Urbanisme – Vald (traduction) Translation: Dear, those youngsters, you should see them See them and hear them Seeing how they shout every night And then eat some shit You should see them at the lane For Kebab or at the square For drugs or some shit They smoke weed, what’s that ? Back in my days, they were blocks Because there were already blocks But these blocks were clean There were flowers, there were doors Now, it’s gloomy, there are only halls Halls with youngsters Who do nothing but trash Then drink, then stink What do they talk about ? Besides guns, life and dogs ? With the world’s misery on their shoulders Getting up early is too hard ? Well then, let them run away forever Let them go far, yeah, far away I live upstairs Back in my days, there were teachers Kids who enjoyed work Great police forces and underground punks We were funny, but not vulgar We were young and careless But them, they scream Leaning on the walls of the building They’re unemployed, drugged They’re worth nothing, let me tell you They’re stealers, marginals They’re worthless, I know them They graffiti, they tag They trash the stairs They piss in the elevator For god’s sake, you gotta be crazy For these youngster, there’s no censor No, they’re worth shit. They whine about the streets When it’s actually them who ruined it Me, I watch TV I heartily insult them I hate their jeering looks And I mostly hate it When I wake up in the neighborhood Dear, if only I was rich, sitting down on my barge Yeah, I hate my neighborhood Everything’s ugly and grey Everything nods, it’s horrible Dear, if only I was rich (Chorus) Dear, if only I was rich (dear, if only I was rich) Sitting down on my barge Dear, if only I was rich (dear, if only I was rich) Dear, if only I was rich Dear, if only I was rich (dear, if only I was rich) Sitting down on my barge Sitting down (Dear, if only I was rich) Sitting down on my barge, there was V on the playlist When I was born, there were towers Towers and then towers I had friends who were crazy They jumped classes and travelled Down the towers, I didn’t get it I told him “Buddy, you’re crazy ?” We see towers all day You get out, only to come back next Make detours, I don’t know Go around, see something else “V, you’re deaf or what ? I told you, down the towers I make cash Between classes and towers I prefer cash for my groceries” Yeah, there are courses and then groceries And then cash down the towers And the red eyes, everything’s pretty It’s pretty when you’re drunk Or else it’s crazy how it’s dirty Yeah, it’s blurred Clean up, it’s a mess Excuse me ladies But these damages are not ours These old hags, I know them Bitches avoiding death From above, they watch us and mock us One day born, then gone Everybody reads the news It’s legendary to be such a… (slut, slut, slut) Dear, if only I was rich Sitting down on my barge I’d like to leave Beriz Live the dream of being a peasant In the ranks, I feel the danger I only care about eating Avenge ? Avenge what ? I’d like to think I don’t have a plan B It’s not me, it’s what’s around I don’t care, I raise my voice But you don’t know what’s going on Down the towers Crazies making a scene Nutcases making a fuss Rooftops getting full So much, I lose my head So each night, with weed I think that if I was rich I’d be on my barge With V in the playlist So each night, with weed I think that if I was rich I’d be on my barge With V in the playlist But I’d need weed for that. Dear, if only I was rich (dear, if only I was rich) Sitting down on my barge Dear, if only I was rich (dear, if only I was rich) Dear, if only I was rich Dear, if only I was rich (dear, if only I was rich) Sitting down on my barge Sitting down (Dear, if only I was rich) Sitting down on my barge, there was V on the playlist
The artist: Vald (a pseudonym based on his first name Valentin) is a rapper originating from Ausnay-Sous-Bois. Lyrically, his universe is based on a heavy use of dark, absurd humor which mixes social commentary, egotrips and conspiracy theories. Throughout his projects, he has developed an inconsistent style which is mostly influenced by American rappers of his kind such as Young Thug or Future, as well as French rappers such as Booba and Alkpote. Songs such as Bonjour and Eurotrap are one of his most recognizable bangers and efficiently present Vald’s humor. The song: Outside of the usual trashy humor Vald is known for, Urbanisme is a song telling the story of two characters living in the same neighborhood. One is old, the other is young. Comprised of two major verses, each character has a verse where they talk about their daily lives. The first one presents the old character as an irritated grump who blames society’s current state on the current youth while second one presents the young character who is struggling with selling drugs. We start off with the complains of the old character about the modern days he lives in. Even though he was also a punk in his old days, he was doing it in his own right way, thinking that the new thugs are just plain vulgar and trashy. While the old character criticizes the youth, he’s also complaining about the current society, its modern architectures and how the authorities have become more permissive towards vandalism (a fact which is debated between young and old people in urban cities). In the chorus, he wishes he could become rich, own a barge (which is known as a luxury type of housing in France) and listen to V (one of Vald’s pseudonyms). The fact that the old man listens to Vald’s music might come off as odd, but it could mean two things: either he enjoys modern music while hating the young people which are affiliated to it, or Vald just makes a boastful statement about how his music could be listened by everyone. The old man also asserts the fact that everybody nods to what’s currently happening in his society, thinking that it has become passive to what’s going on. The second verse shows us the young character, who is most likely based on Vald himself. His main complaint is about his friends who make money by selling drugs. Vald makes alliterations around the words Tower, Course and Groceries (Tour, cours, courses). Vald’s friends ditch class and go out, strolling around towers (which is a way of calling HLMs which are common public housings in the Parisian region). Obviously, these towers are spots for them to sell drugs, hence the line “Between courses and towers, I prefer cash for my groceries”. The other line “Yeah, it’s blurred / Clean up, it’s a mess” is a reference to the states of consuming drugs (taking the drug, having a trip, and regretting it). After our young character’s daily life is presented, the second verse ends with him (probably) talking to the old character. He defends himself about the fact that he isn’t causing the trouble mentioned in the first verse, by blaming other youngsters (“But these damages are not ours“). There’s also a nice double meaning with the term “These damages”. It could simply translate to “ces dégâts” in french which, misheard, gives us “C’est des gars” (It’s those guys). No matter how it’s written, it still stays in context. The young character also defends himself about how he’s easily blamed for being part of a generation which is disliked by the previous ones. It’s all a matter of perspectives and the young character just tries his best to live his life, besides living in a troubled neighborhood. This is heavily asserted in the line “But you don’t know what’s going on / Down the towers / Crazies making a scene /Nutcases making a fuss /Rooftops getting full / So much, I lose my head” Just like the old character, he also wishes to become rich, own a barge, and listen to V (but also wishes to smoke weed along with that) before the song ends. Besides their differences of age and background, the two characters are connected by the ideal life they want and also have their own problems. The instrumental also portrays the two different times that the characters are from: the violins are reminiscent of Yann Tiersen’s works, which were inspired by popular music during the first half of the 20th century. Meanwhile, the hip-hop influenced drumloop marks the tempo and is common in modern rap beats.
Trivial note: There are three music videos for the song based on a single scene of Vald going out to buy cigarettes. Each music video films the scene at a different period of the day.
