Barbara Pravi and the Clouds Above: When Music Dares to Feel

Barbara Pravi has never been one to sing about sunshine and shopping sprees. But with her latest track, Des éclats dans les nuages («Shards in the Clouds»), the French singer-songwriter chooses not just to bare her soul — she lets it ache, publicly, poetically, and politically.

On Instagram, she gave a glimpse into the emotional fog that led to the song: “Recently, I wondered why I could no longer write about anything other than the ‘acceptable’. Then I realised — it’s because of the shards in the clouds. Because I’m doing fine in a world that’s falling apart.”

It’s the kind of statement that might make certain PR managers twitch. But this is Pravi — not exactly known for her love of vague metaphors or fluffy diplomacy.

A Personal, Political Storm

Without naming specific conflicts, Pravi alludes to the Israel–Hamas war — and many other tragedies that pierce through headlines and hearts alike. Her song isn’t a political lecture. It’s a cry. An exhale. A gasp turned into melody.

“I don’t really understand conflicts,” she writes. “It sounds silly, perhaps naïve, but I’m for peace.”

Her family heritage — Jewish grandmothers, a Muslim grandfather, an Orthodox Christian grandfather — gives her a panoramic view of identity. But even with that insight, she confesses to feeling mute: “I didn’t know how to express this breathless feeling I’ve had for months without getting it wrong, without hurting anyone.”

So, she sang it.

“The Bombs Sing a Familiar Tune”

The lyrics of Des éclats dans les nuages are unflinchingly stark:

“The bombs sing an ancient tune / A melody we know too well / No one moves, no one does a thing / The world repeats its refrain…”

It’s a song drenched in déjà vu — the uncomfortable kind. War as habit. Inaction as chorus.

And just when you think the track might offer a resolution, she pivots:

“What if tomorrow it’s my street / The places I once knew / My city under the rubble…”

It’s not just a lament; it’s an act of radical empathy. A confrontation, even, aimed at listeners across borders: What if it were you?

A Necessary Risk

In a music landscape where even protest songs are often coated in commercial gloss, Pravi’s sincerity cuts through like a siren. It may not land her a Number 1 on the streaming charts, but it reminds us why art exists in the first place — to make us feel uncomfortable, seen, implicated.

As she puts it bluntly, “I put my pain into a song — it’s what I know how to do.”

Sometimes, the truth needs to rhyme.

Source: 20minutes