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My parents were children during WWII. I heard lots of stories, read books. Since my visit to Bergen Belsen in 1990, it took me a long time before daring going to Auschwitz, that is to say before thinking I would have the energy to put my head back again into these kinds of facts, in situ.
Easter 2016. Flight arrival to Krakow. I knew I would go visiting the Oświęcim area and ex-Nazi camps some days later. Thinking at it and by anticipation, I felt guilty. Guilty to belong to that human beings group and thinking human beings should only have a place in a museum. In my room on Smolensk street, re-modeling and completing a preconceived melody theme I carried with me for few months, the music of "our visit to the human museum" was done quite quickly, then I took 2 days for the lyrics.
Time passed by. Back from the camps. I started to deepen the concept of "the elephants of love" (I had the title and the project in a corner of my mind for more than 10 years) to oppose that guilty feeling and restore some hope in an hypothetical far future, visited by aliens, on a planet -the Earth- where those elephants of love, the only survivors, would rule. Because they were capable of finding their heart.
Explanation/ source of some lyrics.
"And after all we watched the tide, bringing the bodies of some brave soldiers."
As he was about 10, my father was walking along the coast in Pornic -France (where he would meet my mum some 15 years later)- and had suddenly noticed some strange things in the sea. He didn't see clearly what it was from far. But he was told it was dead soldiers (presumably American or British) brought there by the sea currents. Along the years, I have heard that story few times and built up an image of it.
And what, today?
Today, refugees can be seen like those soldiers, dying on the sea, late victims of wars (incl. economical) and also, as in the camps, victims of a total lack of values.
The lack of values.
We act because of our values. Loosing them is about loosing our world coherence. There we are.
The observation of a complete lack of values (basic safety rules, human rights, solidarity, fair treatment etc.) when entering in the active life where most companies ignored decency in everyday little actions they imposed to their employees has been a shock to me. As a reaction, the lack of values remains at the root of my lyrics production.
As some philosophers say (e.g. Michel Serre), money has nowadays become a predominant value (was it that different in the past?). Money becomes key in all aspects of our social relationships, for the worse.
Money became a religion (what brings money is "good"), with multiple gurus: liberal governments privatizing the state profits (selling strategic and healthy national resources (e.g. sea areas, airports, agricultural parcels, forests...) and nationalizing the private companies' debts (e.g. numerous banks in 2008), meanwhile arguing about the lack of public funds to finance public solidarity for the common good (health & education systems, unemployment and social allowances etc.) and our energy transition to get rid off our fossile energies. Where shall we end up next ?
Continuing loosing our world coherence leads us straight forward to our museum.
Nicolas Dubreil
lyrics
“Dear visitors,
I hope you had a nice and pleasant journey on your spaceship.
In the name of all the elephants of love, I address you a warm welcome to Earth. Today, I suggest you to start with the visit of our human museum. Human beings used to rule this planet a long time ago.
If I am looking to my left, I guess this is a mass murder crime
When I am aiming to my right, I believe we have got genocide
You see, my son, we are at the human museum !
Some of them said « well, never mind !», they decided to look straight ahead
Others said « well, as we mind, we would rather find love at our programme »
Look, my daughter, that is the human museum !
« Daddy, this church is full of light, why do you think there were people and fire inside ? »
« Daddy, tell me this human kind had so many flags, what was it all about ? »
Welcome children, welcome, you are at the human museum !
And after all we watched the tide, bringing the bodies of some brave soldiers
Digging, climbing, petrified, it’s pretty how they flourish side by side
My dear son, my dear daughter, how have you found our visit to the human museum?
Nicolas Dubreil
credits
from the elephants of love,
released March 18, 2018
Nicolas Dubreil (talking & singing, guitar, Lyrics & music)
Adam Stępniowski (drums)
Dominik Matczak - violin
Łukasz Laxy (cello)
Szymon Fymon (double bass)
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