The Break Down of Derière Danse

For my song analysis I decided to go with the Song Dernière Danse by Indila. There are a few reasons I decided to use this song. The first because it holds a lot of meaning for me, and also because I thought it would be interesting to analyze a song that is not in English.

When I first heard this song, I did not know the Lyrics, nor did I see the music video for it. It was a strange experience for me, because despite this, I did still understand what the song was about.

It was clear from just listening that the song was about a great struggle. It was someone singing about a great heartbreak or misery. Though they were singing about it in a bitter-sweet way. Because though I could feel their pain, I could also feel their dependence or addiction to it. It was misery, but they did not know how to live without it.

This drew me in, because in a lot of ways it reminded me of many artists, especially those in dance and acting. The pressure on them to be great, the constant struggle and pain that they live through. Often pouring their entire being into their passion, without ever knowing if they will be enough. If they will ever make it.

It’s a path that a lot of people would shy away from, shearily because it’s a path that promises struggle with very little award. But a lot of artists would tell you that it’s not even a choice for them. The Misery and Struggle is better then not doing what they love at all.

After listening to it for the first time, and falling in love with the song, of course I wanted to know the English translation. It was a cool to find out that I what I perceived from the song, wasn’t actually that far off. Despite not understanding the words.

Oh my sweet torment,

No point in fighting, you start again

I’m just a worthless being

Without him I’m a bit troubled I wander around alone on the subway

A last dance

To forget my great misery I want to get away, everything to start again,

Oh my sweet torment 

I stir the sky, the day, the night

I dance with the wind, the rain

A bit of love, a drop of honey

And I dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance

And in the noise, I run and I’m afraid

Is this my turn?

Here comes the pain

In all of Paris, I abandon myself

And away I fly, fly, fly, fly

Nothing but hope

On this road in your absence

Try as I might, without you my life is nothing but a meaningless shiny decor https://lyricstranslate.com

Now knowing the Lyrics we can take a closer look at the many layered meanings to this song. That surface layer meaning, a lot of people perceive as a story about a girl who’s heart is broken, and without her lover she is lost, so she wanders aimlessly, and struggles onward without direction. Going through the cycle of love and life, a bit of sweetness, and then a lot of pain, and then starting the cycle all over again.

But a lot of people believe, that this song is actually an Allegory for the singer, Indila’s life, and her struggles of being an Indian immigrant living in France. That the “He” she refers too, is actually an allusion for France itself, and the Misery of loving a country she will never truly be expected into.

There’s also the meaning I take from it, that we talked a bit about earlier. In this case “He” would be an allusion for an Artist’s art form, and song is a metaphor for the beautiful but painful relationship the artist has with their art form.

Something I think is important to note is that Indila, is very private about what her songs are about. This may be because what she want’s the take away from the song not to be how it applies to her and her life, but more the emotion behind it.

Without even knowing the words, you can feel the bitter-sweet pain and struggle, and this I think is the main take away. She’s pouring her soul out into her song, and that’s something you can clearly feel when listening to it.

To the point that even if you paired it with happy imagery, of someone loving and accepting her, it wouldn’t make sense, and the viewers would know it’s not truly what’s going on because of how well the emotions of the song are conveyed.

It’s one of the cool things about art, that even when we can’t speak the same language, we can share stories and emotions across cultures through art.

Photo by Malte Wingen on Unsplash