In the song "Alexandrie, Alexandra" (Claude François) there is the line:
" La lumière du phare d'Alexandrie / Fait naufrager les papillons de ma jeunesse"
which literally translates to:
"The light from the lighthouse in Alexandria [Egypt] / Shipwrecked the butterflies of my youth"
Since butterflies don't normally get shipwrecked, I'm wondering if this phrase has another meaning in French.
Thanks for the insight...
And why wouldn’t the butterflies sink?
I think that it’s a "poetic" image...😉
Maybe a metaphor that the first person narrator became more interested in archeology than his original childhood dream of becoming something else, an artist or so?
Interpretation without context is difficult.
I would say that here butterflies are probably a symbol of recklessness, but one should not dig too deep, the lyrics are whimsical and not without humor.
Definitely not an idiomatic expression. I suppose it has to do with moths being drawn to the flame, and "shipwreck" goes well with "lighthouse" and "mermaids".
A youngster drawn to his doom into a city of perdition by painted Jezebels? :)
Just a cheap poetical mannerism. "Cloclo" is not famous for his contribution to French literature! But he himself finally played the role of the butterflies!
Don't know about treacherous girls, but you seem to agree with Mickey about Cloclo
Do you feel butterflies in your stomach when you are young? I do ;)
I'm no fluent French speaker, but may have something to do with them.
This metaphor exists in many languages but, strangely enough, it doesn't work in French.
Perhaps he was thinking of nouilles papillon ? ;)
Oh right, now I get it: "The sirens of Alexandria's headlight shipwreck the bow ties of my youngsters."
