#songbender part 28 – Mylene Farmer – Désenchantée
welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, those too many of you who actually read these. nevermind, it’s for the lizard people when humanity has finally found its pathetic death in this wonderful flawless method of living we are so keen on for some reason.
i would say i digress, but, actually, no. this next one is not an electro song, it’s not Orbital (HA!), it’s not even drum&bass, and not a noisy-clicky-piece of crap you would expect, that is, if you WOULD HAVE TAKEN THE TIME, naaa, naa, come on, sandbender, it’s not nice to talk like that to the people who read you! even if there’s like 3 of them, and 5 of those you know personally!
ok dad.
so yeah, this song is a fkin POP song, ok? from the 90’s, yes, actually from 1991. NINETEEN NINETY ONE. this is important because just listen to the way it sounds! it’s incredible. it could be a pop song today, if all those stupid-ass kids had some sense of music. (*narrator: they don’t*). (*real narrator: that other narrator was not actually the narrator, today’s narrator thinks that today’s music is so very cool and while there are some interesting aspects to music from the 90’s, it is actually a Dua Lipa who is the sh*t yo*)
ok, well anyway. a true pop song. i was surprised to learn this girl is actually Canadian, i had no idea until the research i made for this, and that was very recently, i like to take 20+ years for that, ok? thank you. so, this Canadian girl made a song and an album which was more well-received in France, than any French performer at the time! now would you believe that?! this confirms MANY things about the French that i feel true, but won’t discuss here for reasons, but all in all – this is one of the MOST appreciated French songs on the planet (and who would appreciate a French song other than the French? if you know, please tell me also, but naturally, those same French of course!) and it was a massive hit!
just look at this: At the time, many demonstrations were organized by students throughout France to protest against their status and conditions for learning, and the Gulf War was raging. The pessimistic lyrics of the song strongly echoed the feelings toward worldwide events and thus certainly contributed to its success. According to the sound engineer, Thierry Rogen, “Désenchantée” was recorded four times. Boutonnat originally wanted a jerky song with techno influences, but Rogen convinced him to add drums and a more funk sound
Now, let’s turn to the important stuff. I always loved this one, back from my days watching MTV, and even though i *may* have something against the language, i had no problem with this one. It happens, you know? there is only ONE time i think it happened before this one and that one was the Voyage Voyage song from the 80’s (rant: how fkin INFURIATING it is that if you search for the song, a fkin recent and SHITTY ASS COVER pops up, because that producing company had more money to throw at the market than the original? pathetic, absolutely pathetic, go buy stuff, stupid kids, that’s all there is to it anyway)
so back to the point, again, i feel like this is just going from distraction to distraction, sorry. so once again: the music production is perfect. it is absolutely fkin perfect as it is. it still holds up, and will hold up forever, if you ask me. it has the big things, it has the small things. the singing is totally perfect, the synths, the DRUMS, which of course are always a focus with me, are nowhere near NOT perfect, so it is just a great piece of work.
the chord progression is something i must highlight though, because i don’t think many people realized this, and that’s ok, but with my recent studies it is very very interesting. You see, the whole verse part has the Bb minor key, and all the chords correspond, and if you don’t know what i mean, never mind. But in the bridge section (for those of you who don’t build bridges: that’s the part between the verse and the chorus – if you don’t know those, you need some help which i can not provide) – so for the bridge section there is one chord, the Ebm (e-flat minor, read you) which is part of the Bbm key (the B-flat minor key, we’re turning into a reading class, haha), so that Ebm suddenly turns to Eb MAJOR, which is NOT part of the Bb minor, obviously, but instead that of Db MAJOR! so the producer here did an actual key-change for the pre-chorus, or bridge part only! and that to me is amazing, because i have a feeling this is not too common these days and provides a very subtle change that the casual listener may not even understand, but can certainly feel (if you call their attention to it, yeah, eh).
so anyway, for the chorus it’s back to the root note of Bb and that is again fine, that little major part in there for the bridge serves like some kind of a change, like a glimpse of hope or something, and I will be 100% honest here: i didn’t hear it throughout the years. But it became very interesting to me, when i tried to play it myself, and since recently (again, for those who read my crap earlier: yes, dj shuffle played it in the car, that’s where i got the idea from) so i came home, tried to play it – and I just couldn’t!!! and the reason for it was that fkin key change right there, and when i realized that, it all fell into place.
now, if you take a look at those lyrics, well yeah they are in the language of Mordor, you will never hear me utter them myself, haha, so this is about a disenchanted generation (here i make another detour – when i was in high school in Kosice, there was a guy, same age as me (we were like 12-13 or something at the time) and he always bragged how his dad was French and he was fluent in French and all. And once i couldn’t help it: I asked him: hey *guy*, there’s a French song i like, can you tell me what it means? he said: sure! what is it? I said: Désenchantée. He said: there is no such French word, that’s bullshit, doesn’t exist.
ah well.
(only years later i realized myself what it COULD be, when i was listening to the Foo Fighter’s Disenchanted Lullaby when i realized: oh FKKKK this may be the same word!! and i googled it and for once, i was right in something, yay).
the music video is very nice, i think it portrays the message absolutely nicely, and fun fact: it was shot in Budapest, back in the day! woo! and some other fun facts: this video was one of the longest at the time (10:12) and used many extras: 119 children and many Hungarian actors such as Erika Francz Jánofné.
i personally can not get over the Jánofné. No, i just can’t.
Ok, i’m getting too long, so i’ll hand over the lyrics analysis to my dear friend, ChatGPT, who is completely untrustworthy in terms of musical theory analysis, so take as much as you want from the lyrics analysis (spoiler by myself, and my only comment: it’s about a disillusioned generation, one that i feel more and more part of these days but whatever).
The lyrics of the song convey a sense of disillusionment and a longing for freedom in a world filled with disappointment and emptiness.
chatgpt, hm, yeah.
The song starts by describing a world that is described as “médiocre” (mediocre) and “anesthésié” (anesthetized), suggesting a lack of passion and a feeling of numbness. The narrator expresses her desire to break free from this suffocating environment and find a more meaningful existence.
As the song progresses, the lyrics become more introspective and introspective. The narrator reflects on her own life, feeling trapped and lost in a state of disillusionment. She describes herself as a “poupée de chiffon” (rag doll) and laments the emptiness and the lies surrounding her. There is a yearning for truth and authenticity, as she longs to escape from the artificiality and superficiality of her surroundings.
The chorus of the song, which is repeated throughout, features the phrase “Désenchantée, désenchantée,” meaning “disenchanted” in English. This repetition emphasizes the feeling of disillusionment and serves as a rallying cry for those who feel similarly trapped and disillusioned.
Overall, “Désenchantée” encapsulates a sense of longing for something more profound and genuine in a world that often feels artificial and unfulfilling. Mylène Farmer’s powerful vocals and the evocative lyrics make this song an anthem of disenchantment and a call for personal liberation.
so there you have it, please subsribe and press the like button, and check my onlyfans too, haaa haa.