cest la vie C'est La Vie - Song and Lyrics Discussion

[krysady]

 

[krysady]

This song it's a mix of so many feelings... I love it.

[mellody]

Waiting for the lyrics...   Does he sing about Louboutin or is that another one of the things that I understand wrong? 🙈

I love the Prechorus and Chorus, the bridge we already knew and the part after the 2nd verse where he sings about "may your head bloom / this is life / this is death" ... it's an interesting song structure with that extra part, and it's great that the song is over 3 minutes long, almost 3 and a half! Firstly because I can never get enough of Mika's music, so longer songs are better   and secondly because it's against the trend that songs are supposed to become shorter and shorter because of the rapidness of streaming and social media. C'est La Vie is building up, adding different parts and sounds, but also it starts with a stripped down version of the chorus, so it's instantly recognizable.

As for the verses, I liked them better in the acoustic version and in the live version, but I'm much looking forward to get the lyrics, because I'm sure he tells a story here... and in a song the story is told through the combination of music and lyrics, so I can't really say much about the verses because I'm still missing at least half of the story. French MFCers, we will really need your help a LOT for this album, lol!

 

And did I mention yet that this song is soooo catchy?!  C'est la vie, c'est la vie, la vie dam dam... Singing about life and death in such a catchy danceable tune is so typical for Mika, haha! But this time even the melody / chords have this melancholic element - it's catchy and danceable, but it's not a happy sounding song like Grace Kelly or Love you when I'm drunk (to name just 2 examples of many). Maybe it's a bit more like Relax or Rain, which also have a certain melancholy to it. I think that's one reason why it works so well as an acoustic version, for Relax, Rain and C'est La Vie (Yoyo too btw), there it might not be danceable but it's still catchy and the melancholy hits you right in the face - together with the beauty of the song. So while on the fast versions you can dance, the slow acoustic ones give you goosebumps and make you feel happy with their beauty, despite the sadness they express.

[crazyaboutmika]

C'est quoi le beau, c'est quoi le laid?
C'est quoi le faux, c'est quoi le vrai?
Qu'est ce que tout ça vient faire ici?(C'est quoi?)
C'est quoi la mort, la vie d'avant?
C'est quoi la pluie, quoi le beau temps?
C'est quoi qui arrive droit devant?
C'est quoi ces rides sur mon visage?
Pourquoi elles viennent cafter mon âge?
Même si vieillir est un naufrage.
C'est quoi ces fleurs et son amour?
Mes frères et soeurs et leurs coeur lourds? 
Placard fermé à double tour.

Refrain

Toutes ses couleurs et ses parfums
Ses roses damas et son jasmin
C'est comme son Liban qui s'efface.
On croyait qu'elle voyait trop grand,
Qu'elle dessinait comme un enfant,
Pourtant c'est elle qui voyait loin
C'est ça la vie, c'est ça l'amour,
Que ta tête fleurisse, fleurisse toujours
C'est ça la vie et c'est ça la mort,
Que ta tête fleurisse, fleurisse encore

 

[krysady]

3 minutes ago, mellody said:

Does he sing about Louboutin

I hear that too 

 

3 minutes ago, mellody said:

it's catchy and danceable, but it's not a happy sounding song like Grace Kelly or Love you when I'm drunk

Agree, for me it is mostly a sad song, at least that's the main feeling I get after I listen to it, a very heavy sadness. But a melancholic sadness, dunno how to explain. I really love it!

[mellody]

9 minutes ago, crazyaboutmika said:

C'est quoi le beau, c'est quoi le laid?
C'est quoi le faux, c'est quoi le vrai?
Qu'est ce que tout ça vient faire ici?(C'est quoi?)
C'est quoi la mort, la vie d'avant?
C'est quoi la pluie, quoi le beau temps?
C'est quoi qui arrive droit devant?
C'est quoi ces rides sur mon visage?
Pourquoi elles viennent cafter mon âge?
Même si vieillir est un naufrage.
C'est quoi ces fleurs et son amour?
Mes frères et soeurs et leurs coeur lourds? 
Placard fermé à double tour.

Refrain

Toutes ses couleurs et ses parfums
Ses roses damas et son jasmin
C'est comme son Liban qui s'efface.
On croyait qu'elle voyait trop grand,
Qu'elle dessinait comme un enfant,
Pourtant c'est elle qui voyait loin
C'est ça la vie, c'est ça l'amour,
Que ta tête fleurisse, fleurisse toujours
C'est ça la vie et c'est ça la mort,
Que ta tête fleurisse, fleurisse encore

 

 

Thank you.  The Google translation isn't the best, but it already makes me cry.

 

What is beautiful, what is ugly?
What's fake, what's real?
What the hell is this all about? (What is it?)
What is death, the life before?
What's the rain, what's the good weather?
What's coming straight ahead?
What are these wrinkles on my face?
Why do they come to cheat my age?
Even if aging is a shipwreck.
What are these flowers and her love?
My brothers and sisters and their heavy hearts?
Closet double-locked.

Chorus

All its colors and perfumes
Its damask roses and its jasmine
It's like his Lebanon fading away.
We thought she saw too big,
That she drew like a child,
Yet it was she who saw far
This is life, this is love,
Let your head bloom, always bloom
This is life and this is death,
Let your head bloom, bloom again

 

Chorus 

 

(the part of the bridge that we already had)

So life, look at me, 

I will never be afraid of you again

With flowers

even in silence

she says to me

she says to me...

 

  

[krysady]

17 minutes ago, crazyaboutmika said:

C'est quoi qui arrive droit devant?

I hear "C'est quoi qui arrive toi devant", not sure if it's right.

[krysady]

24 minutes ago, mellody said:

So while on the fast versions you can dance, the slow acoustic ones give you goosebumps and make you feel happy with their beauty, despite the sadness they express.

No acoustic, please, that would be too much, I'm already  on the disco version.

[crazyaboutmika]

What is beautiful, what is ugly?.
What is false, what is true?
What is all this doing here?
(What's is it?)
What is death, what are the lives  before? 
What is  rain, what is sunny weather?
What's happening ahead?
What are those wrinkles on my face?
Why do they come and reveal.my age? 
Even if getting old is a wreck.
What are those flowers and her love? 
My brothers and sisters and their  heavy hearts?
Cupboard is double locked.

Chorus

All her colors her perfumes
Her damask roses and her jasmine
It's erasing like her Lebanon.
We thought she was building too big,
That she drew like a kid, 
However she was the one who looked ahead
That's what life is, that's what love is, 
May your head bloom, forever bloom
That's what life is and that's what death is, 
May your head bloom, keep blooming

@mellody
 

Edited August 31, 2023 by crazyaboutmika

[crazyaboutmika]

5 minutes ago, krysady said:

I hear "C'est quoi qui arrive toi devant", not sure if it's right.

I hear : droit devant: straight ahead

Edited August 31, 2023 by crazyaboutmika

[mellody]

16 minutes ago, crazyaboutmika said:

le beau temps

 

that's the "Louboutin" I heard   Ok I think for the French album I need to move to the "misheard lyrics" thread.

 

The dictionary tells me that "placard" could also mean "prison" - do you think that's what he refers to here, the words of his Mum that he could end up in prison? The 2nd verse is clearly about Joannie - gosh Mika, he expresses his emotions so well here, I'm in tears, and torn between wanting to listen again and again and wanting to get away from it for now, to sleep and recover.

 

5 minutes ago, krysady said:

No acoustic, please, that would be too much, I'm already  on the disco version.

 you got a point.

[crazyaboutmika]

1 minute ago, mellody said:

 

that's the "Louboutin" I heard   Ok I think for the French album I need to move to the "misheard lyrics" thread.

 

The dictionary tells me that "placard" could also mean "prison" - do you think that's what he refers to here, the words of his Mum that he could end up in prison? The 2nd verse is clearly about Joannie - gosh Mika, he expresses his emotions so well here, I'm in tears, and torn between wanting to listen again and again and wanting to get away from it for now, to sleep and recover.

 

 you got a point.

I know I got all teary too it's so moving the way he talks about his mum  and it's so easy to relate to his questions when you lost dear ones too as life flies. Still the chorus is conforting.

The cupboard that is double locked could mean that once you lost someone you can't reach out to them anymore...

[crazyaboutmika]

I'm crying but I do love this song with all my heart  

Live  it is going to be very emotional for all of us and Mika

But it's like a big hug when the chorus comes

 

 

[mellody]

The rhythm / beat has this feeling of wanting to run away but not getting forward, or something running away from you that you're trying to keep... especially in the verses, kind of a mix between nothing happening and going too fast, that's what bothered me about it, but I see now how it completely matches the lyrics, the questions about life... he doesn't ask in the lyrics what is fast what is slow, but he put this contrast of life in the music. Just want to say what an amazing songwriter he is.  ... and now I'm really off to bed!

[crazyaboutmika]

4 minutes ago, mellody said:

The rhythm / beat has this feeling of running away, especially in the verses, kind of a mix between nothing happening and going too fast, that's what bothered me about it, but I see now how it completely matches the lyrics, the questions about life... he doesn't ask in the lyrics what is fast what is slow, but he put this contrast of life in the music. Just want to say what an amazing songwriter he is.  ... and now I'm really off to bed!

Good night Karin

I can't sleep I'm too hyper with c'est la vie....

[mellody]

4 minutes ago, crazyaboutmika said:

Good night Karin

I can't sleep I'm too hyper with c'est la vie....

 

Me too, lol! Imagine how Mika must feel? I somehow doubt he can sleep much tonight, although he already looked tired in his story...

 

I just noticed another thing in the song, the one heartbeat at the end! I first heard it as a drum, and wondered about it, but now I think I recognize it as a heartbeat. Maybe it stands for "life goes on"?

 

bed, next try... (goodnight )

[Anna Ko Kolkowska]

6 hours ago, crazyaboutmika said:

I know I got all teary too it's so moving the way he talks about his mum  and it's so easy to relate to his questions when you lost dear ones too as life flies. Still the chorus is conforting.

The cupboard that is double locked could mean that once you lost someone you can't reach out to them anymore...

 

 

I was not ready to hear this lyrics so clear and open about his mum 

 

[TinyLove_CJ]

I don't know what to say that hasn't already been said, I totally get what you mean @mellody about the melancholic feel of the song, it's sad yet beautiful at the same time. Very much to Mika's style, finding a way to hide darkness in something so catchy with an upbeat melody.

 

I want to dance to it but I also want to just sit down and appreciate and reflect on the lyrics. Those words are so open and deep, Mika really has put his whole heart into this song, not only can you hear it but it's something you feel too. 

[TinyLove_CJ]

Official Music Video:

 

 

[Prisca]

7 minutes ago, TinyLove_CJ said:

Official Music Video:

 

 

Before he recorded it, he had said that part of the video would be shot in Spa, but it looks like the WHOLE video was shot there. 

Edited September 1, 2023 by Prisca

[TinyLove_CJ]

   I got more emotional watching the video rather than just listening to the song on its own. I don't really know why, maybe because now I understand the lyrics and a little more about the meaning behind them, I feel like not only is Mika hiding sadness in an upbeat song, with the video he's somewhat hiding amongst the crowd.    It's kind of hard to explain, I mean of course he's right there in a bright pink suit for all to see but I feel like when he looks directly at the camera, there's something more hidden there too. His own emotion perhaps, his own sadness, and yet there's that big happy grin too. Mika's smile and his eyes always seem to say more than what any words can convey.

[mellody]

13 minutes ago, Prisca said:

Before he recorded it, he had said that part of the video would be shot in Spa, but it looks like the WHOLE video was shot there. 

 

Yes, that surprised me too. I thought he'd do a video that tells a story and include clips from Spa, or that they'd cut together a bunch of the videos they filmed over the summer, with this one as the main part. Well, at least that way it's out on the song's release date... he probably wouldn't have had time to film more. Somehow it's a bit weird to have this live setting but with a playback of the song. Anyway I love the confetti and the actual live part at the end!

 

And now trying to sleep a bit more. I had to get up at 6:30 because of my daughter, and 3 hours of sleep definitely weren't enough, I'm not feeling well and not ready now to deal more with the emotions of that song. I was wrong when I said it breaks your heart and then heals it ... it breaks it and then puts a bandage around it through the music - but when the music ends, the sadness is still there.

[Prisca]

4 minutes ago, mellody said:

 

Yes, that surprised me too. I thought he'd do a video that tells a story and include clips from Spa, or that they'd cut together a bunch of the videos they filmed over the summer, with this one as the main part. Well, at least that way it's out on the song's release date... he probably wouldn't have had time to film more. Somehow it's a bit weird to have this live setting but with a playback of the song. Anyway I love the confetti and the actual live part at the end!

 

And now trying to sleep a bit more. I had to get up at 6:30 because of my daughter, and 3 hours of sleep definitely weren't enough, I'm not feeling well and not ready now to deal more with the emotions of that song. I was wrong when I said it breaks your heart and then heals it ... it breaks it and then puts a bandage around it through the music - but when the music ends, the sadness is still there.

[Anna Ko Kolkowska]

Anyway for me for the moment it will be hard to sing this song and dance.

I need time to digest all this.

It's funny how Mika used in his promo only this short part of the song where we can think "oh, it's just a nice summer song".

And then you hear the whole texte and it punches you straight between the eyes. Well, at least if you understand French.

I was knocked out.

 

[krysady]

43 minutes ago, Anna Ko Kolkowska said:

And then you hear the whole texte and it punches you straight between the eyes

Right! That's why it's best to not judge Mika's songs by little snippets and wait for the whole thing. 

 

I find the video matching perfectly with the message of the song, no more words needed: C’est la Vie !  

 

And I find the little artwork received from Mika on the email very nice 

Edited September 1, 2023 by krysady