His family was from Nice, on the coast of the Mediterranean, where young Alain studied the piano. He abandoned the violin without remorse, and at the age of twenty had an influential encounter with pianist Jack Diéval, passing through Nice, who firmly advised him to give up everything for the piano. At the same time, Alain studied harmony with Julien Falk, and soon won second place in an amateur jazz competition.
He soon went to Paris where he indulged his passion for jazz. At Saint-Germain-des-Prés, where he accompanied singer Simone Alma, he met Boris Vian. Together, they wrote Je Bois, La Java des bombes atomiques, Fais-moi mal Johnny et Ne vous mariez pas les filles. Alain then scored the music for the film J'irai cracher sur vos tombres (1959). He wrote the orchestration for young Serge Gainsbourg, indeed he arranged all of his albums up until Gainsbourg percussions (1964). With Gainsbourg, Goraguer scored more film music, such as that for L'Eau à la bouche (1960).
In the 1960s and 70's, he did the orchestration for Poupée de cire, poupée de son, winning the grand prize for The Eurovision Song Contest in 1965. He wrote numerous arrangements for Jean Ferrat, France Gall, Juliette Gréco, Nana Mouskouri, Adamo and many others. Alain Goraguer then opened the door for a renewal in popularity of orchestral compositions. He also composed the title theme La Vache enragée (1965), sung by Brigitte Fontaine.
He also wrote a number of easy listening albums under the name Laura Fontaine.
Goraguer died on 13 February 2023, at the age of 91.
TRIVIA
Producer Madlib has avowedly drawn inspiration from, and sampled, Goraguer's work on the first Quasimoto album. The song "C'mon Feet" samples sounds of characters running and percussion form the film Fantastic Planet for the sound of his alter ego, Quasimoto, as he flees the scene of a crime.
Hiphop-Producer V.I.C. sampled the song "Le Bracelet" from the La Planete Sauvage soundtrack for Big Pun's track titled Boomerang from the album Capital Punishment.
On the soundtrack to The Virgin Suicides, Air bare Goraguer's influence, especially the soundtrack to La Planète Sauvage.
The Rascalz sampled Goraguer's "Le Bracelet" on Soul Obligation from their album Cash Crop.
- From Wikipedia
Star Eyes
Alain Goraguer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That to me is what your eyes are,
Soft as stars in April skies are,
Tell me some day you'll fulfill
Their promise of a thrill.
Star eyes,
Flashing eyes in which my hopes rise,
Let me prove that it adores
That loveliness of yours.
All my life I've felt
Content to stargaze at the skies.
Now I only want to to melt
The stardust in your eyes.
Star eyes,
When if ever, will my lips know
If it's me for whom those eyes glow?
Makes no diff'rence where you are,
Your eyes still hold my wishing star,
Oh, star eyes, how lovely you are.
The song “Star Eyes” by Alain Goraguer talks about the beauty of a woman’s eyes that is compared to the stars. The singer admires her eyes as they are soft and captivating like the stars that twinkle in the sky. He believes that her eyes hold a promise of a thrill that he is yet to experience. The lyrics mention the singer’s hope that the woman realizes where his heart lies and how much he adores her loveliness.
The song’s melody compliments the lyrics and sounds like it that it was made for the jazz genre. The lyrics give prominence to the idea that love and admiration can be found in the simplest of things. The line “All my life I’ve felt content to stargaze at the skies. Now I only want to melt the stardust in your eyes,” is an excellent example of how the imagination of someone who is in love can transform ordinary scenes into a magical experience. The song's simplicity in terms of the message and vocabulary also gives emphasis to the power of understatement.
Line by Line Meaning
Star eyes,
Your eyes resemble stars in the night sky
That to me is what your eyes are,
When I look at your eyes, I see stars shining bright
Soft as stars in April skies are,
Your eyes are gentle and delicate, like stars in the April sky
Tell me some day you'll fulfill
I hope that one day, you'll fulfill your promise
Their promise of a thrill.
Your eyes promise to bring me excitement and joy
Flashing eyes in which my hopes rise,
When I see your sparkling eyes, I feel hopeful
Let me show you where my heart lies.
I want to show you that my heart belongs to you
Let me prove that it adores
I want to demonstrate that I truly love and cherish you
That loveliness of yours.
The beauty and appeal that you possess
All my life I've felt
Throughout my entire life, I've always been content to admire the stars
Content to stargaze at the skies.
I have always been satisfied by looking up at the stars in the sky
Now I only want to to melt
But now, all I want is to blend in with the beauty of your eyes
The stardust in your eyes.
I want to merge with the captivating quality of your eyes
When if ever, will my lips know
I wonder when or if I will ever know
If it's me for whom those eyes glow?
If the sparkle in your eyes is because of me?
Makes no diff'rence where you are,
It doesn't matter where you are,
Your eyes still hold my wishing star,
Because your eyes are so magical, they continue to hold my dreams and desires
Oh, star eyes, how lovely you are.
Your eyes are so enchanting and beautiful, my darling
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, ANTHEM ENTERTAINMENT LP, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Gene De Paul, Don Raye
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind