☝️ Key Points
- The song lyrics pose the question of whether people really live as expected of them.
- It's about changes and the feeling of dissatisfaction.
- The text has a nostalgic note and recalls past times.
- Specific places and people like the Hohenzollern district and Lola are mentioned.
- The text ends with the story of Lola, who will soon be leaving, and raises the question again of whether this is really the way people live their lives.
Interpretation
The lyrics of the song "Est-ce ainsi que les hommes vivent?" by
Léo Ferré deal with the question of how men live their lives. Ferré poses the question of whether this is really how people live their lives and if their kisses follow them into the distance.
The text speaks of changes and the feeling of dissatisfaction. Ferré describes how he betrays himself and loses himself. He feels like a shadow figure who loses himself in the arms of different women, hoping to find a home. Ferré questions whether this is really the way men live their lives.
The text also has a nostalgic note and recalls past times. Ferré describes a time when everything was unreasonable and the dead sat like guests at the table. He describes a world where everything is in disarray and he himself does not understand his role.
Ferré also mentions specific places like the Hohenzollern district and describes the beauty of Lola, a woman he loved. He remembers the sad songs of the wild geese flying over the city, awakening memories of the poet Rainer Maria Rilke in him.
The text ends with the story of Lola, who will soon be leaving. It is mentioned that there are other soldiers in the city and that civilians appear at night. Ferré describes the moment when a dragon stabs a knife into Lola's heart and once again poses the question of whether this is really the way people live their lives.
Overall, the lyrics of the song "Est-ce ainsi que les hommes vivent?" by Léo Ferré reflect poetically on life, love, and the question of whether we really live as expected of us.