Une Annee Sans Lumiere

Hello guys

I'm french so I can help for the translation. I've seen that many of you have given a translation, so I'll take the one of lady rataxes, and correct it a bit. Actually, when talking about a human being, "avoir des oeillières" means "to be stubborn, not considering things objectively".

Hey! the streetlights all burnt out A year without light I mount a horse that is wearing blinders

Hey, my eyes are shooting sparks At night, my eyes light you up Don’t tell your father He's stubborn

Hey your old man should know If you see a shadow There’s something there

So hey, my eyes are shooting sparks At night, my eyes light you up Don’t tell your father He's stubborn

Hey, your old man should know If you see a shadow There's something there

I think the lights all went out because someone close to them died, the shooting sparks in the eyes of the narrator are his being alive in the darkness that follows the death of a loved one. The narrator seems to be saying the shadows, the things their eyes alight on in the dark are real. Perhaps the shadows of the departed are there hidden in the dark, catching the eyes, the sparks of life left behind in the people he or she loved.

"la nuit, mes yeux t’éclairent" means "at night, my eyes light your way"

and the8es has the right definition for "oeillères", they're called blinders in North America, but are sometimes called blinkers in British English

i have a very different interpretation of this song than anyone else has offered, though. i think its a cheeky, coy sort of allusion to a young couple "sneaking" around behind their parents' backs. the streetlights all burnt out, like they couldn't see anybody or anything else besides each other, but they weren't letting anybody else in on their secret, especially her father, an opressive force. But it seems kind of cheeky, like "don't tell your father that he's clueless (blinders), he should see the clues (shadow)" To me, this song is a beautiful, coy ode to young, and passionate love

Okay, I think I have a translation of the French. Note that the above lyrics are slightly mistyped; check your CD booklet (or the band's website) for the right ones.

"A year without lights. I ride a horse who wears blinders" and "The night, my eyes alight you. Don't tell your father that he wears blinders"

Such a lovely song. I just take it to mean, the boy's eyes are making all this light and commotion and it's casting shadows of the girl. The dad won't acknowledge them, he's just pretending it doesn't exist, that it means as little to him as it does to the horse. But the shadow is proof that the light is real, and he can't ignore that for long!

thanks ellie for that translation!

and like everyone said, it's obviously about this guy noticing a young woman that went unnoticed by her own father.

I completely agree with J Jaspers - this song played at a friend's memorial service. "My eyes are shooting sparks" refers to his search for the spirit of a passed loved one. "If you see a shadow, there's something there." The father can't see it, most people can't see it - most people are wearing blinders (also possibly a reference to being blinded by grief). The pain of the death is the year without light. This is, afterall, on an album called Funeral. I can't remember the interview - I'm sure it's on Wikipedia or somewhere, though - but Arcade Fire specifically said this song was written after several of the band members' relatives died during the makings of the album.

However - it really is all subjective, isn't it?

Beautiful, chilling song.

I think it's a message from death itself. She rides a horse that wears blinders, meaning she arrives directly where she needs to. Nothing's going to stop her. Her eyes are shooting sparks, and in the obscurity of life, she's the only one who can make us see things with more clarity (if we are conscious about her). Not telling her father about her, because he's focused in his things is like a sinister wink from death... even if she says this, she reminds us: she lies in the shadows, she waits for everyone of us, "there's something there".

And to end the lyrics, in french: Dis qui tu es. Come on Baby, qui tu es! It means: say who you are, come on baby, who are you?

The mystery of life and death.

Lovely song.

fixed :)

The intense ending of the song - what are those lyrics?? I can't make out what he is singing.