La Mer

Album:The Fragile

Length:4:37

Tempo:{{{BPM}}} BPM

Versions:La Mer
La Mer (Version)
La Mer (And All That Could Have Been)—DVD/VHS

Live:Fragility v1.0 through Performance 2007

"La Mer" is the eleventh track from the Left disc of The Fragile. It begins with piano chords accompanied by standup bass and is then accentuated by drums playing a jazz rhythm and e-bow guitar. This is one of the few songs by Nine Inch Nails that is played with almost all acoustic instruments. It consists of a 3/4 time signature superimposed over a 4/4 time signature. Its main melodic elements and bassline are taken in a different direction with "Into The Void."

The lyrics are in Creole French. It is one of the many NIN songs that includes the phrase "Nothing Can Stop Me Now," and one of the few to include a vocalist other than Trent Reznor. In addition, it was the first instrumental written for The Fragile. [1]

Trent Reznor has stated that "Adrift And At Peace" is the conclusion to "La Mer." (Source)

Influences

It can be argued that the song is heavily infuenced by the Debussy piece of the same name. Both songs build up to create a sonic atmosphere, and both are (obviously) titled the same. It is very similar to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles, in that it layers many, many instruments to induce atonality and the said sonic atmosphere.

Song Credits

• Vocals: Denise Milfort
• Drums: Bill Rieflin
• Cello: Willie

Appearances

Halos

• The Fragile
• And All That Could Have Been (DVD/VHS)

Seeds

• The Definitive NIN - Quiet Tracks

Versions

La Mer

This is the original album version. Its piano theme is also used at the end of "We're in This Together." On The Fragile vinyl, the introductory piano chords and standup bass are repeated one extra time before the solo begins over top, and the ending denouement is slightly longer, featuring more spoken samples. Because of this, the transition into "The Great Below" is also slightly different than the CD version.

La Mer (Version)

An nin.com exclusive from The Fragile era, this remix by Jerome Dillon and Keith Hillebrandt features much more percussion-oriented loops, using atmospheric and base elements from the original.

La Mer (And All That Could Have Been)

This live version is a pure instrumental, with a guitar playing the xylophone part.

Live

On And All That Could Have Been, "La Mer" is performed live against the backdrop of three visual screens that display images of the sea. Towards the end of the song, Reznor presses against the screen on the center and moves his hands across the panel, as the blurry image of a woman appears and the screen fades to black.

Lyrics

Creole French

   Et il est un jour arrivé
   Marteler le ciel
   Et marteler la mer
   
   Et la mer avait embrassé moi
   Et la délivré moi de ma cellule
   
   Rien ne peut m'arrêter maintenant

English Translation

    And when the day arrives
    I'll become the sky
    And I'll become the sea
    
    And the sea will come to kiss me
    For I am going
    Home
    
    Nothing can stop me now

There is an alternate, more literal translation of the lyrics:

    And the day has arrived
    To thresh the sky
    And to thresh the sea
    
    And the sea has embraced me
    And it has dispensed me from my cage
    
    Nothing can stop me now