He was born in Pézenas, in the Hérault département of France. A brilliant scholar, he prepared for the entrance exam to the Centrale (engineering school) and Sup-Aero at Montpellier, but was conscripted into the Youth Building Projects in 1942 and sent to Germany in 1943 for compulsory work service. He escaped the same year, and found work as a diver in La Ciotat, a suburb of Marseilles, in 1944.
In 1946, he married Colette Maclaud. They had two children, Ticha (born 1948) and Jacky (1950).
His first published work, Les douze chants d'un imbecile, appeared in 1951. He moved to Paris and opened a fashion and baby clothes shop, still writing and producing plays. Later, he switched to being a fitter of TV aerials and began singing.
In the 1960s, Boby Lapointe started an actor’s career and acted in films by some of the greatest French directors, among which François Truffaut and Claude Sautet.
His fame grew when the actor Bourvil sang Lapointe's song Aragon et Castille in the 1954 film Poisson d'avril. In 1960, film director François Truffaut offered him a part in Tirez sur le Pianiste in which he played Framboise, accompanied by Charles Aznavour on piano. This marked the start of a career that saw Lapointe perform at major venues throughout France. His joyful character led him to build friendships with French stars Anne Sylvestre, Raymond Devos, Jacques Brel and Georges Brassens.
Lapointe was also a mathematician, and developed the bi-bi-binary system (also known as the bibi system) in 1971.
Monsieur L'Agent
Boby Lapointe Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Monsieur l'agent,
Est'-c' que je vais bientôt sortir...
De c'carrefour
Il y a longtemps, longtemps, longtemps,
Monsieur l'agent
Que je suis là avec ma "tire"
A c'carrefour
Avec sa mère
Ma r'commandé d'être là à l'heure...
Puisqu'y a sa mère
E,t moi qui rapporte le beurre
Pour mettre dans les épinards
Ell' vont me r'procher mon retard...
A - mèr'
Pourquoi ?
Quand le feu est vert
C'est comme quand il est rouge
Personne ne bouge
Je trouve ça louche,
Oh là là quel temps on perd
Jc m'énerve,
Je m'énerve,
Je m'éner ner ner ner ner ner ner ve.
Mais qu'est-ce donc que cet agent...
L'agent qui est-ce,
Planté devant mon véhicule...
La jambe en l'air.
Allons, ayez monsieur l'agent...
La gentillesse
De garer votre matricule...
Là j'en dit trop.
Mais la police est sur les dents...
Et l'agent siffle,
L'est pas content que j'le bouscule...
L'agent git vit'
J'ai beau lui dir' :
"Ma femme' cardiaqu'
Est au lit avec une attaqu"'
Ça lui fait une belle jambe...
O - lie.
Il sort son petit carnet
Pour me fiche un' contre-danse
Et je suis en transe
Mon beurre' sera rance
Avant qu'il ait terminé.
Je m'énerve,
Je m'énerve,
Je m'éner ner ner ner ner ner ner ve.
Au violon mes sanglots longs
Bercent ma peine
J'ai reçu des coups près du colon
J'ai mal vers l'aine !²
The song "Monsieur L'Agent" by Boby Lapointe tells the story of a man who has been stuck at a crossroads for a long time with his car, and is worried about getting home to his wife and mother-in-law who are waiting for him. The lyrics express the singer's frustration with the traffic light that isn't changing, and his encounter with a police officer who issues him a ticket for blocking traffic. The man tries to explain his situation, stating that his wife has had a heart attack and is in bed, but the officer doesn't seem to care. The song then takes a surreal turn with the singer lamenting about being beaten by the police and experiencing pain in his colon and groin.
The lyrics reveal the singer's deep-seated feelings of powerlessness in the face of an arbitrary and unresponsive system. The song can be interpreted as a commentary on the frustrations of living in a bureaucratic society where individual needs and circumstances are often overlooked in the pursuit of maintaining order and control. Boby Lapointe's use of comedic language and playful wordplay, typical of his unique style, adds to the surreal and absurd quality of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Monsieur l'agent, monsieur l'agent...
The singer calls out to the police officer multiple times.
Monsieur l'agent,
Est'-c' que je vais bientôt sortir...
De c'carrefour
The singer wants to know if they will soon be able to leave the intersection.
Il y a longtemps, longtemps, longtemps,
Monsieur l'agent
Que je suis là avec ma "tire"
A c'carrefour
The singer has been waiting at the intersection for a long time with their car.
Chez nous ma femme qui m'attend",
Avec sa mère
Ma r'commandé d'être là à l'heure...
The artist's wife and mother-in-law are expecting them to be punctual.
Puisqu'y a sa mère
Et moi qui rapporte le beurre
Pour mettre dans les épinards
Ell' vont me r'procher mon retard...
A - mèr'
The artist fears that their mother-in-law will criticize them for being late since they are responsible for buying butter for the family.
Pourquoi ?
Quand le feu est vert
C'est comme quand il est rouge
Personne ne bouge
Je trouve ça louche,
Oh là là quel temps on perd
Jc m'énerve,
Je m'énerve,
Je m'éner ner ner ner ner ner ner ve.
The singer is annoyed that no one is moving even though the traffic light is green, and they become increasingly frustrated as time goes on.
Mais qu'est-ce donc que cet agent...
L'agent qui est-ce,
Planté devant mon véhicule...
La jambe en l'air.
The singer is bewildered by the police officer standing with one leg in the air in front of their car.
Allons, ayez monsieur l'agent...
La gentillesse
De garer votre matricule...
Là j'en dit trop.
The artist sarcastically asks the officer to park their vehicle (which is perceived as unnecessary) and then realizes that they have said too much.
Mais la police est sur les dents...
Et l'agent siffle,
L'est pas content que j'le bouscule...
The artist realizes that the police are on high alert and the officer is unhappy with their behavior.
L'agent git vit'
J'ai beau lui dir' :
"Ma femme' cardiaqu'
Est au lit avec une attaqu'"
Ça lui fait une belle jambe...
O - lie.
The artist tries to explain that their wife is having a heart attack, but the officer is not sympathetic and remains immobile.
Il sort son petit carnet
Pour me fiche un' contre-danse
Et je suis en transe
Mon beurre' sera rance
Avant qu'il ait terminé.
The officer starts writing a ticket, causing the singer to panic and worry that their butter will go bad before they can finish their errand.
Au violon mes sanglots longs
Bercent ma peine
J'ai reçu des coups près du colon
J'ai mal vers l'aine !²
The artist has been taken to jail and is in pain from being beaten near their colon.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ETIENNE ALFRED LORIN, ROBERT JEAN FRANCOIS JOSEPH LAPOINTE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Chevalier
Il est excellent ce Boby: toutes ses chansons sont géniales! Quelle maîtrise de notre langue!
Amelie Gerbal
un grand merci à ce grand monsieur pour son travail musicale .
Robert Marcou
Allez donc a PÉZENAS vile avisité ,est il y a un tout petit musée ( dommages ) enl'honneurs de BOBY LAPOINTE EN ESPÉRANT QUE DEPUIS IL A PROSPÉRER 👍💙🤩
NoSerious Man
D'hommage...
Xo Uchiha
Fabuleux personnage qui malgré son merveilleux sens de l'humour et sa pratique parfaite du français n'as pas trouver son public ... c'est vraiment dommage ... et j'étais même pas née !!!
Marcel Thierens
Vraiment formidable
Jean Louis SEGUIN
Unique boby lapointe!
amiardechois
Nouveau : ebook audiovisuel En flânant avec Boby Lapointe (Amazon)
NoooooooP
le rap d années 60 x) :D
B. Clarenc
"Je m'éner ner ner ner ner ner ner ve." Il manque un "ner". :s
"Avant qu'il ait terminé." est "Quand il aura terminé".
J'ai mal vers l'Aisne.