Discover the story of the song > Complainte De La Butte – Rufus Wainwright

The song describes a man being entranced by a woman he meets on the streets of Montmartre, Paris. He is enamored by her red hair and tired eyes. They walk up a steep hill together, and he forgets his heartbreak as she takes his hand. He feels dizzy with her touch and the smell of her skin. The chorus talks about how the windy, hilly streets of the neighborhood are hard for poor people, but the windmills of the Moulin Rouge shelter lovers like them.