OUTRO (il était)

Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a stark picture of life in the "9.3" (a French department known for its diverse and often marginalized communities), framed by the recurring fairy tale opening, "Il était une fois" (Once upon a time). This juxtaposition immediately sets a tone of grim reality masquerading as a story, suggesting that the narrator's experiences are far from magical. The opening lines establish a need for difficult choices to "build something," hinting at a life where survival and progress demand compromise and potentially morally ambiguous actions. The environment is depicted as one where "there are only involved people," where making oneself heard requires violence and where laws are absent. This creates an immediate sense of a lawless, high-stakes existence. The central tension arises from the narrator's forced participation in this environment to survive and achieve anything. The lyrics explicitly state, "To get out, he had to serve you (and cross you)," and "He had to use it, kill someone (to do you a favor)." This highlights a profound conflict: the need to engage in harmful acts, even for perceived service or necessity, to navigate a system that offers no other path. The value of life is brutally reduced to "not worth 100 grams of re-pu" (a slang term for drugs), underscoring the dehumanizing conditions and the constant threat of violence. Despite this, the lyrics emphasize loyalty: "The family is big, never turn your back," and the obligation to "retaliate." The most striking craft element is the persistent use of "Il était une fois" to introduce scenes of urban struggle and criminal activity. This fairy tale opening is subverted by gritty details like "clics" (guns), "shooting," "parloir" (prison visiting room), "guetteur" (lookout), "forcer les péages" (forcing toll booths), and "pipes à crack" (crack pipes). The contrast between the innocent opening and the harsh reality creates a powerful irony, suggesting that for those in this environment, their "story" is one of constant conflict and survival rather than enchantment. The repetition of "Il était une fois" acts as a refrain, reinforcing the cyclical nature of this life and the narrator's perceived destiny within it. These lyrics are effective because they ground abstract concepts of survival and desperation in concrete, visceral imagery. The juxtaposition of the fairy tale trope with brutal street realities forces the listener to confront the harshness of the depicted world. The directness of phrases like "buter un mec" (kill a guy) and the specific criminal activities listed leave no room for romanticization. The concluding dedication "To those who left / To those close we know who have left" adds a layer of poignant loss, suggesting that this life often ends prematurely, making the "once upon a time" framing even more tragic and resonant.