Blêmes is a poetic adjective meaning "pale" or "wan," often used to describe a complexion lacking color due to illness or fear. It’s an evocative and uncommon word that you won't hear in everyday conversation.
In the song, Pomme sings, "C'en est assez des amours blêmes" (I've had enough of pale loves). She uses this word metaphorically to describe relationships that are lifeless, passionless, and faded. This beautiful, melancholic imagery perfectly captures the feeling of being tired of insincere or empty love stories.
This song is a beautiful, bittersweet look back at a relationship that has ended. Pomme isn't angry or screaming, she's just thinking about what happened. She remembers how precious their story felt, calling it golden: "C'était comme de l'or notre histoire" (Our story was like gold). She recalls her partner's romantic gestures, like quoting French poets and saying the sky was bluer with her.
But there's a shadow of doubt. She wonders if her ex ever really meant it. Were their declarations of love just words tossed around like wishes, "que tu balançais comme des voeux"? The song's title comes from the chorus, where she makes a promise. If she manages to get through this heartbreak "à peu près" (more or less), she swears she'll find them again someday. It's a strange, uncertain kind of hope, isn't it? She's not promising to be perfectly fine, just okay enough to maybe try again.
Pomme is the stage name of Claire Pommet, a singer and songwriter born in 1996 near Lyon, France. She began solfège lessons at six and sang in a children's choir before turning to guitar, drawing early on chanson artists like Michel Polnareff that her father played around the house. She played her first Paris show at La Boule Noire in 2017, the same year she released her debut album, À peu près, which reached the French charts.
Her second album, Les failles, came out in 2019 and gave her a French top ten album. She has won two Victoires de la Musique, in 2020 and 2021, and followed with the albums Consolation, En cavale, and Saisons. In 2024 she recorded music with Stromae for Netflix's animated series Arcane. She married Quebecois singer Safia Nolin in 2022, after the two first met and dated back in 2016.