He first came to the music industry's attention with his collaboration with, and arrangements for, Keren Ann and his sister Coralie Clément. Finally earning a solo contract after many years of struggle, Biolay released his debut album, Rose Kennedy, in 2002. A concept album, Rose Kennedy looks at early 1960s America through the cataractic eyes of the late matriarch, who went from attending dinner parties to suffering the assassination of two of her sons.
Next up was Négatif, a double CD full of sometimes violent imagery surrounding a group of drifters, which included a disaffected, oddly sympathetic, american named Billy Bob. Biolay released two albums in 2005, A L'origine (translated: In The Beginning) is a darker, denser work than his previous outings, while Home is a light, sunny duet album with his wife, started when they noticed that they needed good road trip CD to listen to while on vacation. He has also written film scores, songs and arrangements for such beloved french stars as Francoise Hardy, Juliette Greco and Henri Salvador.
He worked with Elodie Frégé on her second album Le Jeu des 7 erreurs
(including lead single "La Ceinture") which was released in autumn 2006.
Padam
Benjamin Biolay Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Avant de quitter l'hôtel
Engoncé dans mon complet croisé
Si souvent, j'ai gardé pour moi mes vicissitudes et mes vices
Et tourments, tournis, turpitudes
L'horreur d'un souvenir passé
J'attendais en vain
Qu'il me déclare sa flamme
Dans une orgie haut de gamme
Padam padam padam padam pam pam
Souvent, je me suis pris pour un autre et j'ai fait des doubles fautes
Double sec, double dose, double dame avec les femmes d'un autre
Plus souvent qu'à mon tour j'ai bu le sang des vautours
J'ai cru les gens qui m'entourent
Qui rêvent de bonheur mais se foutent éperdument du nôtre
J'attendais en vain
Que le monde entier m'acclame
Qu'il me déclare sa flamme
Dans une orgie haut de gamme
Padam padam padam padam pam pam
Si, souvent, sur la sellette, je rêvais de paillettes
Long est le chemin qui mène
À la faillite en presque tous les domaines
Si, souvent, j'ai broyé du noir, du gris, du magenta, du marc
De l'eau-de-vie
De l'art de vivre sans personne qui t'aime
J'attendais en vain
Que le monde entier m'acclame
Qu'il me déclare sa flamme
Dans une orgie haut de gamme
Padam padam padam padam pam pam
Padam padam padam padam pam pam
J'attendais en vain
Que le monde entier m'acclame
Qu'il me déclare sa flamme
Dans une orgie haut de gamme
Padam padam padam padam pam pam
In Benjamin Biolay's song Padam, the singer reflects on his life and experiences, expressing his feelings of disillusionment and disappointment. He describes waking up early and leaving hotels, feeling trapped in his suit and plagued by his own troubles and vices. He sings about waiting in vain for the world to embrace him with high society celebrations and grand spectacles, while he makes mistakes and is let down by those around him. The chorus repeats throughout, with an urgent rhythm suggesting a desire to break free from this cycle of expectation and disappointment.
The lyrics of Padam convey a sense of jadedness and weariness, as the singer reflects on his past mistakes and ambitions that have gone unfulfilled. The repetition of the chorus creates a sense of urgency, as though the singer is trying to convince himself that he no longer needs the approval of others. The use of words such as "tournis" (dizziness) and "turpitudes" (depravities) create a vivid image of the singer's troubled inner world.
Overall, the song is a powerful expression of the emotions of a person who has struggled to find satisfaction and fulfillment in life, and who has come to realize that his expectations of the world and its appreciation of him were misguided.
Line by Line Meaning
Bien souvent je me suis réveillé avant le lever du soleil
I often woke up before sunrise
Avant de quitter l'hôtel
Before leaving the hotel
Engoncé dans mon complet croisé
Wearing my double-breasted suit
Si souvent, j'ai gardé pour moi mes vicissitudes et mes vices
I often kept my troubles and vices to myself
Et tourments, tournis, turpitudes
And my torments, dizziness, and turpitudes
L'horreur d'un souvenir passé
The horror of a past memory
J'attendais en vain
I waited in vain
Que le monde entier m'acclame
For the whole world to applaud me
Qu'il me déclare sa flamme
For it to declare its love for me
Dans une orgie haut de gamme
In a high-end orgy
Padam padam padam padam pam pam
Padam padam padam padam pam pam
Souvent, je me suis pris pour un autre et j'ai fait des doubles fautes
Often, I pretended to be someone else and made double faults
Double sec, double dose, double dame avec les femmes d'un autre
Double dry, double dose, double lady with another man's women
Plus souvent qu'à mon tour j'ai bu le sang des vautours
More often than not, I drank the blood of vultures
J'ai cru les gens qui m'entourent
I believed the people around me
Qui rêvent de bonheur mais se foutent éperdument du nôtre
Who dream of happiness but don't give a damn about ours
Si, souvent, sur la sellette, je rêvais de paillettes
If I often dreamed of glitter in difficult situations
Long est le chemin qui mène
The road that leads there is long
À la faillite en presque tous les domaines
To failure in almost every domain
Si, souvent, j'ai broyé du noir, du gris, du magenta, du marc
If often, I was depressed, unhappy, and disillusioned
De l'eau-de-vie
Of the brandy
De l'art de vivre sans personne qui t'aime
Of the art of living without anyone who loves you
Padam padam padam padam pam pam
Padam padam padam padam pam pam
J'attendais en vain
I waited in vain
Que le monde entier m'acclame
For the whole world to applaud me
Qu'il me déclare sa flamme
For it to declare its love for me
Dans une orgie haut de gamme
In a high-end orgy
Padam padam padam padam pam pam
Padam padam padam padam pam pam
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Benjamin Biolay
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Grisell Teran
Me encanta la combinación de tan buena musica y su voz con el idioma. Exquisito❤️
Murielle
J'adore ! Tous ces décalages ! Remettent les idées en place : )
Eloise enfmalt
C'est génial, et j'adore le titre 🖤🖤🖤
Wendy Blue
Sous des airs sérieux il est vraiment hors normes ! j'adore ce compositeur. Merci de nous faire partager votre bel univers.
Una persona xD
Super! J’adore :D
RUBIKOMAN KT91
Chciałem posłuchać księdza Natanka, a skończyłem ostatecznie na tym... cóż zdarza się czasem nice... greetings from Poland
Anwar Yunes Guzmán
me encanta!!!
lou ing
je me lasse pas de regarder ce clip !!! il est barré Micha et j'adOre ça !!!
Lucia Grimaldi
C est Biolay
filigreeshadow
c'est merveilleux!