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).
Pays industriels
Alain Souchon Lyrics
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Neuve hirondelle,
De ton berceau, ton nid doux, ta narcelle,
Tu regardes autour de toi les murs
Et tu dis, "Daddy, Daddy, que c'est dur."
Baby de nous,
Tu ris des bielles,
Des vilebrequins qui chancellent.
Tu trouves que c'est une musique malsaine,
Ces sifflets de contremaître,
Ces sirènes.
Baby de nous, casse tout,
Baby de nous.
Fais pas comme ton daddy mou.
Va faire joujou,
Baby de nous,
Loin des pays industriels.
Loin des pays industriels.
Rues noires,
Maisons de briques
Que Léon Blum chantait sur sa guitare électrique.
Brouillard sur les quais noirs et blancs,
Vraiment Jean Gabin,
Vraiment Michèle Morgan,
Barbare,
Allô police.
Le soir dans les bars le cafard,
Ça se flingue au pastis.
On rêve mal
De choses infernales,
Les cheveux plastifiés de Victoria Principal.
Baby de nous, casse tout,
Baby de nous.
Fais pas comme ton daddy mou.
Va faire joujou,
Baby de nous,
Loin des pays industriels.
Loin des pays industriels.
The song "Pays industriels" by Alain Souchon is a commentary on industrialization and its impact on society. The song addresses the perspective of a newborn child who is growing up in a quintessentially industrial landscape filled with factories, smokestacks, and machinery. The child looks around its environment and expresses discomfort and dissatisfaction, saying "Daddy, Daddy, que c'est dur" (Daddy, Daddy, how hard it is). The child finds the noise and chaos of the industrial landscape unpleasant and compares it to "malsaine musique" (an unhealthy music). However, the child also finds moments of joy, laughing at the sounds of "bielles, pistons, vilebrequins" (connecting rods, pistons, crankshafts) that it hears.
The song also depicts the daily life of people living in industrial areas, who are shown as living in dark, and gloomy streets and buildings. The song alludes to famous French personalities such as Léon Blum, a French politician who was the first socialist Prime Minister of France, Jean Gabin, an iconic French film actor, and Michèle Morgan, a French actress.
The chorus of the song encourages the child to break free from these industrial landscapes and be carefree, away from the "pays industriels" (industrial countries). The song conveys a nostalgic yearning for a time before the advent of the industrial revolution and alludes to its negative impact on society's well-being.
Line by Line Meaning
Baby de nous, Neuve hirondelle, De ton berceau, ton nid doux, ta narcelle, Tu regardes autour de toi les murs Et tu dis, 'Daddy, Daddy, que c'est dur.'
The newborn child looks around its soft and secure surroundings and starts to feel confined by the walls of the room that surrounds them. The baby expresses their feelings of confinement to their father.
Baby de nous, Tu ris des bielles, Des pistons mous, Des vilebrequins qui chancellent. Tu trouves que c'est une musique malsaine, Ces sifflets de contremaître, Ces sirènes.
The child laughs at the sounds of the machines and finds them amusing. However, the child also considers these sounds to be unpleasant, maybe even harmful, to human beings.
Baby de nous, casse tout, Baby de nous. Fais pas comme ton daddy mou. Va faire joujou, Baby de nous, Loin des pays industriels. Loin des pays industriels.
The child is encouraged to break away from the industrialized world and find a joyful and playful life outside of it – different from their lazy and uninspired father. The phrase 'loin des pays industriels' is repeated, emphasizing the importance of escaping that world.
Rues noires, Maisons de briques Que Léon Blum chantait sur sa guitare électrique. Brouillard sur les quais noirs et blancs, Vraiment Jean Gabin, Vraiment Michèle Morgan, Barbare, Allô police.
The lyrics describe a bleak industrial landscape featuring streets of darkness filled with brick homes, as well as an eerie fog hovering above the black and white docks where even the famous actors, Jean Gabin and Michèle Morgan, can fall victim to the sense of despair permeating the place.
Le soir dans les bars le cafard, Ça se flingue au pastis. On rêve mal De choses infernales, Les cheveux plastifiés de Victoria Principal.
At night, the people in the industrialized world turn to pastis to numb their misery, and their dreams are filled with hellish things, such as the artificially perfect-looking hair of Victoria Principal.
Lyrics © LES EDITIONS ALAIN SOUCHON
Written by: ALAIN SOUCHON, LOUIS GABRIEL CHEDID
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind