After growing up in a small town on the coast of Brittany, in 1955 Barrière enrolled in the École nationale supérieure d'arts et métiers in Angers. As a student he bought a guitar and started to write songs. On graduating in engineering in 1960, he moved to Paris to take up employment, and started to perform in the evenings at small clubs around the capital. He won a song contest in 1961 with the self-penned song "Cathy"; his style was chanson-based with no concession to the burgeoning yé-yé scene, but nonetheless he was soon signed to a recording contract and started to release singles regularly, enabling him to give up his job and make at least a modest living from music.
In 1963, Barrière was chosen to represent France at the eighth Eurovision Song Contest in London. His song Elle était si jolie came 5th out of the 13 entries.
Elle était si jolie turned out to be by far the biggest seller of Barrière's career to that point. He released his first album, Ma vie, in 1964 and the title-track, Ma Vie became a huge hit. In 1965 he was offered, and accepted, a leading role in a heist thriller, "Pas de panique", alongside Pierre Brasseur. This would be his only venture into acting, but his singing career reached its peak in the latter part of the decade with a string of hits making him one of France's biggest stars and a sell-out live attraction.
Barrière had gained a reputation for being uncompromising and at times difficult to work with. In the early 1970s he left his record company to set up his own label. He kept his fanbase, which ensured his records and concerts continued to provide a good living, despite his being overlooked by sections of the French broadcast media. "Tu t'en vas", a 1975 duet with fellow Eurovision veteran Noëlle Cordier, topped the French chart, and was the third biggest-selling single of the year in Switzerland.
Barrière married in 1975 and he and his wife opened a nightclub-restaurant in a converted castle in Brittany. Although it proved a successful and popular venue, Barrière soon found himself facing severe tax problems, a result of dubious advice. In 1977 he took his family to the USA, where they remained for four years.
After spending four years living in the USA, Barrière returned to france in 1981 and made several comeback attempts, to little avail. After another period spent overseas, this time in Quebec, the family were back in Brittany when Barrière's career was unexpectedly rejuvenated by the 1997 release of a CD containing remastered versions of his old hits, which proved to be a money-spinner. Shortly afterwards, Barrière released an album of new material, which also sold well.
He published an autobiography in 2006 and continues to release both retrospective and newly-recorded albums.
http://www.alainbarriere.com/
Mon Coeur
Alain Barrière Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Je veux garder
Bien au chaud dans mon coeur
Ce bel été
Ces moments là qui ne sont rien
Qu'à toi et moi
Même si nous n'avons dansé
J'ai trop chanté mon coeur
J'ai trop chanté
Que soudain tout se meurt
Après l'été
Mais cette fois je veux crier
Ce bonheur là
Et le chanter, le re-chanter
Je te le dois
Je veux garder mon coeur
Je veux garder
Bien au chaud dans mon coeur
Ce bel été
Ces moments là qui ne sont rien
Qu'à toi et moi
Même si nous n'avons dansé
Qu'un seul été
Même si nous, si nous n'avons chanté
Qu'un seul été
The lyrics to Alain Barrière's song Mon Coeur explore the theme of nostalgia and the desire to hold onto fleeting moments of happiness. The singer expresses a desire to keep his heart safe and warm, preserving the memories of a beautiful summer that he and his lover shared together. He acknowledges that these moments were short-lived, but they were special and meaningful to him nonetheless. He admits that he has sung about his heart too often, and that perhaps this has caused some of the joy to fade away. But he is determined to sing loudly and proudly about this happiness now, to honor it and keep it alive in his heart.
The repetition of the phrase "je veux garder mon coeur" (I want to keep my heart) reinforces the singer's determination to hold onto this joy. The lyrics are simple and straightforward, but they convey a deep emotional resonance that many listeners can relate to. The use of the past tense in the lines "Même si nous n'avons dansé / Qu'un seul été" (Even if we only danced / For one summer) highlights the fleeting nature of time and the impermanence of happiness. Overall, the lyrics to Mon Coeur are a poignant reminder to cherish the moments of joy that we experience in life, no matter how brief they may be.
Line by Line Meaning
Je veux garder mon coeur
I want to keep my heart safe from harm
Je veux garder
I want to hold on to the happiness I feel
Bien au chaud dans mon coeur
Safe and warm in my heart
Ce bel été
This beautiful summer we shared
Ces moments là qui ne sont rien
These moments that meant everything to us
Qu'à toi et moi
That belonged only to you and me
Même si nous n'avons dansé
Even though we only danced
Qu'un seul été
For just one summer
J'ai trop chanté mon coeur
I have sung my heart out too much
Que soudain tout se meurt
So suddenly everything fades away
Après l'été
After the summer ends
Mais cette fois je veux crier
But this time I want to shout
Ce bonheur là
This happiness we felt
Et le chanter, le re-chanter
And sing it again and again
Je te le dois
I owe it to you
Même si nous, si nous n'avons chanté
Even though we only sang
Qu'un seul été
For just one summer
Contributed by Adam N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@FIOLETTI1
Je vous aimais beaucoup. Vous avez apportez votre belle musique ainsi que les chansons qui ont bercée toute notre vie ..à 2 ans près nous sommes du mêmes âge. Condoléances à votre fille.et vous allez rejoindre le grand amour de votre vie .Vous serez toujours dans mon coeur avec vos chansons.
@germainebesancon3051
Merci pour cette chanson que japprrecie beaucoups oui s'aimer merci que de regrets 😢😢😢❤️
@delamarecorinne541
Magnifiques vidéos
@candide41200
Merci
@nirinaramangasalama3265
Merveilleux Alain. Quel poète.
@janeboul1355
Un régal du coeur, de la voix et des yeux !
@lorlive
Bonjour Marcelle...trés charmante vidéo qui accompagne avec amour cette merveilleuse chanson.Et on ne se lasse pas d'écouter Alain Barrière et sa poésie..Beau partage ...et bonne journée...bisous...Evelyne..
@mamiloutche
bonjour marcelle !!! c'est toujours un agréable moment de détente avec tes vidéos d'alain barrière et tes images sont toujours très bien choisies !!!!! bisous et bonne journée ensoleillée !!!!!! Louisette
@candide41200
@lorlive - Alain Barrière est un grand poète en effet, il nous a fait de merveilleuses chansons ! Bisous Evelyne et bonne journée ensoleillée, ça fait du bien... Marcelle
@jeanninefrebourg8843
Coucou chere Marcelle En voila une tres jolie chanson de notre cher Alain Barriere magnifique melodie que j'adore de ce grand artiste a la ravissante voix plaisante a ecouter dont les textes sont toujours bien ciselés Bravo pour la splendide vidéo illustrée de charmantes et tendres images beau partage Gros bisous Marcelle je te souhaite une douce et belle journée***jeannine****