Tempete

[Scruffydog777]

A few months back, I suppose out of desperation of wanting to hear a new song from Alizee, I revisited some of her old songs that I guess you could say had fallen by the way side as far as me listening to them. One of them was Tempete. I knew when I had first heard about it years ago that it was a song about Napoleon, but I never really looked at or listened to the song that closely because there was a part near the end where the back ground singers are singing, actually it sounded more like moaning and I found it very depressing. So I never really gave the song much of a chance.

But like I said, I took another look at this song and decided to brush up on my history of Napoleon so I could better understand it and I thought I'd try and refresh anyone else's memory who may have as much rust on their brain as I do.

Napoleon was born in Ajaccio in 1769 to parents of noble Italian ancestry. His family also owned a house in the hills (not to mention some other property near by) north of Ajaccio in Les Milelli where they went to get away from the high heat of the summer.
Here is a paragraph from Napoleon.org which mentions the same blood-red-islands that Alizeee spoke of in her video describing Corsica.

The young Napoleon often passed a chapel on his walks with his elder brother. A commemorative plaque on the wall of this chapel gives a quotation from the memoirs of Joseph Bonaparte: 'Our daily walks with Napoleon went beyond the Chapelle des Grecs along a coast as beautiful as that beside the Gulf of Naples, in countryside heavy with the scent of myrtles and orange trees. Sometimes we did not return until nightfall'. On occasions they went as far as the La Parata point, about 14 km west of Ajaccio onto a promontory previously called 'La Chasse de Génois'. From the Tour de la Parata, built in 1608 to defend the coast from Moorish pirates, the view of the gulf and the 'Iles sanguinaires' (the 'blood-red islands', known as such from the red colour which they take on at sunset) is absolutely spectacular.

]

Bonaparte rose to prominence under the French First Republic and led successful campaigns against the First and Second Coalitions arrayed against France. In 1799, he staged a coup d'etat and installed himself as First Consul; five years later the French Senate proclaimed him emperor.

In the first decade of the 19th century, the French Empire under Napoleon engaged in a series of conflicts—the Napoleonic Wars—involving every major European power. After a streak of victories, France secured a dominant position in continental Europe, and Napoleon maintained the French sphere of influence through the formation of extensive alliances and the appointment of friends and family members to rule other European countries as French client states. Napoleon's campaigns are studied at military academies throughout much of the world.

The french invasion of Russia in 1812 marked a turning point in Napoleon's fortunes. His Grand Armee was badly damaged in the campaign and never fully recovered. Defeated as much by the Russian winter and the Russian's scorched earth policy as the Russian army though there was one tremendous battle between these two outside Moscow. A battle he won, but at a terrible cost. He soon after had to start his return to Paris due to problems in France. He started this Russian campaign with over 400,000 men and returned with less than 40,000. Less than a year later, in 1813, the Sixth Coalition defeated his forces at Leipzig (in eastern Germany).

The following year the Coalition invaded France, forced Napoleon to abdicate and exiled him to the island of Elba which was a possession of France at the time. He was allowed to keep a personal guard of 600 men. The island was patrolled by the British navy.

Elba is described as a beautiful island on many sites. It has a Mediterranean climate and is located only 12 miles from the Italian mainland, so Napoleon probably had fresh food all the time and I'm sure visitors on a regular basis. He probably couldn't have picked a better place to be exiled to.


Napoleon was given the title of Emporer of Elba and ruled over it's 12,000 plus population.He instituted many changes in the government while he was there and became very popular with the people.
He spent about 300 days there, then escaped back to France. A regiment of French troops was sent to capture him, but in stead upon meeting him yelled "Vive L'Empereur!" and marched with him to Paris. Louis XVIII fled. Less than a week later, on 13 March, the powers at the Congress of Vienna declared Napoleon an outlaw, and four days later Great Britain, Russia, Austria and Prussia bound themselves to each put 150,000 men into the field to end his rule.

In about a 100 days, Napoleon was able to amass an army of 200,000 men. He decided to attack as soon as possible to try and drive a wedge between the two converging armies in a place that is just outside of Waterloo in the present day Belgium. For three days the French army fought well, coming close to victory but in the end, defeated probably by the fact that they were fighting two armies.

After their defeat, Louis XVIII was returned to power and Napoleon was once again exiled, this time to St Helena in 1815. Wikipedia describes St Helena as one of the most isolated places in the world, located in the South Atlantic Ocean more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) from the nearest major landmass. The 1817 census recorded 821 white inhabitants, a garrison of 820 men, 618 Chinese indentured labourers, 500 free blacks and 1,540 slaves.




The island has what is described as a tropical, marine and mild, but this place must have been a far cry from what Napoleon what used to on Elba. He probably seldom received visitors or news. I'm sure the food selection was limited compared to Elba and judging from pictures of the island, it was no tropical paradise, though I have yet to find out anywhere what Napoleon did think of this island.

He died in 1821 and was buried on St Helena. His body was returned to Paris in 1840. It is now entombed in a porphyry sarcophagus in the crypt under the dome at Les Invalides

Just one more note concerning Napoleon and Corsica. In the early 1800s he made the Tuileries palace in Paris, the official palace of the French government. It was burnt down by the Paris commune after the disastorous loss by France (of which at that time, Napoleon III was it's leader), in the Franco-Prussian war. The government decided not to rebuild it and it is now the site of the Tuileries garden next to the Place de la Concorde. When it was demolished, bits of the stones and marble were transported to Corsica where the were used to build the Chateau de la Punta, about 3 miles north of Ajaccio.

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Now as far as the song itself, when it starts out, it doesn't seem to be painting a pretty picture, "ombre et tempet (shadow and storm)...........il s'ennui", so I imagine this is the description of St Helena which I've seen described as wind swept.
Then it goes on to say " Reve.....d'un autre reve.......d'une ile d'Elba.............ton amie (dream of another dream of the ile of Elba...........my freind)" so I read he is dreaming of Elba which was such a great place to be compared to St Helena.
I don't quite understand the following line, "...accours vers celle.......qui t'es fidele..........et puis t'oublie!( rush towards those who are loyal to you, then forget you)" I don't understand why he is rushing towards his troops, usually you see a general's troops rushing towards him, not the other way around. I wonder if it might of meant when he returned to France from Elba and met up with the regiment that was sent to arrest him, he supposedly dismounted his horse and said to the approaching troops, "Here I am. Kill your emporer if you wish!" so maybe this is what it's in reference too.

Then I'm confused by the line "Elle........la belle Helena ( She, the beautiful St Helena)" From pictures I've seen on google earth, this did not seem to be a beautiful place and I didn't think Napoleon was happy there, so why would he refer to it as being beautiful?

Another thing I don't quite understand is the use of the term L'Ogre, after his death, I take that to mean a monster, but I guess it can also refer to a god of the underworld, so was he now considered a god of the underworld? Then it goes on to say "in it's pocket, a secret", which I've read is a reference to the way Napoleon kept his hand inside his jacket, so what was the secret?
Here's a video of the song with English and French subtitles. I'm sure there's some typos and misinterpretations but it's a starting point so we can discuss it.

I'm curious as to whose idea it was to write a song about Napoleon. I would think it was MF and LB who came up with it but we know that Alizee proposed some ideas for songs to MF so maybe it was hers. Was it ever mentioned in an interview? I'd also like to know what she thinks of Napoleon.

So this song which at first depressed me, is now one of my favorites and I think it ranks right up there with her most beautiful songs.

EDIT:

One last thing I'd like to mention is I believe Corsaire once touched upon when he first joined this forum that there are so many moments in Alizee's videos that make them such a pleasure to watch. Some times it's a little smile, some times a little tilt of the head. So I put together a short clip of such looks from this video that in some clips I thought she looked incredibly beautiful, some where she looked unbelievably cute, then others I'm not sure how to describe. There's one I especially like at the 7 second mark where it kind of looks like she's digging down for something extra in her singing of the song.

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[C-4]

Beautiful job Dave!
Nice presentation, and explanation. It clears up a LOT of the song for me.
I hope your trip to France again was as exciting for you as your previous trips have been.
Stephen

[Bigdan]

Originally Posted by Scruffydog777

Then I'm confused by the line "Elle........la belle Helena ( She, the beautiful St Helena)" From pictures I've seen on google earth, this did not seem to be a beautiful place and I didn't think Napoleon was happy there, so why would he refer to it as being beautiful?

I think it's a reference to " La belle Helène" a famous Offenbach opera about the Spartan Queen. In french, " La belle Helène" is what's come to your mind in the first place about the firstname " Helène". There is also a dessert called "Poire Belle Helène" ( Beautiful Helen pear) which confirm the success of the expression.
And , as you said it, it's also a pun with " St Helène" , the island. It a poetic choice, although this island is not really beautifull.

.


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[Scruffydog777]

Well I found a very interesting web page that told about Napoleon and his stay on Saint Helena. I'm posting the first part of the page, but this thread has already been far longer than your usual thread so I'll just post a link to it.

http://www.napoleon-series.org/ins/weider/c_helena.html

The writer of this web page visited Saint Helena back in 1975 to do some research for a book. This is one thing he had to say when he first saw the island from a ship, "We could eventually make out the lights of a small town, I knew immediately it was Jamestown, the only town on the island. Since St. Helena does not have docking facilities, we had to drop anchor off the island.

When I first saw the island, a wave of sadness overcame me when I thought of what Napoleon must have felt when he saw the island for the first time and knew that he would spend the rest of his life here. He said to the grand Marshal Bertrand, "Better, we should have stayed in Egypt".".


Napoleon
If ever a ruler owed his position to what is called the "will of the people." Napoleon did. Napoleon won it by his success with the sword, not the sword of execution, nor the sword of the guillotine, but the sword of battle against the enemies of France.
The people of France elected Napoleon as the Emperor, because he saved France from its enemies and he defended the gains of the Revolution at home.
Napoleon established both the Bank of France and the French bourse (stock exchange) as well as National and Departmental Tax Boards, to insure equitable taxation for all. Consequently, the income of the French peasants skyrocketed.
Napoleon established awards such as the "Legion of Honour" to reward those whose services to the nation merited special recognition; the recipient could be scientist, composer, legislator, clergyman, writer, as well as a soldier.
In the area of public works, over 20,000 miles of imperial and 12,000 miles of regional roads were completed, almost a thousand miles of canals were build, the Great Cornice road was constructed along the Mediterranean coast, mountain roads were constructed across the Alps by ways of Simplon Pass and Mont. Cenis, and harbors were dredged and expanded at many ports, including Dunkerque and Cherbourg.
Not only was Paris beautified with the construction of boulevards, bridges and monuments, but the National Archives received a permanent home. Napoleon also saved the Louvre.
Monument buildings were constructed throughout the Empire and structures, such as the Imperial Cathedral of Speyer, made famous by Luther, were preserved while work on the spires of the great cathedral of Cologne were continued on Napoleon's orders. In fact, Napoleon's architectural handiwork can be found scattered across Europe, from Rome to Vienna.
"Think tanks" and research centers were established in France to work on projects vital for national economy. An Industrial Board was organized to provide data and information to French Industry, as exemplified by the success of the sugar beet farming and the canning industry.
For religion, Napoleon ended the schism and restored the Catholic Church to France by the Concordat in 1801. He insured freedom of religions and equality to the Protestant sects, and he declared France the homeland of the Jews, after it became obvious he could not establish their national home in Palestine.
The Code Napoleon established equality before the law, emphasized the sanctity of the family, and assured the legal gains of the Revolution. The Code of Civil Procedure insured widespread user of mediation in the courts and the laws, and the courts were secularized.
Napoleon created the Imperial University to administer French Education. Specialized engineering and technological schools were established along with the famous lycées to insure a scientific education. The establishment of a Professional School of Midwifery and first School of Obstetrics were formed during the consulate and the School of Veterinary Science was professionalized under Napoleon.
In the military, Napoleon pioneered in what we describe today as the "principles of war" which are studied by almost every military academy in the world. The armies of today are based on the organization created by Napoleon for his Grand Army and it has been used ever since.
Many historians claim that Napoleon created his own legend on St. Helena. The truth is that his legend started in Toulon in 1793.
Lord Holland, speaking in the British House of Peers, spoke about the deceased Emperor in August 1833. He stated: "The very people who detested this great man have acknowledged that for 10 centuries there has not appeared upon earth a more extraordinary character."
This is indeed a tribute to the Emperor.

[FanDeAliFee]

Lo' ou bien 'la / Du pareil au même

Originally Posted by Scruffydog777

Then I'm confused by the line "Elle........la belle Helena ( She, the beautiful St Helena)" From pictures I've seen on google earth, this did not seem to be a beautiful place and I didn't think Napoleon was happy there, so why would he refer to it as being beautiful?

To understand this verse, you have to start by asking WHICH song Alizée sang during the France Gall tribute in 2003.

As you know, the song was Ella, elle l'a. Why THIS song? Well, MF knew the CD market would not last forever, so she shamelessly did everything in her power to plug sales of Alizée's existing CD's - including subliminal advertising!!!

This should not surprise anyone, because traditional Alizée songs are practically infomercials anyway, which repeatedly use Alizée's own name or that of an alter-ego like Clochette, the wind, etc.

So when Alizée sang the phrase El-la, elle l'a, after the first and third syllables, the successive letters O, L, I, and T were each flashed on the screen for a single frame - as ANYONE can verify by slowing down the video! That's right - Lo ou bien L...A / Du pareil au même! And you thought hiding Edie (Sedgwick) and Alizée in Idéaliser was wicked sneaky!!!

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Oh ye, of little faith!

I am informed that in some of the copies of Alizée singing El-la, elle l'a, apparently mischief makers have edited out the four frames which flash the letters O, L, I and T. In that case, I will also point out that if Lol'a can be an abbreviation for Lolita, and Lo' one for Lol'a, so can 'la be one for Lol'a. In other words, Lo' ou bien 'la / Du pareil au même So there! </td></tr></table>

Which brings us to Tempête. In this song, there are two parallel phrases which use Hélèn-e, viz.:

Elle, la Sainte-Hélèn-e
Elle, la belle Hélèn-e

once again providing the opportunity either to sequentially flash the letters O,L,I,T between syllables, as in Ella, elle l'a - or abbreviate Lol'a as 'la and spell it out - take your pick.

Please note that in translating the following two names from English to French, the SAME French prénom results.

Saint Helena --> Sainte-Hélène
Helen of Troy -> Hélène de Troie

While this prénom has only two syllables in French, one uses "poetic license" to stretch it out to one more in Tempête. (France Gall does the same thing with the name France in the 1967 song Made In France.)

Originally Posted by Bigdan

I think it's a reference to " La belle Helène" a famous Offenbach opera about the Spartan Queen. In french, " La belle Helène" is what's come to your mind in the first place about the firstname " Helène".

The second use of Hélène (belle Hélène) in Tempête should be understood as a punning reference to Hélène de Troie, a Mediterranean beauty who had the face that launched a thousand ships. Thus, the mysterious reference to an eagle in the same stanza seems to allude to the reason for Hélène's birth: In the form of a swan, Zeus was chased by an eagle, and sought refuge with Leda, with whom he mated to produce Hélène from an egg.

<table align="center" width="220" cellpadding="10" border="5" color="black"><tr valign="top"><td><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlXh-EBq7ug" target="_YT"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Leda_and_the_Swan_1505-1510.jpg/220px-Leda_and_the_Swan_1505-1510.jpg" width="220" height="288"></a><br>Leonardo's version of Hélène de Troie's mom and dad in flagrante delicto. And you thought your parents were embarrassing!!!</td><td width="247"><img src="http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Mythology/RM/HelenFrancescoRomanelli.jpg" width="350" height="247"><br>Some women, like Alizée, find that Paris steals their heart. But in the Iliad, Paris steals Hélène de Troie's whole damn ass, as illustrated above by Giovanni Francesco Romanelli.</td></tr></table>

By placing Elle, la immediately adjacent to belle Hélène, one is metaphorically casting L...A = 'la = Lolita as belle Hélène = Hélène de Troie, a beautiful inspiration to male aggression. Of course, the ships which Hélène's face launched sailed on the water, l'eau ("Lo"). Finally, swans would be expected to sire flying offspring (cf. fairies.)

Originally Posted by Scruffydog777

Well I found a very interesting web page that told about Napoleon and his stay on Saint Helena.

Let me cross-reference the post embedding a wonderful video lecture on Napoleon called Alizée's compatriot Napoleon - "Corsican" or not?

[MYGOGT]

I would like to thank you guys for the explanations and links. This is perhaps the most beautiful song I have ever heard. It has been my second favorite song of Lily's for a long time. I wish they would have made it a single.

[Jake04]

I agree. Just like most of you, I initially ignored this song because I was so immersed with LA, JAM, ML, ACC and JPVA. But, after listening to it, it immediately became one of my favorite song ever. Her voice was really beautiful at this one. I don't think anyone could have done it better.

[Euphoria]

Thought a decent translation might help. I'll polish it up, but I was in a hurry.

Brume, le jour se lève,
fog, the sun rises
Ombre et tempête...
darkness and storm
Il s'ennui.
he is restless
Elle, la Sainte Hélène qui sait sa fièvre,
she, Saint Helene, who understands his desire
Lui dit:
tells him
Rêve d'un autre rêve, d'une île d'Elbe.
dream another dream, of the island of Elba
Ton amie...
your friend...
C'est ta sêve, accours vers celle
it is your strength, run to who
Qui t'est fidèle et puis t'oublie!
is faithful and then forgets you!

En amour
in love
Compter les batailles qui t'ont fait mal...
count the battles that have hurt you
Plus d'amour
no more love
Tous les équipages ont pris le large.
the crew has set sail
Pauvre amour
poor love
Je cueille ta fierté qui s'est blessée...
I gather your wounded pride
Oh! Amour
oh! love
Faut-il que ton deuil dure des années.
should your grieving last for years
Pour m'aimer
for you to love me

Aigle, le jour s'élève
Eagle, the day awakens
Qui te célèbre
that celebrates you
C'est ainsi.
so it is
Elle, la Belle Hélène, rejoint la terre des
she, the beautiful Helene, rejoins the land of the
"Maudits"
“damned”
"L'ogre" git sous l'écorce, mais dans sa poche un...
“the ogre” lies under the bark, but in his pocket...(lies) a
Lourd secret
heavy secret
C'est lui l'homme, qui se mélange
it is he, the man who blends himself
Aux pluies de cendres, que j'aimais.
amongst the rain of ashes, whom I loved.

[Bigdan]

Originally Posted by Scruffydog777

Another thing I don't quite understand is the use of the term L'Ogre, after his death, I take that to mean a monster, but I guess it can also refer to a god of the underworld, so was he now considered a god of the underworld?

“the ogre” lies under the bark

I think it's a metaphor about the dictator who lies under the skin of the man.
Napoleon is often see as a two face man.


.

[Scruffydog777]

In the first part of the song, Saint Helena tells him to dream another dream of the island of Elba. Later in the song it says I gather your wounded pride, oh love, should your grieving last for years for you to love me. Is the me refering to St Helena? Does the island want him to love her (the island) as much as he loved Elba?