Vanished

English · French version

The story

Georges Guynemer was turned down by the army at the start of the war because of his fragile health. He did not give up: he entered aviation as a trainee mechanic, learned to fly, and joined Escadrille 3, one of the units of the famous Cigognes ("Storks") group. He became the most famous pilot in France, with around fifty victories.

On September 11, 1917, he took off on patrol in a SPAD XIII with another pilot, Jean Bozon-Verduraz. Near Poelkapelle, in Belgium, Guynemer dived on a German two-seater. His wingman turned away to deal with German fighters, and when he came back, Guynemer was gone. He was 22. Neither his body nor his aircraft was ever found.

The absence of a grave fed a legend: French schoolchildren were told that he had flown so high he could not come down again. A monument with a stone stork stands in Poelkapelle, pointing towards his last heading, and his name is inscribed in the Panthéon in Paris.

The song is a café-concert chanson, quiet and without a key change. It follows the facts up to the last flight and then lets the legend speak, in its own words: "the stories say".

Lyrics · English

Vanished

Verse 1Too frail, they said, to ever fly,
But Georges found a way into the sky.
A stork among storks, in a squadron of the best,
Where the bravest in France put their hearts to the test.

Pre-ChorusFifty-odd victories, barely twenty-two,
France's most famous flier, the whole nation knew.

ChorusVanished, vanished, high in the blue,
No grave, no wreck, not a trace of you.
Vanished, vanished, the stories say,
He flew so high, he's still up there today.

Verse 2September eleven, nineteen seventeen,
Over Poelkapelle, a morning half-seen.
He dove on a lone plane, and down he flew,
His wingman turned round and found only blue.

Pre-ChorusFifty-odd victories, barely twenty-two,
France's most famous flier, the whole nation knew.

ChorusVanished, vanished, high in the blue,
No grave, no wreck, not a trace of you.
Vanished, vanished, the stories say,
He flew so high, he's still up there today.

Verse 3They searched the fields, the shell-torn ground,
Nothing of the pilot was ever found.
In Poelkapelle, a stork of stone
Points where he flew, and the way he's gone.

BridgeNo coffin, no flowers, no place to kneel,
Just a story they told so the wound could heal:
That he flew so high he never came down,
Past the clouds, past the smoke, past the town.

Final ChorusVanished, vanished, high in the blue,
No grave, no wreck, not a trace of you.
Vanished, vanished, the stories say,
He flew so high, he's still up there today.

OutroVanished... still up there...

Lyrics · French

Vanished (French version)

Couplet 1Trop frêle, disait-on, pour voler,
Mais Georges a trouvé le chemin des nuées.
Cigogne parmi les cigognes, les meilleurs,
Là où l'on mesure la force du cœur.

Pré-refrainCinquante victoires, à peine vingt-deux ans,
Le plus célèbre pilote de France.

RefrainDisparu, disparu, dans le bleu,
Ni tombe, ni épave, pas d'adieu.
Disparu, disparu, c'est ce qu'on dit,
Il vole encore, là-haut, aujourd'hui.

Couplet 2Onze septembre, mille neuf cent dix-sept,
Sur Poelkapelle, le ciel incertain.
Il pique sur un avion isolé,
Son ailier se retourne, il ne voit plus rien.

Pré-refrainCinquante victoires, à peine vingt-deux ans,
Le plus célèbre pilote de France.

RefrainDisparu, disparu, dans le bleu,
Ni tombe, ni épave, pas d'adieu.
Disparu, disparu, c'est ce qu'on dit,
Il vole encore, là-haut, aujourd'hui.

Couplet 3On a fouillé la terre éventrée,
Du pilote, jamais rien n'a été trouvé.
Une cigogne de pierre
Vole encore vers son dernier cap.

PontNi cercueil, ni fleurs, ni lieu où prier,
Juste un conte pour apaiser la peine :
Si haut qu'il n'est jamais redescendu,
Au-delà des nuages, hors de vue.

Refrain finalDisparu, disparu, dans le bleu,
Ni tombe, ni épave, pas d'adieu.
Disparu, disparu, c'est ce qu'on dit,
Il vole encore, là-haut, aujourd'hui.

OutroDisparu... toujours là-haut...