux
Des paroles aussi belles que mensongères
Ces paroles, les paroles légendaires
Oh moi, j'en ai vécu des amours miséreux
Alors prends-en soin
Prends soin du coeur que tu as entre les mains
La Traduction :
Cause I, I lived some miserable loves
Words as beautiful as false
Words and legendary words
Oh I, I lived some destitute loves
So, take care of it
Take care of the heart you have in your hands
Vocabulaire :
amours malheureux – unhappy loves
paroles mensongères – deceitful words
légendaires – legendary
amours miséreux – miserable/loveless relationships
prends soin de – take care of
le cœur entre les mains – heart in your hands (fragility, care)
À la rencontre de l’artiste
Zaho de Sagazan is one of the most striking voices on the French music scene today. Born in Saint-Nazaire, she impresses with her unique blend of deep vocals, visceral lyrics and minimalist electro sounds, evoking both la chanson française à texte and Berlin club ambience.
In 2024, Zaho received the Victoires de la Musique de la Révélation féminine de l’année, a prestigious accolade for her debut album “La symphonie des éclairs”, released in 2023. The album won over critics and audiences alike with its sincerity, poetic darkness and instantly recognizable voice.
She cites Barbara, Brel, Fishbach and Lynch's cinematic universe among her influences, which is reflected in her dense, powerfully emotional lyrics.
Bonne écoute, bonne lecture, et à bientôt.
Morgane.
Bonus:
I couldn’t resist sharing those two performance live. Her energy is incredible. Hope you’ll enjoy as much as I do!
Zaho de Sagazan interprets "Sous le ciel de Paris" of Edith Piaf for the opening of the closing ceremony of the olympics at jardins des Tuileries:
One of my favorite song of hers, sang in a beautiful duet with another talented artists, Tom Odell:
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