À REBOURS

À rebours (backwards) is a song # 3 from Mylène Farmer’s tenth studio album, Interstellaires released on 6 November 2015.

The Interstellaires was born out of pain. And this time very physical one. Mylene was in bed unable to move for many long months while creating this album.

The lyrics for À rebours were written by Mylène Farmer. Music composed by Martin Kierszenbaum and Mylène Farmer. Programming, drums, percussions and keyboards, guitars and basses: Martin Kierszenbaum

“A lot of times you’re walled up in emotions, feelings, things that keep you from expressing yourself. Which is why I said you don’t have to be behind bars to feel and threatened and in a state of suffocation. ” (Mylène Farmer – RTL – 11/10/2015)

By writing: “Life is worth nothing but / But … nothing is worth life”, Mylène is perhaps inspired by this well-known extract from the book Les conquérants by André Malraux: “I learned that a life is worth nothing, but nothing is worth a life “.

Who was André Malraux you’d ask. I’ve found a curious article about him the New York Times as I admit I didn’t know much about him.

“He had a formidable capacity for mixing up the real, whatever that is, the desirable, the probable, the possible and the imaginary,” said Olivier Todd, author of “Andre Malraux,”

Citing philosopher Raymond Aron’s quip about Malraux, “One-third genial, one-third false, one-third incomprehensible,”

Another possible reference with the novel by Marie Dô published in 2006, Make the dust dance and adapted for television in 2010 in which we can read: “The angels told me … that nothing is sent to us that we cannot handle“.

I do however find philosophy of Hermes Trismegistus very relevant to this song and the lyrics.

It is a very powerful verbal delivery of the most common human notion – search for something that makes your life worth living…Again we see more questions than answers, again more descriptions than conclusions. And don’t you just love that about Mylene! She doesn’t chew nor swallow for you, she doesn’t cook nor seasons, she doesn’t serve you any mental dishes. She only paints the picture of how it feels to her…And what an honest and evolved approach! She contributes to our personal growth and liberation as we are all invited to look solely into our most intimate feelings, our own Soul. What are you seeing?

I suppose, it is about an internal prison so to speak. It is a bit again just like in the recently covered by me Tous ces combats is about an internal cosmos and how it effects the external aspects of our lives. “As within so without…” as Hermes Trismegistus said. To be exact, he said: “As above, so below, as within, so without, as the universe, so the soul…”

And also….

“Close your eyes and let the mind expand. Let no fear of death or darkness arrest its course. Allow the mind to merge with Mind. Let it flow out upon the great curve of consciousness. Let it soar on the wings of the great bird of duration, up to the very Circle of Eternity.”

“If then you do not make yourself equal to God, you cannot apprehend God; for like is known by like.

Leap clear of all that is corporeal, and make yourself grown to a like expanse with that greatness which is beyond all measure; rise above all time and become eternal; then you will apprehend God. Think that for you too nothing is impossible; deem that you too are immortal, and that you are able to grasp all things in your thought, to know every craft and science; find your home in the haunts of every living creature; make yourself higher than all heights and lower than all depths;

bring together in yourself all opposites of quality, heat and cold, dryness and fluidity; think that you are everywhere at once, on land, at sea, in heaven; think that you are not yet begotten, that you are in the womb, that you are young, that you are old, that you have died, that you are in the world beyond the grave; grasp in your thought all of this at once, all times and places, all substances and qualities and magnitudes together; then you can apprehend God.

But if you shut up your soul in your body, and abase yourself, and say “I know nothing, I can do nothing; I am afraid of earth and sea, I cannot mount to heaven; I know not what I was, nor what I shall be,” then what have you to do with God?”

So who was he who said those progressive even for the modern New Age philosophy things, Hermes Trismegistos?

Was he really a mystical god originated from the Greek Hermes and Egyptian god Thoth or was the inventor of writing, and the patron of all the arts dependent upon writing, the reputed author of treatises that have been preserved through the centuries and millenniums for their unquestionable depth and wisdom, we might never truly know… back them gods it seems used to hang out with mortals much more casually than nowadays 😊

I do personally share his core views: Everything is dual; Everything has poles; Everything has its opposite; Like and unlike are the same; Opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree or expression; Extremes meet; All truths, are but half-truths; All paradoxes aim to be reconciled.

Reviews:

“If, with this third piece, Mylène sings the temptation of going back, of an erase and rewind, when everything weighs, everything overwhelms us, the spoken beginning, bordering on slam, is reminiscent of its whole first talk-over on Maman a tort, thirty years ago. Musically, we are in the purity: piano, guitar and drums at the end have lyrics as simple as they are hard-hitting, ultimately positive, freely inspired by a certain André Malraux. “Life is worth nothing but / But … Nothing is worth life / It’s epsilon more than small / It’s epsilon yet envy (…)”. Inspiring. ” (gala.fr – 11/04/2015)

“Despite this apparent serenity, shadowy areas and anxieties that fans are already familiar with are hovering over “Interstellars”. This is what Mylène Farmer affirms through the ballad A rebours, the centerpiece of this new record. spoken verses, contrast of a refrain involving his voice in the treble, the artist slams the door to his old demons, taking a step towards the other. alone / Sometimes “).” ( Pure Charts – 06/11/2015)

“Among the hits in power:  Love song, a ballad which gets carried away to the sound of the guitars and becomes very rock; a  C’est pas moi , Un jour ou l’autre . ” ( Télé Loisirs – 06/11/2015)

“Better than Bernard-Henri Lévy. Mylène plays the philosopher and will make people think in the cottages. Theme of the editorial staff of the day: “Life is worth nothing, but nothing is worth life” (extract from the song A rebours ). We will pick up the copies in thirty minutes and we will not copy from our neighbor. ” (Télé Moustique – 11/11/2015)

“It is undoubtedly when she performs À rebours … , in a sort of sung-spoken, launching into highly melodious refrains highlighted by her angelic voice that she takes on the most importance. “

“Among his eleven titles, more peaceful than ever, we find something to dance (C’EST PAS MOI , PAS D’ACCESS...), beautiful ballads ( UN JOUR OU L’AUTRE , À rebours ), hits 100% farmeriens a cover in English ( I WANT YOU TO WANT ME ). ” ( Femina version – 11/22/2015)

Another beautiful event took place in 2015 – Fragile –  a book of ninety unpublished photos of the star by photographer SYLVIE LANCRENON (very very talented photographer!)

And it is only natural that the singer Mylène Farmer, yet so little social, recently attended the opening of the exhibition at the Parisian gallery Acte2.. The photos were indeed in XXL format. Gorgeous, gorgeous work of art – BRAVO!

more remixes: https://soundcloud.com/search?q=%C3%80%20rebours%20%20mylene%20farmer

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lyrics with translation

Le réel se dérobe
Les anges ont dit que rien
Ne nous est envoyé
Qu'on ne peut supporter

Un, deux
Et passe et lasse
Et moi
Je passe hélas
Questionnant l'infini
Fermant porte à l'oubli

Et d'un tour
De clé
Comme un sourd
Muet
Nul besoin de barreaux
De croix
On s'enferme tout seul
Parfois

Et l'amour
Je sais
À portée
D'aimer
Les fantômes ne nous laissent
En paix
Tyrannie des secrets
Gardés


La vie ne vaut rien mais
Mais... rien ne vaut la vie
C'est epsilon plus que petit
C'est epsilon pourtant l'envie

Et la vie
Passe hélas
Et la bête
Passe et chasse
Toute forme de résistance
Si elle menait la danse ?

Et d'un tour
De clé
Comme un sourd
Muet
Nul besoin de barreaux
De croix
On s'enferme tout seul
Parfois

Et l'amour
Je sais
À portée
D'aimer
Les fantômes ne nous laissent
En paix
Tyrannie des secrets
Gardés

À rebours de tout
Du bon sens
S'en fout
Rêver d'enfreindre et
Mettre en terre
Ignorer et tout foutre
En l'air

Pour gagner
Les cîmes
Tout simplement
Vivre
Aux verrous qui semblaient
Lâcher...
Je crains qu'il ne me manque
La clé

(pont musical)

Et d'un tour
De clé
Comme un sourd
Muet
Nul besoin de barreaux de croix
On s'enferme tout seul
Parfois

Mais l'amour
Je sais... est
À portée
D'aimer
Aidez-moi
Retrouver les clés
Il faudra... m'apaiser enfin