Meanings of her songs?

[Scruffydog777]

Originally Posted by Azhiri

I always thought that by "give my tongue to the cats" she meant keeping quiet about what she was doing ("cat's got your tongue."), maybe keeping it a secret from her parents or something.

That's quite possible. That's the problem with not knowing the French language. We have to rely on other people's interpretations of these lines. But given what I've read about MF, I'm more inclined to believe the one of many that I had read and felt was more likely to be the right one.



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[jung_adore_ALIZEE]

Originally Posted by Marquis<3Alizée

Yeah that's true she did not write her songs.

Alizee writes very few of her songs now as it is, in fact I believe L'effet is the only one she did any writing for. Either way psychedelices has quite a few impure songs to say. Nothing wrong with what they are about or anything.

Regards,

Jung

[Zeerre]

This should help clarify things:
http://www.mf-international.com/viewtopic.php?t=1690

The word "chat(te)" is the French word for cat, and just like in English the word "pussy (cat)" carries a dirty connotation to the female reproductive system, it is likewise in French. Note here, though, the word is "chat" instead of "chatte." The phrase "Quand je donne ma langue aux chats" is an idiomatic expression that means "When I stop trying to get an answer" or "When I don't get an answer." Literally, it translates as "When I give my tongue to the cat," from which, after making a slight leap to a frame of vulgarity, we obtain a very nice possible lesbian reference. (You figure out the rest).

[lefty12357]

I believe the phrase "give my tongue to the cat" generally means to "give up",
so it can apply to any situation where you find yourself "throwing in the towel ".

[babyblue558]

Originally Posted by Zeerre

This should help clarify things:
http://www.mf-international.com/viewtopic.php?t=1690

Argh sometimes I wish Mylène hadn't gone so far with the innuendo. It works in the songs she sings herself because she's a fully grown woman with the class and character to pull it off, but Alizée was so young back then! I guess she knew from her past experience that eroticism sells, but if the innuendo is really as blatant as this explanation suggests, it certainly doesn't feel right coming from someone as young and supposedly innocent as Alizée's image suggested.

But the other way to look at it is that it certainly did sell, and I wouldn't have Gourmandises and MCE any other way.

Ahh difficult choice...

[DrSmith]

Originally Posted by babyblue558

I guess she knew from her past experience that eroticism sells, but if the innuendo is really as blatant as this explanation suggests, it certainly doesn't feel right coming from someone as young and supposedly innocent as Alizée's image suggested.

She wasn't really supposed to be "innocent". Lolita = a precociously seductive girl.

[babyblue558]

Originally Posted by DrSmith

She wasn't really supposed to be "innocent". Lolita = a precociously seductive girl.

OK I take our point... The character she's playing in the song is NOT innocent at all (I remember an interview in Italy where she said it was like playing a role in a film). However, Alizée HERSELF seemed so pure and innocent at the age of 15/16. Was it right to give her such a adult "role" to play in a song? Because I'm pretty sure we can suppose that "Lolita" isn't Alizée's real personality, right?

Also I heard that L'Alizé is full of double-entendres and innuendo, anyone know if that's true?

[Zeerre]

Originally Posted by babyblue558

However, Alizée HERSELF seemed so pure and innocent at the age of 15/16. Was it right to give her such a adult "role" to play in a song?

Exactly, and that's what bothers me, it just seems wrong for any 15/16 year old girl, let alone Alizée, to be singing lyrics that could be interpreted as an allusion to losing one's virginity, especially when they are rather explicit.

Line 6: [C'est Lola qui saigne/it's Lola who bleeds] Again in reference to defilement, the bleeding is a cause of the first penetration.

I guess it's expected, and maybe even understandable, for a song based on Nabokov's novel to have several sexual innuendos, but I don't know...

[babyblue558]

Originally Posted by Zeerre

Exactly, and that's what bothers me, it just seems wrong for any 15/16 year old girl, let alone Alizée, to be singing lyrics that could be interpreted as an allusion to losing one's virginity, especially when they are rather explicit.

I always knew ML was suggestively sexual, but I never realised that it was to such a great extent! I mean that link you posted manages to find something erotic every 2 or 3 lines or so. Having seemingly complained quite a bit, I'd just like to say that I would never change anything about Alizée's early years - the sheer brilliance far outweighed the very slight drawbacks.

Originally Posted by Zeerre

I guess it's expected, and maybe even understandable, for a song based on Nabokov's novel to have several sexual innuendos, but I don't know...

Very true. The song matches perfectly with the book 'Lolita', it just doesn't match Alizée's personality, and as a result portrays an manufactured image that is very different from the real Alizée.

Oh and btw Zeerre, your avatar is x1000

[lefty12357]

If you browse through the Translations Section of this site you will find a lot of threads that analyze song lyrics.

The following links are not for the weak hearted.

http://alizeeamerica.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1677

http://alizeeamerica.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2221

Keep in mind these are the opinions of the people who did the analysis, but the consensus at the time seemed to agree that much of what is said is probably correct.

I often wonder how far Mylene would have liked to go with lyrics for Alizée once she became an adult. I think it's one more reason why she felt she had to move on. I don't think Alizée wanted to go further down that road, and I'm not sure Mylene could have found the "voice" for the person that the adult Alizée has become. I can see why she left to seek her own voice. She had to, in my opinion.

Edit: In Mylene's defense, much of what she wrote was very good and as we all know, Alizée does owe a lot to MF/LB.