Le Coup de Soleil

Richard Cocciante's 'Le Coup de Soleil' is a French song that translates to 'The Sunburn' in English, but the term is used metaphorically to describe a powerful, overwhelming feeling of love. The lyrics convey the intensity of falling in love, likening it to getting a sunburn - something that can happen suddenly and leaves a lasting impression. The song captures the essence of an infatuation that is so strong it disrupts the narrator's daily life and sleep, filling his thoughts with images of the beloved.

The song's verses describe the narrator's emotional turmoil and the changes in his life since falling in love. He speaks of his inability to sleep, his daydreams, and the way his world has turned upside down. The beloved has become his muse, inspiring his songs and inhabiting his thoughts. The imagery of sailing on ships that wreck and seeing the beloved descending from a rainbow adds a dreamlike quality to the song, emphasizing the surreal nature of his feelings.

Despite the beauty of his feelings, there is a sense of longing and absence. The repeated line 'Mais tu n'es pas là' ('But you are not here') underscores the pain of unrequited or distant love. The narrator expresses a desire to cross over to the beloved's world, to visit her paradise, which suggests a yearning for closeness and connection that remains unfulfilled. The song ends with a resolve to take action, to 'make the jump' and possibly confront the beloved with his feelings, despite the risk of falling into the void - a metaphor for the potential heartbreak or rejection that may come with such vulnerability.