Nantes

I decided to make an account on this site so I could post my interpretation of the song. It's the first time I've actually sat down and written out what I thought a song was about line by line. I liked ileavubrethles idea that it centered around war and once I had that in mind I went from there, so thanks ileavubrethles! I could (and probably am) totally not anywhere near what the original intention of the song was but it's what I glean from it so w/e. Anywhere here I go...

Listening to this song was like the first time I appreciated Shakespeare (which was Macbeth junior year =p). I've never done this before, but I felt compelled to try to analyze the song for myself. I was listening to it right before I was to start working on blogs, and I felt I needed to write something about it.

The band apparently is the solo project of a man named Zachary Condon who is the sole creative force in the group and it's vocalist. Each song on the album is meant to evoke a different French city, in this case Nantes. Each city, in turn, represents a certain story that embodies, what Condon believes, to be the spirit of the city. The normal musical arrangement of the band focuses on the Ukelele, but for this album Condon began to take on musical instruments and styling inspired by French Chanson music which is any lyric driven French song. The other main stylistic influence of the album comes from a musician named Jacques Brel who is not widely known in English speaking countries because his music was done almost exclusively in French. His influence on American music was wide though, with artists such as David Bowie, Ray Charles, The Dresdon Dolls, Frank Sinatra, and Dusty Springfield.

As for the inspiration for the album, Condon cites a hot air balloon festival in the early 1900's in Paris. It was also influenced by a photo from the World's Fair, one of the first color photos ever made, that depicts all of these hot air balloons about to ascend in the middle of Paris. Condon found the photo to be stunning and one of the most surreal images he had ever seen.

Now that the the sound and material of the album is understood, I feel I can examine the song.

"Well it's been a long time, long time now Since I've seen you smile And I'll gamble away my fright And I'll gamble away my time And in a year, a year or so This will slip into the sea Well it's been a long time, long time now Since I've seen you smile"

This is the first stanza of the song. I believe the song to be about World War II, specifically an American soldier who is traveling to France by boat. Nantes is very very close to the Atlantic coast and soldiers there would have arrived by sea. He has arrived to Nantes and is thinking about the woman he left behind on the home-front. Her smile gets him through the hell he must witness. He is frightened by what he sees and in his spare time he beds with another woman (explained in the chorus). "...in a year or a year or so" means that whenever the war is over, he feels that everything he has done in Nantes, both the war and his affair, will be absolved by the sea. He finishes by once again, reflecting on his loved ones smile.

"Nobody raise your voices Just another night to mourn to Nobody raise your voices Just another night to mourn to"

This is the chorus to the song. The line "Nobody raise your voices" could mean two things. Either he is so sickened by his transgression that he doesn't want anybody to be too loud, should his lover hear his sin from all the way across the Atlantic. He could also be trying to rationalize his actions, by stating that what he is doing is no reason for anybody to get upset or "raise their voices" he is just doing what he must to survive the horror of war. Whatever it may be, his actions have become habit for him now and possibly an addiction. He feels helpless to control this fate that has been set for him, and although he realizes that these nights are in need of mourning, he feels like a bystander in his life unable to control the outcome.

• Oh non je t'en prie, nous ne sommes pas chez nous.
• Oh je t'assures que ce n'est pas grave.
• Non laisse moi!
• Mais qu'est-ce que tu as aujourd'hui?
• Je sais que les hommes me dégoutent. Vous ne pensez qu'à ça...

Translation: (-Oh no please, we're not at home. -I'm telling you, it's allright. -No, let me go! -What is wrong with you today? -I know the men disgust me. You all just think about one thing...)

This is a recording of a dialogue from the French film La Bête Humaine(1938)("The Human Beast"). The movie is a chilling psychological drama, considered to be ahead of its time, that has become a cult classic. The dialogue mean to represent a specific moment in the main characters life in Nantes. He attempts to redeem sexual favors with his mistress in a place that is public, or at least not "home". It is at this point that he realizes what he has become during his time away from home. War and separation from the things he cherishes have sent him into a state where he can't recognize his former self. This dialogue represents the definitive moment of clarity in his life. He realizes the repercussions of what he has done.

Well it's been a long time, long time now Since I've seen you smile And I'll gamble away my fright And I'll gamble away my time And in a year, a year or so This will slip into the sea Well it's been a long time, long time now Since I've seen you smile

This is the third and final verse of the song. It is an exact repeat of the first, but it takes on a different meaning here. He has been back from the War for some time now, but rather than tell the truth and face his lover so that he may begin anew, he is consumed by guilt and does not see her upon his return. It has thus "been a long time" since he has seen her smile. He wishes to come to terms with his "fright" so that he may face her again but all he has accomplished is to "gamble away my time". He wants time to heal what has occurred, that it will simply "slip into the sea" but he knows in his heart that something that is so profound is not healed by time alone. This is illustrated by the fact that he is unsure of how long it may take(a year or a year or so). It ends with a small sliver of hope. He has fixated on her smile. It is a beacon that through everything, the war, his affair, his depression and loneliness, he could have her again. It isn't just her he wants back, it's his humanity; his soul.