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"IL N'AURAIT FALLU"
de Léo Ferré

You should listen to this song if : You're in a tunnel, and you want to see the light at the end...

About this song : Rebirth and love are the themes of this song, based on a poem of Aragon.

About the author : Léo Ferré is a French poet, author, composer and interpret. From wikipedia : "Along with Georges Brassens and Jacques Brel, he is considered one of the greatest composers and writers of French songs. Ferré mixed love and melancholy with moral anarchy, lyricism with slang, rhyming verse with prose monologues. He moved from music-hall to orchestral music, breaking free from the traditional song structure during the 1970s, inventing his own musical territory, powerfully dramatic and unique. He also set to music several poems by the French poètes maudits, such as François Villon, Charles Baudelaire ("L'albatros"), Paul Verlaine, and Arthur Rimbaud, as well as French poets from the 20th century like Guillaume Apollinaire and Louis Aragon. He took a central place in the French song world and is a prominent figure in this domain".
His political engagement  was longlasting, he was deeply involved in anarchism. His political views inspired many of his songs. To learn more about him, click on Léo Ferré (in English) or on Léo Ferré (en français)



If the content of the video above has been blocked in your country by the copyright owners, you can try this version (without subtitles)



Les paroles, and their approximate translation :

Il n'aurait fallu                                                It would have taken
Qu'un moment de plus                                   Just a moment longer
Pour que la mort vienne,                                for death to come,
Mais une main nue                                         But a bare hand
Alors est venue                                              then came
Qui a pris la mienne.                                      and took mine.

Qui donc a rendu                                           Who brought back
Leurs couleurs perdues                                   their lost colors
Aux jours aux semaines,                                  to days and weeks,
Sa réalité                                                        its reality
À l'immensité                                                 to the immensity
Des choses humaines ?                                  of human affairs ?

Moi qui frémissais                                          I, who shook
Toujours je ne sais                                         all the time with
De quelle colère,                                            unknown angers,
Deux bras ont suffi                                        two arms were enough
Pour faire à ma vie                                         to make in my life
Un grand collier d'air.                                     a big necklace of air.

Rien qu'un mouvement                                     Just a move                
Ce geste en dormant                                       This light gesture
Léger qui me frôle                                          when asleep, brushing me,
Un souffle posé                                             A breath hanging
Moins qu'une rosée                                        less than dew
Contre mon épaule.                                        over my shoulder.

Un front qui s'appuie                                     A forehead resting
À moi dans la nuit,                                         against me in the night,
Deux grands yeux ouverts,                             Two eyes wide open,
Et tout m'a semblé                                          and everything seemed to me
Comme un champ de blé                               like a wheat field       
Dans cet univers                                             in this universe.

Un tendre jardin,                                            A gentle garden,
Dans l'herbe où soudain                                 Grass where suddenly
La verveine pousse,                                       verbena grows,
Et mon coeur défunt                                      And my defunct heart
Renaît au parfum                                           is reborn to the perfume
Qui fait l'ombre douce                                   that softens the shadows.

Il n'aurait fallu                                                It would have taken
Qu'un moment de plus                                   Just a moment longer
Pour que la mort vienne                                for death to come
Mais une main nue                                         But a bare hand
Alors est venue                                              then came
Qui a pris la mienne                                       and took mine


 

 
 

What would I buy for my best friend  ?
(click on the album image corresponding to your country,
it will connect you to the right page on Amazon)
  

 
Your country

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Léo Ferré
"chante Aragon" album
on Amazon
(including "Il n'aurait...") 		 
 
 
 
 
 


 


 "Il n'aurait fallu"
(single mp3 download)
NOT FROM FERRÉ
 
Il n'aurait fallu mp3		 
not available,
just the album above
 
Il n'aurait fallu mp3		 
Il n'aurait fallu mp3 		 
not available, just the album above
 
not available, just the album above
 
Note : This CD is DIFFICULT TO FIND, even in France. New, it is sold at a very high price. I would HIGHLY recommend that you buy it for a decent price from one of Amazon's resellers that looks reliable.
USA : Check the link, but if there's no American reseller (at a normal price), I think you'd better use the Canadian link and buy it from a Canadian reseller (much cheaper, even with international shipping fees).
UK : Check the link, but if there's no UK reseller (at a normal price), I think you'd better use the French link and buy it from a French reseller (much cheaper, even with international shipping fees).
European countries : Check the Italian link, which (if you're ready for the international shippings and not deterred by the absence of description) offers the best price.

The single "Il n'aurait fallu" sung by Ferré is not available. I propose a link to another very good version, sung by Jacques DOUAI, whose interpretation is very close to Ferré's one.


 

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