Voyage
By: Beck Hansen

Written by: Beck Hansen

Versions:
  1. Voyage (4:05)
    Available on IRM.
    Credits
    Beck Hansen: Bass, Guitar (Acoustic), keyboards, Producer
    David Campbell: Conductor, String Arrangement
    Joey Waronker: Drums, Percussion
    Drew Brown: Effects
    Alex Acuna: Percussion
    Brian Lebarton: Percussion
    Charlotte Gainsbourg: Vocals
  2. Voyage (Sunset Sound Session)
    Available on Sunset Sound.
 
Lyrics:
Voyage [Version (a)]:

Voyage au bout de la nuit
Voyage au bout de la nuit
Voyage au bout de la nuit
Plumes sauvages
Le mirage
Kerozene
Au gris gris
Rattlesnake
Cadillac
Race humaine
Espace vie
Voyage au bout de la nuit

We could go au bout du monde
Till the end of the night
We could go au bout du monde
Till the end of the night
Voyage au bout de la nuit
We could go
Journey till the end of the night

Guitare noire
Lame rasoire
Porte bonheur
Accroche coeur
Vagabond
Bottle blond
Cicatrice
Sacrifice
Voyage au bout de la nuit

We could go au bout du monde
Till the end of the night
We could go au bout du monde
Till the end of the night
Voyage au bout de la nuit
We could go
Journey till the end of the night

Voyage au bout de la nuit
 
The Song:

"Voyage" can be found on Charlotte Gainsbourg's album, IRM. Beck wrote and produced the entire album.

The music is a bit intense, a combo of acoustic funk and strings. It is definitely one of my favorites on the album.

The song itself mixes French phrases with a little bit of English words. I don't know what all the phrases mean, but the idea of life as a journey is a recurring theme I've written about on a few other IRM songs.

More directly, Voyage Au Bout De La Nuit is the name of a book by French existentialist, Louis-Ferdinand Celine. In English, the book is referred to as Journey To The End Of Night. Further of note, that book's sequel is called Mort Au Credit, and is referred to in English translations as Death On The Installment Plan. Beck uses THAT title as a lyric in "Landslide." Beck has been using a lot of French artistic/literate references the past few years, and "Voyage" really embodies that.