In the 1960's, Arno travelled to Asia and made the ritual visit to Kathmandu. We also caught a glimpse of him singing in St. Tropez, on the Greek islands, or in Amsterdam. Undeniably turned onto music, he sang for the first time on stage during a summer music festival in Ostend in 1969. Following this he began his career in bands, among them FreckleFace between '72 and '75. He played the harmonica. After a unique album which they produced themselves, Arno left the group for another, Tjens Couter. It was in fact a duo with Paul Decouter. Like FreckleFace their repertoire was mostly rhythm 'n'blues and in any case, very Anglo-Saxon.
Around 1977, Arno and Decouter formed TC Bland with Ferre Baelen and Rudy Cloet. The group had a certain fame and toured around Europe a lot. But in '80, joined by Serge Feys on keyboards this group became TC Matic, one of the most innovative European rock groups of the period. Quickly Decouter was replaced by Jean-Marie Aerts, who would remain one of Arno's travelling buddies. Europeans, they were indeed that. Their tours took them regularly across Scandinavia, England, France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. During the summer of 1981, their first namesake album was released. Then, on EMI records, they recorded several albums, among them "L'Apache" in 1982. Some of their songs like "Elle adore le noir" or "Putain Putain" are still considered today as pillar compositions of that time.
In 1985, they were the opening act for the Simple Minds during their European tour. But '85 also marked the end of TC Matic who would forever cease to exist in '86.
Arno set out on a solo career with his first namesake album as early as '86. Recorded on a bet with the musicians from TC Matic and entirely composed by Arno, the album was primarily in English. One French song came out of the lot "Qu'est-ce que c'est?" whose only words are… "Qu'est-ce que c'est?" repeated a good forty times.
During the years spent with different groups, Arno made himself a solid name in the music scene. His talent as an artist is widely recognised. As for his wild personality full of ups and downs, it puts him among the most noticed of the rock scene. In his new solo life, Arno didn't have much difficulty asserting his talent on the music scene.
In 1988 he released a second album "Charlatan" which was still primarily in English. We found however "Le Bon Dieu" a sublime cover of the most famous Belgian singers Jacques Brel. Two years later, set up in Paris, he released "Ratata". From this record written almost entirely with Jean-Marie Aerts, we recall "Lonesome Zorro" and its heady melody maintained by its chorist Beverly Brown. On June 26, 1990, Arno went on the Parisian stage at the Cigale.
In '91, Arno works on his companion Marie-Laure Beraud's album. At the same time on his solo route he didn't look down upon the idea of doing some group work. So, in 1991, he found himself with Charles et les Lulus for an eponymous album. Surrounded by Roland Van Campenhout and Adriano Cominotto, he redid some blues classics by Willie Dixon, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Rufus Thomas. From the blues he went straight to Nashville to record a new album in 1993 "Idiots Savants". After Brel, Arno borrowed "Les Filles du bord de mer" from another famous Belgian singer Adamo. This new cover confirmed his undeniable talent to give new life to old songs. This latest remains one of his flagship songs.
On February 16th, 1994 Arno stopped off at l'Elysee Montmartre in Paris.
After Charles et les Lulus, came a new group digression with Arno et les Subrovnicks in '94. Joined by old friends Adriano Cominotto (ex-Lulu), Rudy Cloet (ex-TC Matic) and Geoffrey Burton and Francois Garny, Arno recorded the album "Water" in the South West of France.
Still in '94 Arno got started in cinema soundtracks with "Personne ne m'aime" by Frenchwoman Marion Vernoux. The cinema milieu wasn't unknown to him because in '78 in Belgium he wrote the music for the film "Le Concert d'un homme seul".
After a 20-year career primarily in English, Arno released his first album fully recorded in French in 1995. Thirteen tracks co-written with Jean-Marie Aerts or Adriano Cominotto. We find the cover of Brel's "le Bon Dieu" as well as two new songs "Elle pense à lui" by Charlélie Couture and particularly "Comme à Ostende" written by Léo Ferré and Jean-Roger Caussimon. Arno reached the top of the charts with "Les Yeux de ma mere". The album favoured the mix of genres, from tango to jazz to blues to which Arno's voice always gives a special texture.
December 13th, Arno played the Bataclan in Paris before starting off his tour around France and Switzerland and before he took off for the United States where he sang in New York and Austin, Texas.
The following year we found Arno in the cinema world but this time as an actor. He played the homosexual swimming instructor in "Camping Cosmos" by Belgian director Jan Bucquoy who also directed "La vie sexuelle des Belges" which attracted a lot of attention. Back on stage in October '96 with an evening at the Olympia on the 7th. A live album was released the following year, "Arno (en concert à la Française)" which took the best moments from his tours. An album in English was also released in '97 "Give me the gift" but it was only destined for the American market. Finally in '97, French actor Michel Piccoli gave him a role in "Alors Voilà". Arno also wrote the soundtrack.
After Charles et les Lulus, Arno went to Charles and the White Trash Blues in 1998. Within this new occasional group, where we find guitarist Geoffrey Burton he gives us an album between blues and rock and whose covers, now part of his repertoire, go from the Kinks to Nina Simone. In '99 it's again with a cover song that we find him. But this time it's as a guest on the album by American Beverly Jo Scott, who lives in Belgium. Together they did an entertaining track which is a synthesis of "la Fille du Père Noël" by Dutronc and "Jean Genie" by Bowie.
Arno returned to the music news in August '99 with a new album entitled "A Poil Commercial". Recorded in Arno's habitual blues-rock vein, "A Poil Commercial" brought the singer's husky "whisky-and-cigarettes" vocals even further to the fore.
The singer followed on with a tour spread over the year 2000 and including 170 concerts. And, after a last concert in Prague, the Parisian Cité de la Musique gave him carte blanche to put on a show of his own choice. Alone on stage with his usual band, he gave a very warm and tasteful 'bal rock', which was grandly applauded by a public of loving fans. A month later a compilation summarising his 30-year career was released.
Arno stormed back into the music news on 26 February 2002 with an album full of tender rock ballads entitled "Arno Charles Ernest" (the singer's real name). The 15 tracks on the album, recorded in a more acoustic vein than usual, included a duet with Jane Birkin ("Elisa") and a cover of the Rolling Stones classic "Mother's Little Helper". Shortly after the album release Arno kicked off a new tour with a concert at the Olympia in Paris on 8 March 2002.
Arno, the insatiable wordsmith, was back at the forefront of the music scene in May 2004 with a second album written entirely in French. The album, entitled French Bazaar, was the 26th of his career. Shot through with the lucidity and acerbic wit with which Arno has made his name, French Bazaar proves that the Flemish singer – who has just turned 55 – is still full of life and vitality.
Solo Gigolo
Arno Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Of all the things I said
Like I said before
I am just a lonely solo gigolo
At the bars nobody is missing
In my head the mood is smiling
I'll let it flow
Are you with someone else
Or just with yourself
Nothing has changed
By the way
How are the kids today
Don't you worry about me
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light
A new light gets in
You don't need me anymore
It doesn't matter anymore
Like I said before I am just a lonely solo gigolo
In your head the moon is crying
In my heart the sun is shining
Like I said before I am just a lonely solo gigolo
Like I said before I am just a lonely solo gigolo
Arno's song "Solo gigolo" is a melancholic ballad which explores the themes of loneliness and acceptance. The lyrics depict a man who is questioning his value and self-worth as he realizes that he is not needed by the person he is talking to. He almost lost his head because of the things he said, which suggests that he might have said something that he now regrets but cannot take back. He refers to himself as a "solo gigolo" which is a metaphor for his loneliness and lack of meaningful connection with others. The bars he frequents are empty and nobody is missing him, which only adds to his feelings of isolation.
The chorus repeats the phrase "Like I said before, I am just a lonely solo gigolo" emphasizing the man's feelings of worthlessness and detachment. He tries to reach out to the person he is talking to by asking about the whereabouts of the kids, but it seems that he is met with indifference. The line "There is a crack in everything, that's how the light, a new light gets in" suggests that there is still hope for him to find light and meaning in his life, despite the darkness he is currently experiencing. The song ends with the repetition of the chorus, emphasizing the man's continuing loneliness.
Line by Line Meaning
I almost lost my head
I was on the verge of losing control over myself
Of all the things I said
Out of everything that I said previously
Like I said before
As I mentioned earlier
I am just a lonely solo gigolo
I am a lonely musician who performs alone
At the bars nobody is missing
No one is missing me when I perform at bars
In my head the mood is smiling
I am feeling happy and optimistic in my mind
I'll let it flow
I'll let my emotions flow
Real slow, real slow
Slowly and steadily
Are you with someone else
Are you with another person
Or just with yourself
Or are you alone
Nothing has changed
Nothing has been altered
By the way
Incidentally
How are the kids today
How are your children doing today
Don't you worry about me
You don't need to worry about me
There is a crack in everything
Every situation has a flaw or a vulnerability
That's how the light
That's how a new perspective
A new light gets in
Can help us see things differently
You don't need me anymore
You don't require my presence any longer
It doesn't matter anymore
It's no longer important
In your head the moon is crying
You are feeling sad and melancholic
In my heart the sun is shining
I feel happy and optimistic in my heart
Like I said before I am just a lonely solo gigolo
As I mentioned earlier, I am a solitary musician
Like I said before I am just a lonely solo gigolo
As I mentioned earlier, I am a solitary musician
Contributed by Xavier K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@marietheresebiliczki8529
Si arno..n existait pas
Il faudrait l inventer.tous , nous les fans ,nous avons trop d amour
Pour lui
C est comme une petite drogue ,que ferions nous sans lui
.il n y aurait
Plus
De cette plénitude,qui nous tiens.et nous
Donne toujours envie de le voir de l ecouter
.et ,de l aimer
.que fait il
Ou est il que vas t il encore nous donner.whaa
Que c est bon.de vivre ça.!!!
🎀🏅🤗💛🍀🍀🍀
@avrilisabelle4696
Sofiane Pamart apporte une telle douceur aux textes de Arno! Celle-ci me bouleverse particulièrement...bon voyage, solo gigolo..
@Gfin2Toi
Quel duo!
@faroukfarah1396
je viens d'apprendre la disparition d'arno , un grand artiste avec une voix envoutante et des superbes mélodies, je te remercie pour tous ce que tu nous a apportés,repose en paix
@Dominibiza
Arno et Sofiane, deux génies qui nous élèvent et nous font entrer dans une autre dimension. Merci à deux authentiques artistes qui fonctionnent avec leur âme et leurs tripes.
@BenHaddar
La plus belle version avec ce piano dentelle et cette voix désespérée! sublimissime!
@Xavier-kk6yt
Un pure beauté cette voix magnifique avec un touché de piano magistral ! salut Arno tu me manques
@deprestmartine9654
Arno, onze Cohen, in een bepaald opzicht
Integer en intens gezongen. Superbe, merci voor het geven van deze mooie muziek
@lydiarobeet5482
Arno en Sofiane, wat een schitterend geheel! Dat is pas echt genieten!!! MERCI !!!!
@lili-ko8ce
Arno n'est pas mort car c'est inenvisageable.... Il est parti à Ostende dans la mer du Nord... et sera toujours dans mon coeur et Pamart l'accompagne, lui fait des concerts. Et du coup je ne pleure plus;
@gordonalain
Hoorde dit op de radio op weg naar huis. Prachtig gewoonweg subliem! Perfectie in een schitterend lied (chanson).