Now playing on my French song playlist:
Title: Étoile filante
Written, co-produced, co-arranged, electric guitar, and lead vocals by Naghmeh Shafiei
Recorded, co-produced, co-arranged, clarinet, and acoustic guitar by Arthur Pascau Smith of Wetfoot Media
Mastered by Paul Edwards of UnFamous Audio and mixed by Jacob Lacroix-Cardinal
Drums by Rebecca Field, bass by Daniela Rivera, modular synthesizer by Adrian Foster, backing vocals by Mary-Kate Edwards, and vibraphone by Kevin Britten
Lyrics I like:
Une étoile filante n’attend personne
Regarde en haut, regarde comme elles tombent
Une étoile filante n’attend personne
Regarde en haut, regarde en
Chaque lumière de chaque p’tit point
Semble t’il encore être si loin
Chaque lumière de chaque p’tit point
Semble t’il encore être si loin
Et tu prends des belles photos
Pour te rappeler quand t’es vieux
Et tu prends des belles photos
Pour te rappeler quand t’es vieux
Mais une étoile filante n’attend personne
Translation:
A shooting star waits for no one
Look at the top, look how they fall
A shooting star waits for no one
Look at the top, look in
Each light of each little point
Does it still seem so far away
Each light of each little point
Does it still seem so far away
And you take beautiful photos
To remind you when you are old
And you take beautiful photos
To remind you when you are old
But a shooting star waits for no one
🎶
*music & lyrics | all rights reserved*
I agree: a shooting star waits for no one and neither does a comet! The song reminded me of Comet SWAN, which was supposed to be visible on October 27, 2025. I’d had my telescope set up and all I could see was the moon. Incredible seeing the moon, of course, but why was I frustrated that I would miss seeing the comet? Then I realized that whether I see it or not, it was simply amazing that the comet passed over the planet during my lifetime as it wouldn’t happen again for another 200 years!
I like the part of the song around the 2:43 mark where she sings « pour tout les coeurs / qui battent ce soir » (“for all the hearts / that beat tonight”) and then it’s punctuated with two drum beats like heartbeats. The song’s crescendo is marked as she sings « galaxie, galaxie, galaxie » for 12 increasingly intense seconds.
Meet Naghmeh
Naghmeh (she/her) is an Iranian-Canadian singer songwriter based in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal. « Étoile filante » is her first French release and it was written during a meteor shower on a beach in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada. We chatted over email recently about the new song, her musical journey, and her San Francisco Bay Area connection.
What inspired you to pursue a career in music?
My name, really… Naghmeh in my mother tongue of Farsi means melody, so from a very young age, I just thought I was a musician. I took my musical talent and obsession for granted, owing it to the name my parents chose for me. I grew up listening to rock music, listening to illegal copies of Metallica and Bon Jovi in Tehran with my sister and cousins.
We migrated to Canada when I was a preteen, and I started playing the guitar to cope with this big life change. Even back then, I wanted to be a musician. But none of the people on Musique Plus or MTV looked like me – so I laid that dream to rest. Many years later, in San Francisco actually, a friend asked me about my dreams when I grew up, and without any hesitation, I said : I want to be a rock star. After all this time, that flame was reignited.
In the years that followed, I wrote a consecutive stream of songs, and recorded and released my first album in 2019, under the name Naghmeh and the Southern Shores. Those songs encapsulated my journey back home to Montréal, and were recorded with my long lasting bandmates, the Southern Shores.
After the release of that album, life’s usual circumstances separated us all, and each member of that band relocated to another corner of the world. This experience empowered me and ultimately led me to the decision to release future music under my given name, Naghmeh. And here we are.
You also perform songs in English and Farsi. Can you tell me more about your decision to release a song in French and the story behind it?
I live in the city of Montréal which is officially a French speaking city. Language is a big part of our artistic and cultural identity. As a songwriter, I often feel like I’m a vessel through which songs make their way into the human realm and this one is no exception. I just got lucky that this one spoke French!
I was camping on a beach during the August meteor showers, at what felt like the edge of the world. It was a clear night and I was seeing close to one shooting star every other minute. It was insane! I opened my notebook and wrote without looking down cause I didn’t want to miss them! And the words just fell off my pen, almost like the shooting stars falling into the ocean. It felt surreal. I ended up staying up until 4 in the morning all alone, with the song and the stars on that beach.
I’m based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Tell me more about your experience in the Bay Area before going to Tiohtià:ke/Montréal.
I lived in San Francisco for a few years when I got my first job. It’s where I first dared to dip my toes in the world of songwriting. I attended an open mic every other day, and even briefly produced one myself in my neighborhood (a café called The Village Market out in Inner Richmond).
California felt like home from the moment I first set my bags and it still has that feeling when I visit. I met some of my lifelong besties there and I also met myself during those formative years. I still make sure to go perform a short set at the Hotel Utah and the Neck of the Woods open mic every time I visit.
For more information, visit her website: Naghmeh.
Many thanks to Naghmeh for sending me a preview of « Étoile filante » ahead of the song’s release on December 5, 2025, as well as some photos, and for taking the time to answer my questions.
Until the next Music Monday, be well! 💫
Thanks for reading Bonjour: A Francophile Blog!
Bonjour: A Francophile Blog 