Songfacts®:

• The Belgian musician Stromae appeared to be riding a wave. His 2013 album Racine carrée topped the charts in several western European countries and became the first record in over a decade to reach 2 million sales in France. Fans heard little from Stromae over the next eight years until on October 15, 2021, he released "Santé," the first single from his long-awaited third studio album, Multitude. This piano-backed song, the record's second single, explains why he went on an eight-year artistic hiatus.
• "L'enfer" translates to "Hell"; the song finds Stromae candidly singing about his struggles with mental health. He recounts how feelings of loneliness, depression and suicidal thoughts "put him through hell."
  
  Stromae tries to put his loneliness in perspective by acknowledging that many others feel the same, and he resolves to battle his dark thoughts. Ultimately, he doesn't have all the answers and is still suffering.
• Stromae debuted "L'enfer" during an interview by Anne-Claire Coudray for TF1's 8 PM news program on January 9, 2022. "People often define my songs as ones with joyful music and themes that are a little darker, a little sadder," he said before performing. "It's how I see life... There is no high without low, there is no low without high. That's life."
• The song topped both the French and Belgian the singles charts. It was Stromae's fifth chart-topper in France and his first since "Tous les mêmes" in 2014.