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"Manhattan-Kaboul" is a French song written by Renaud and composed by Jean-Pierre Bucolo, sung by Renaud in duo with Axelle Red, in the album Boucan d'enfer, released in 2002. It was written in the aftermath of the incidents of September 11, 2001 and the War in Afghanistan. The song was elected the "Original Song of the Year" at the Victoires de la Musique 2003 and the "French song of the Year" at NRJ Music Awards 2003.[1]
In the text, two victims of the events of 2001 sing about their situations and the causes of their death. Renaud sings as a Puerto-Rican who works in the World Trade Center in New York, destroyed on September 11. Axelle Red sings as a young Afghan girl killed during the attack of the coalition forces during the Autumn of 2001.
[edit] Symbolism and imagery
The song utilises very good symbolism and imagery, with a subtle religious undertone throughout the song. The reason for this may be to illustrate that terrorism comes as a result of religion. Even though the song is about terrorism and its repercussions, it does not directly mention terrorism, but again symbolism is used as a metaphor; "La Violence Eternelle," which translated to English, is "the Eternal Violence."
There are many religious aspects throughout the song: some are disguised but others are blatantly obvious, such as l'autel (the altar), les dieux (the gods) and les religions.
[edit] Cover versions and TV performances
- Patrick Coutin, who had composed the famous hit "J'aime regarder les filles" in 1981, has covered the song in 2003 for the French programme Retour gagnant : a CD containing all the songs from the show has been released by Universal Music.[2]
- Renaud performed "Manhattan-Kaboul" on October 30, 2004, with 500 singer from the choir "Les Fous chantants" of Alès on the show 500 Choristes ensemble on TF1.
- The song has been covered by Joan Baez.
- Philippe Berizzi has translated the song in Esperanto (he has received a permission for the translation).
- Laurent Gerra has parodied the song, under the title "Washington-Bagdad".[3]
[edit] Tracklist
- CD single
- "Manhattan-Kaboul" (3:52)
- "Tout Arrêter..." (3:21)
[edit] Certification
| Country |
Certification |
Sales |
| France |
Platinum[4] |
500,000+ |
[edit] Charts
[edit] References
- ^ "Manhattan-Kaboul", Le Monde, May 26, 2005 Prato.linux.it (Retrieved April 9, 2008)
- ^ Retour gagnant, track listing Lescharts.com (Retrieved April 9, 2008)
- ^ Lyrics of "Washington-Baghdad" Abcmusiques.net (Retrieved April 9, 2008)
- ^ Axelle Red's certifications, by the SNEP Chartsinfrance.net (Retrieved April 9, 2008)
- ^ "Manhattan-Kaboul", in Belgian, French and Swiss Singles Charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
- ^ "Manhattan-Kaboul", in European and World Charts Top40-charts.com (Retrieved May 6, 2008)
- ^ Euro 200 Apcchart.com (Retrieved May 17, 2008)
- ^ 2002 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved April 9, 2008)
- ^ a b 2002 French Airplay and Video Charts Yacast.fr (Retrieved May 17, 2008)
- ^ 2002 French Singles Chart Ifop.com (Retrieved April 9, 2008)
This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding French Wikipedia article as of 2008-04-09.
