Gjon’s Tears will sing “Tout l’Univers” (“All The Universe”) for Switzerland at Eurovision 2021. The Swiss-Albanian star wants to spread a message of hope, positivity, and determination: “It was important for us to keep hope in this particularly difficult time: we must not give up and we must stay strong. With love, friendship, strength and courage, we can rebuild our future. I am convinced that in this exceptional situation it is possible to rediscover and reinvent ourselves.”
Scroll down for “Tout l’Univers” lyrics
Switzerland in Eurovision 2021: Gjon’s Tears “Tout l’Univers”
Gjon’s Tears — real name Gjon Muharremaj — has been a musical soul ever since he was a child. His stage name was inspired by a monumental moment in his young life, when a nine-year-old Gjon moved his grandfather to tears with his childhood rendition of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love”. Gjon’s grandfather was so moved by his grandson’s voice, as well as convinced of his talent, that he registered him for the first season of Albania’s Got Talent in 2011. The then 12-year-old would go on to finish an outstanding third in the final.
A year later he would go on to reach the semi-finals of the Swiss version of the same show, Die grössten Schweizer Talente. In 2019, he auditioned for the eighth season of the French singing competition The Voice: la plus belle voix and reached the semi-finals with Team Mika. On March 4, 2020, Swiss public broadcaster SRF confirmed that Gjon had been internally selected. Just two days after Eurovision 2020’s cancellation due to the coronavirus pandemic, Gjon was internally selected once again to represent Switzerland at the 2021 edition of the contest. His song was also internally selected.
What do the “Tout l’Univers” lyrics mean?
“Tout l’Univers” was written by Gjon, alongside songwriters Wouter Hardy, Nina Sampermans, and Xavier Michel as part of a song-writing camp. He hopes that the mixture of solo voice, choirs, pianos, and strings, mixed with modern rhythms will give his entry a unique sound.
The song finds its opening inspiration in the theme of growing up in a world that can often turn empty, harsh, and cold. “The void in my head, not a single place to hide, the dawn is fading, behind a field of ruins”. He vividly describes how hard it can be for us to pick up the pieces of a lifetime of baggage from past hurts when he emotes the lines, “It’s time to grow up, don’t hold yourself back, I see pieces of you behind us, and I see what pain has made me.” Intense!
But the chorus then kicks in with the even more important, and central theme, of the song: Everything boils down to loving one another, and taking that risk to love again, even when we’ve been hurt in the past. “The whole universe, our two hearts under the ground, at the centre of the rifts where everything explodes, being at the point of impact, without you”. Gjon’s words seem to almost want to move us to realise that there is power in the beautiful love between two people. When we allow ourselves to let go of the brokenness that remains from past relationships and open ourselves up to love again, anything is truly possible! It’s an inspiring message that could really hit home with a combination of Gjon’s emotional delivery and thoughtful staging in Rotterdam.
“Tout l’Univers” lyrics — Gjon’s Tears (Switzerland ESC 2021)
Written and Composed by: Gjon Muharremaj, Nina Sampermans, Wouter Hardy, and Xavier Michel
French text |
English translaton |
| Laisser le vent qui frôle Sa main sur mon épaule Le vide dans ma tête Pas la moindre cachette C’est l’aube qui décline Derrière un champ de ruine Le moment de grandir Ne pas te retenir Je vois derrière nous des morceaux de toi Et ce que la douleur a fait de moi Tout l’univers Nos deux coeurs sous la terre Au milieu des failles où tout éclate Se trouver au point d’impact Sans toi Que deviendront nos souffles S’ils restent sur le bord ? Cet amour qui nous tord Je vois derrière nous des morceaux de toi Et ce que la douleur a fait de moi Tout l’univers Nos deux coeurs sous la terre Au milieu des failles où tout éclate Se trouver au point d’impact Sans toi Derrière mes paupières Trouver de l’air Ah (Tout l’univers) (Nos deux coeurs sous la terre) Au milieu des failles et des ressacs Nous nous retrouverons au point d’impact Comment soigner nos coeurs qui éclatent Tout l’univers |
Let the wind brush His/her hand over my shoulder The void in my head Not a single place to hide The dawn is fading Behind a field of ruins It’s time to grow up Don’t hold yourself back I see pieces of you behind us And I see what pain has made of me The whole universe Our two hearts under the ground At the centre of the rifts where everything explodes Being at the point of impact Without you What will happen to our breaths If they stay on the shore? This love that wrings us out I see pieces of you behind us And I see what pain has made of me The whole universe Our two hearts under the ground At the centre of the rifts where everything explodes Being at the point of impact Without you Behind my eyelids Get some air Ah (The whole universe) (Our two hearts under the ground) At the centre of the rifts and the aftershocks We will meet at the point of impact How can we heal our exploding hearts The whole universe |
What do you think of “Tout l’Univers”? Are you inspired and moved? Let us know in the comments!
for me its one of the most beautiful songs and lyrics i heard in Eurovision well done.
Loved it, so beautiful, such a pure voice, well done Switzerland
Proof that music has no language, I don’t speak a word of french and still found the song absolutely exceptional, top marks from me 🙂
tired of ppl kept going “dUnCaN cOpY” dude it’s not a copy and even if the vibes are similar u can’t call it a copy and as long as ppl enjoy it nothing is wrong.
ppl are so jealous.
The beautiful abstract lyrics match the rather abstract shifts in harmony, especially in the Choruses. The Verses musically seem to be pinned on a single “ground” note, which might symbolise how the lyrics are going on in one’s mind. It is art, people. 🙂
Absolutely agree! ??
I know everyone is comparing Gjon to Duncan, but I see Tout l’Univers has a possibility for some epic staging. Arcade was always going to be difficult to stage, and in rehersal its staging made people think it was no longer a contender, but he still won in the end.
I think this is like comparing “my number one” with “every way that I can”
Not enough for the winner, sorry.
I’m glad that Gjon didn’t disappoint my expectations and is my personal favourite again. For the first time I listened to his song with my eyes closed just to focus only on emotions, not images. I can’t choose between Tout l’Univers and Repondez-moi – both entries represent this kind of ballads I like the most – emotional, with a clearly marked climax but not hysterical and overdramatic. It doesn’t matter to me if he wins or not – I’m just happy that thanks to Eurovision I can hear such an extraordinary singer with songs that move me.
Well put. I feel exactly the same. It doesn’t matter if he wins; he is above the competition, and I feel fortunate to have come across his music. Can’t wait for his album. I will continue to follow his career and to support him.
I understand that a lot of fans don’t want songs of a similar style winning Eurovision back to back, but some are going overboard with the comparisons (and I’m not saying they’re totally different, it’s actually easy to see how Wouter Hardy’s work connect both tracks) , to the point we’re now seeing people bashing Duncan to defend Gjon or the opposite, which is unfair to both guys (by the way, something tells me they would get along pretty well). The lyrics are probably where we can better separate the songs. While “Arcade” is more direct and emotional about its… Read more »
I agree so much with you. You’ve found the word I was looking for to describe Gjon’s lyrics: ‘abstract’. That’s what makes the difference with ‘Arcade’ which is more intimate, personnal and, as you noticed, emotional.
It’s not that Gjon’s lyrics don’t convey strong emotions too, but they take the thought-provoking path. While “Arcade” started already with “A broken heart is all that’s left / I’m still fixing all the cracks”. By the time Duncan said that, part of the audience was already by his side.
True. Gjon’s lyrics can let everyone interpret them on their own. Having their own interpretation about their meaning.
Btw, I’m half French by my mother, who taught me the language, so I clearly understand ‘Tout L’Univers’ lyrics. And tbh, I’m not feeling the same strong emotions in Gjon’s song contrary to ‘Répondez-moi’, that was one of my fave entries last year. And I’m a little disappointed that I’m not feeling the same thing this year.
“Repóndez-moi” sounded very personal to him, he was able to show himself more through it, while “Tout l’univers” may be taken as more like an art display of his skills. Since I never connected too much with his 2020’s attempt, I don’t have the same problem with it. But I can totally got why you that loved his past song gets disappointed. I have the exact same problem with Victoria’s new song, probably because I was deeply in love with “Tears Getting Sober”.
It’s not the lyrics. The music and the “flow” of the song is similar to Arcade.
There’s a similarity of style, of course. But not enough for some to reduce it to “Arcade 2.0”. If we compare “Tout l’univers” with “Répondez-moi” or “Babi” (Gjon’s first single), it’s easy to see how his 2021’s song fits his body of work so far. There’s a chance Duncan and Gjon just have similar musical influences, which is quite normal for 2 guys in the same age range making music in the same genre. Not discarding the fact that maybe what bring the songs together is Wouter’s participation as a songwriter and producer.
It’s very similiar to Arcade, especially the last part. I like it though, it’s very good, but I like his last year’s song more. He will be definitely Top 5, but I think this year a party song will win: Malta, Cyprus, Lithuania, maybe even San Marino with Flo Rida
Cyprus? Omg..
Agree
Angelic voice. Way way better than his 2020 entry. Even if I don’t understand French, I can still feel universal meaning through the melody of the song.
I don’t get why so many people are comparing Gjon’s song to Duncan’s. I get chills every time I listen to this song and the lyrics in my opinion are impactful and gorgeous. I couldn’t say the same about Arcade, though
A beautiful song !! I love it !!
A copy of Duncan Laurence… type. Surely a better song has to win. FTR I don’t like it
Just another Duncan wanna be, next …
Duncan needs to born again to be just a bit as talented as Gjon. And I’m Duncan fan, but Gjon is in another galaxy.
Keep hating him. Kisses, babe.
Why do we have to compare them ? They’re both excelling in what they’re doing the best: music.
‘Sa main sur mon épaule’ can be translated by ‘its hand on my shoulder’ since it’s about the wind, and not a real person.
‘It’s time to grow up’ isn’t accurate as a translation. The original lyric can be translated litterally in english as ‘the moment to grow up/of growing up’.
It’s a beautiful song. I appreciate the poetry of the lyrics, which are open to quite a number of readings and interpretations. The song could be about someone you loved who has died, for example – the pain is that they are gone, not because they hurt you directly but because their abscence hurts you. As I see it, the lyrics reach towards existentialism and metaphysics, the person is in the wind, as well as under the ground. Their breath remains on the shore long after you visited there together, and is there when you return. The love (whether platonic… Read more »