« Au lieu d’ouvrir son cœur et son esprit, Lalanne aurait dû fermer sa gueule ». Quelques problèmes posés par la chanson sur la migration

Abstract

Since the publication of Ursula Mathis-Moser’s groundbreaking monograph in 1984, we consider the semiotic triad of text, music, and interpretation when analysing a chanson. We could add to this triad the mise en scene on stage whose importance has continuously increased since Aristide Bruant and the Montmartre chanson. It is not simply the superposition of these elements (text, melody, voice, gestures, scenery, light) that is responsible for the effect of a chanson on the public, but their interplay. To illustrate the aesthetic problems a chanson engagee (e.g. about migration) can raise, I will analyse Francis Lalanne’s song “Plus jamais ca!” (2015), which was written and composed for refugees and their aides. It was first diffused as a video clip on internet where it triggered a wave of indignation and derision. By analysing the interplay of the three dimensions of the chanson mentioned above and by comparing “Plus jamais ca” to Christophe Mae’s “Eldorado,” I will demonstrate that the will to engage is not enough in order for a chanson to be successful. The political or humanitarian chanson must avoid any disturbance of the ‘unity of message’ produced by text, music, interpretation, and visual effects.