Berceuses

Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a somber picture of "Berceuses" (lullabies or perhaps elderly women, given the context) who are no longer active, their elders gone, and now sleep in unison under the "shadow of a balcony at sunset." This stillness suggests a fading existence, a quiet end where they "don't move anymore, they don't crack anymore." The dominant tone is one of melancholic reflection on aging and memory. The central tension arises from the contrast between the "sweet and difficult" wind of a story and the fear of being forgotten. The lullabies are asked to "rock, rock so as not to die in our forgetfulness," highlighting a desperate plea against oblivion. This is amplified by the stark final lines, "We will forget them, we will resell them to other old friends," which suggests a cyclical, almost transactional, approach to memory and perhaps the elderly themselves, stripping away any inherent value. The most striking craft element is the personification of "Berceuses" as beings who "refresh our memory" while simultaneously being at risk of being forgotten and "resold." This duality creates a poignant irony: the very entities meant to preserve memory are themselves fading and subject to being discarded. The repeated "Bercez, bercez" acts as a desperate chant, a plea for continued existence and remembrance against the encroaching darkness of "forgetfulness."