☝️ Key Points
- The song lyrics tell the story of a grieving widow who prays and mourns her deceased husband at the cemetery.
- The singer is fascinated by the grace and wildness of the widow.
- An angel appears and announces that their hearts have been pierced by an evil arrow.
- The widow and the singer have a passionate encounter where they love each other so intensely that they could die.
- The singer remembers the beautiful stranger who tells him words of love in Spanish while they are at the rustic cemetery.
Interpretation
The lyrics of the song 'La veuve' by
Pierre Perret tell the story of a grieving widow who prays and mourns her deceased husband at the cemetery. The singer observes her and becomes fascinated by her grace and wildness. She seems to be like a migratory bird that only sees the horizon.
Suddenly, an angel appears and announces that their hearts have been pierced by an evil arrow. The widow throws herself into the singer's arms and opens her silk coat, which looks like a bouquet of lilies. She has the body of a gypsy and a mouth with pure lines. Under a plane tree, she unties the singer's belt and begins to caress him with her lips.
She undresses him and leaves star-shaped marks on his chest with her teeth. The widow treats the singer with love and passion. They love each other so intensely that they could die for it. The singer claims that no one can forget the words she said and that he has never met a woman as good as her.
The singer never sees the angel again, who was a mixture of Carmen and Cinderella for him. But he remembers the beautiful stranger who speaks words of love to him in Spanish while they are in the rustic cemetery. He remembers with a pounding heart how he held grace in person, who came and went as she had come.