Apprivoiser les avions

Song Meaning

The lyrics open with a poignant, repeated plea to return to Mirabel, a place tied to supersonic planes and shared moments. This refrain immediately establishes a deep sense of nostalgia, a yearning for a specific past that feels both vivid and just out of reach. The narrator is clearly grappling with powerful, lingering memories. This profound longing is complicated by a stark reality: the "you" addressed has moved on, having "pris mari" and children. The lyrics suggest a past journey that led to "le trou noir le plus proche," a path of destructive potential. Yet, amidst this acknowledgment of irreversible change, the narrator insists that "L'amour qui nous traverse le ventre / N'est pas tuable," creating a powerful tension between an undeniable, enduring connection and the altered circumstances of life. The imagery throughout is striking and often surreal, blending the mundane with the profound. A "shotgun sur la table à pique-nique" hints at a hidden edge to past tranquility, while planes become "baleines montées sur roues," transforming the mechanical into something vast and almost mythical. Even the sun "crache au visage / Des bâtons de lumière," imbuing nature with a harsh, almost personal quality that mirrors the narrator's inner turmoil. What makes these lyrics so effective is their refusal of simple closure. The repeated call to Mirabel, a "temps qui n'existe plus," anchors a persistent ache. Yet, the narrator claims to have "apprivoisé les avions / Qui frôlent le toit de ma maison / Et qui l'arrachent parfois." This final, complex image suggests a hard-won peace: an acceptance of past disruptions that still graze the present, sometimes tearing it apart, but are now, crucially, "tamed." It's a raw, honest portrayal of living with enduring love and its aftermath.