Souchon signed his first contract in 1971, but had no success until he began to collaborate with composer/arranger Laurent Voulzy ; they would write together, but each released albums under his own name. Souchon's first hit was "J'ai 10 ans" (1974), from the album of the same name. Souchon's biggest hit was probably "Foule Sentimentale" from 1995's C'est Deja ca. His recent album is from 2005, called La Vie Theodore which features his song "Et si en plus, y'a personne" [What if, even more, there is no one], a song condemning religious intolerance.
He wrote the theme for François Truffaut's 1979 film Love on the Run (L'amour en fuite).
La vie intime est maritime
Alain Souchon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tu veux qu'on soit des bêtes de somme,
Des Shaddocks à pompe,
Tu sais, tu te trompes.
Dans la tête du quincaillier de Nanterre
Qui range, dans ses tiroirs, des bouts de fer,
Sans grande musique,
Y a la Compagnie Transatlantique.
La vie intime est maritime.
La vie intime est maritime.
Tout là-haut, dans les tours de verre,
Les Petites Waterman, les pauvres Parker,
Sans alizé,
Sans les skippers, les beaux bronzés,
Dans son école l'écolier,
Voiliers, des dictées chiffonnées,
Dans les prisons dures,
Bateaux dessinés sur les murs.
Bateaux, bateaux,
Je marche dans un profond ravin,
Bateaux,
Dans le pipi de chien.
Bateaux, bateaux,
Je ferme les yeux : déjà, je suis loin.
Bateaux, bateaux,
Saveur de moi prisonnier,
Bateaux,
Dans ces lentes journées.
Bateaux,
Dans ma tête, une liberté.
La vie intime est maritime.
La vie intime est maritime.
Regardez-là, la jolie flottille,
Rêveuse au matin, qui s'éparpille
Vers un sale boulot,
Un spinnaker dans le ciboulot.
Vous pouvez faire voter, mécanique,
Tous ces gens qu'ont des airs apathiques
Mais pas l'attraper,
Le bateaux qu'ils ont dans la tête caché.
Bateaux, bateaux,
Je marche dans un profond ravin,
Bateaux,
Dans le pipi de chien.
Bateaux, bateaux,
Je ferme les yeux : déjà, je suis loin.
Bateaux, bateaux,
Saveur de moi prisonnier,
Bateaux,
Dans ces lentes journées.
Bateaux,
Dans ma tête, une liberté.
La vie intime est maritime.
La vie intime est maritime.
Organisateur de nos vies, comme
Tu veux qu'on soit des bêtes de somme,
Des Shaddocks à pompe,
Tu sais, tu te trompes.
The song "La vie intime est maritime" by Alain Souchon talks about how the private life of people is closely linked to the sea, and how everyone has their own boat in their mind, which represents their freedom and their escape from the daily routine. The first stanza criticizes those who want people to live as work animals, with no imagination or dreams of their own. The image of the Quincaillier de Nanterre, who spends his days sorting pieces of metal, is contrasted with the Compagnie Transatlantique, which represents adventure, travel, and freedom. The message is clear: our lives should not be confined to routines that leave no room for individuality or creativity.
In the second stanza, the contrast between the mundane and the imaginative is further highlighted. The "Petites Waterman" and the "pauvres Parker" in the high-rise buildings are described as having no access to the sea, no "alizé", and no "skippers, les beaux bronzés" (referring to professional sailors and sun-tanned yachtsmen). The only escape for them is in their minds, represented by the "voiliers, des dictées chiffonnées" (sailing boats made of crumpled paper) and "bateaux dessinés sur les murs" (boats drawn on walls). Even in the harsh environment of a prison, the desire for freedom is expressed through drawings of boats.
The chorus that follows is a repetition of the central message of the song: "La vie intime est maritime" (private life is like the sea). The image of "bateaux, bateaux" (boats, boats) is repeated, symbolizing the desire for freedom and escape, as well as the imagination that allows people to dream and pursue their own goals. The last stanza reinforces this theme by suggesting that everyone has a boat in their mind, which cannot be taken away even if their external circumstances are constrained. The song ends with the repetition of the opening stanza, reminding us of the importance of preserving our individuality and our imagination, even in the face of conformity and routine.
Line by Line Meaning
Organisateur de nos vies, comme
The one who sets up our lives, like
Tu veux qu'on soit des bêtes de somme,
You want us to be beasts of burden,
Des Shaddocks à pompe,
Hauling and pumping like Shaddocks,
Tu sais, tu te trompes.
But you know, you're wrong.
Dans la tête du quincaillier de Nanterre
In the mind of the hardware store owner from Nanterre
Qui range, dans ses tiroirs, des bouts de fer,
Who sorts pieces of iron in his drawers,
Sans grande musique,
Without any grand music,
Y a la Compagnie Transatlantique.
There's the Transatlantic Company.
La vie intime est maritime.
Intimate life is maritime.
Tout là-haut, dans les tours de verre,
High up, in the glass towers,
Les Petites Waterman, les pauvres Parker,
The little Watermans, the poor Parkers,
Sans alizé,
Without the trade winds,
Sans les skippers, les beaux bronzés,
Without the skippers, the beautiful tanned ones,
Dans son école l'écolier,
In his school, the schoolboy,
Voiliers, des dictées chiffonnées,
Sailboats, crumpled dictations,
Dans les prisons dures,
In the harsh prisons,
Bateaux dessinés sur les murs.
Boats drawn on the walls.
Bateaux, bateaux,
Boats, boats,
Je marche dans un profond ravin,
I walk in a deep ravine,
Bateaux,
Boats,
Dans le pipi de chien.
In the dog pee.
Bateaux, bateaux,
Boats, boats,
Je ferme les yeux : déjà, je suis loin.
I close my eyes: already, I am far away.
Bateaux, bateaux,
Boats, boats,
Saveur de moi prisonnier,
Flavor of me being a prisoner,
Bateaux,
Boats,
Dans ces lentes journées.
In these slow days.
Bateaux,
Boats,
Dans ma tête, une liberté.
In my head, a freedom.
Regardez-là, la jolie flottille,
Look at that pretty fleet,
Rêveuse au matin, qui s'éparpille
Dreamy in the morning, scattering
Vers un sale boulot,
Towards a dirty job,
Un spinnaker dans le ciboulot.
A spinnaker in the brain.
Vous pouvez faire voter, mécanique,
You can have them vote, mechanically,
Tous ces gens qu'ont des airs apathiques
All those people who seem apathetic,
Mais pas l'attraper,
But you can't catch it,
Le bateaux qu'ils ont dans la tête caché.
The boat that they have hidden in their heads.
La vie intime est maritime.
Intimate life is maritime.
La vie intime est maritime.
Intimate life is maritime.
Lyrics © LES EDITIONS ALAIN SOUCHON
Written by: ALAIN SOUCHON, MICHEL COEURIOT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind