“Le vent nous portera,” by Noir Desir in collaboration with another well-known singer, Manu Chao, is a famous alternative rock song that came out in 2001. It poetically muses about the ever-changing nature of life, our connectedness to the universe, and gives listeners a wistful and Zen-inspired perspective.
" Le vent nous portera,” by Noir Desir in collaboration with another well-known singer, Manu Chao, is a famous alternative rock song that came out in 2001. It poetically muses about the ever-changing nature of life, our connectedness to the universe, and gives listeners a wistful and Zen-inspired perspective. The refrain is about us, it, or them being carried away by the wind. This multiplicity of identities is evoked by the similar sound of phrases like “ l’emportera,” “ nous portera,” and “ les portera,” while the universality of our physical make-up is suggested through references to our genetics: “genetique” and “chromosomes.”
The song employs verbs of travel and movement, suggesting the transience of life. It speaks about a “ route ” (road) and the “trajectoire de la course” (trajectory of the race), while the main refrain mentions that the wind will “ emportera ” (carry) everything, while all will in the end “disparetra” (disappear). Magical methods of travel are also featured, like “taxis pour les galaxies” (taxis in the galaxy) and “mon tapis volant” (my flying carpet).
Nostalgia is prominent in this song, as the lyrics speak about “ l’intantane de velours ” (an instance of sweetness or velvet) that perhaps “mem s’il ne sert a rien” (doesn’t really mean anything). The singer mentions “ le palais des autres jours ” (mythical palaces of yesteryear) and “ce parfum de nos annees mortes,” which might refer to a scent that reminds the singer of lost love. This romance from the past is alluded to in the following line: “J'emmene au creux de mon ombre/ Des poussieres de toi” (I take your dust in the hollow of my shadow).
There are also quite a few references to space and the universe, giving the song a cosmic and psychedelic touch. The singer talks of “la grande ourse,” which is the constellation The Big Dipper. He mentions a message inscribed in the constellation, perhaps a romantic one written in the stars by his lover. Philosophically, the lyrics ponder about human potential and destiny, asking whether or not it is futile to try to master one’s fate: “On en pose un, qu'est-ce qu'on en retient?” Noir Desir manages to fuse together a universal message about the nature of human existence and love within a galactic context. Perhaps, with a strong sense of nostalgia and lost love, he concludes that we will be carried off with the wind: “Le vent nous portera.”
Lyrics:
Je n'ai pas peur de la route
Faudrait voir, faut qu'on y goute
Des meandres au creux des reins
Et tout ira bien
Le vent l'emportera
Ton message la grande ourse
Et la trajectoire de la course
l'instantane de velours
Meme s'il ne sert rien
Le vent l'emportera
Tout disparatra
Le vent nous portera
La caresse et la mitraille
Cette plaie qui nous tiraille
Le palais des autres jours
D'hier et demain
Le vent les portera
Genetique en bandouliere
Des chromosomes dans l'atmosphere
Des taxis pour les galaxies
Et mon tapis volant, lui
Le vent l'emportera
Tout disparatra
Le vent nous portera
Ce parfum de nos annees mortes
Ceux qui peut frapper ta porte
L'infinite du destin
On en pose un, qu'est-ce qu'on en retient ?
Le vent l'emportera
Pendant que la maree monte
Et que chacun fait ses comptes
J'emmene au creux de mon ombre
Des poussieres de toi
Le vent les portera
Tout disparatra
Le vent nous portera
