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.
Petit homme qui vit d'espoir
Boby Lapointe Lyrics
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Rencontra sur la butte un soir
Femme-enfant de grande beauté
Fille-fleur aux souliers crottés.
Aussitôt son cœur a bondi
S'est senti l'âme d'un bandit
Y avait du bonheur à ravir
L'aborde et lui dit : "Bonsoir...
Je suis l'homm' le plus rich' d'espoir
J'en ai trop, j'en ai bien pour deux
Et de vous je suis amoureux
J'ai l'espoir de toujours vous voir
J'ai l'espoir d'bientôt vous avoir
J'ai l'espoir de mettre à vos pieds
Les richesses du monde entier.
A pris ses plus jolis espoirs
Les a mis dans un grand mouchoir
A la belle il les a donnés
Mais la belle les a piétinés.
Elle a dit : "le truc de l'espoir
On m'l'a déjà fait, pas d'histoires
Offre-moi des réalités
Sinon sur moi faut pas compter".
Petit homm' qui vivait d'espoir
A pleuré dans son grand mouchoir
A pleuré tout ce qu'il savait
Et aussi ce qu'il ignorait
Est monté sur la tour Eiffel
Et s'est élancé vers le ciel
Est retombé sur la chaussée
Son sang a tout éclaboussé.
Les passants, de sang tout tachés
Sont allés se faire détacher
Du moment qu'y a des teinturiers
Faut bien les faire travailler.
The song "Petit homme qui vivait d'espoir" by Boby Lapointe tells the story of a man who lives on the hope that he will find true love. He meets a beautiful woman on a hill one evening, who he describes as a "daughter-flower with dirty shoes". He falls in love with her immediately and declares himself to be the richest man in hope, with enough hope for both of them. He hopes to see her always, hopes to have her soon, and hopes to give her all the riches in the world. However, the woman rejects him, saying that she has been promised hope before and that she wants real things instead. The man, devastated, cries over his many lost hopes and eventually commits suicide by jumping off the Eiffel Tower.
The lyrics deal with themes of idealism and despair, as the man's unwavering hopefulness leads him to an ultimately tragic end. The woman's skepticism towards his hope can be interpreted as a critique of empty promises and the need for tangible action. The final lines of the song, describing the bloody aftermath of the man's death, add a touch of dark humor and irony to the tale.
Line by Line Meaning
Petit homme qui vivait d'espoir
The singer of the song is a small or insignificant man who only lives based on the things he feels hopeful or optimistic about.
Rencontra sur la butte un soir / Femme-enfant de grande beauté / Fille-fleur aux souliers crottés.
While strolling on a hill one evening, our protagonist meets a young woman who has a childish face and an exceptional appearance, but with shoes that are very dirty.
Aussitôt son cœur a bondi / S'est senti l'âme d'un bandit / Y avait du bonheur à ravir / A une fill' belle à ravir / L'aborde et lui dit : "Bonsoir... / Je suis l'homm' le plus rich' d'espoir / J'en ai trop, j'en ai bien pour deux / Et de vous je suis amoureux
As soon as he saw her, he felt an immediate attraction and excitement. He decided he must win her heart and used his poetical words to woo her, telling her how rich he was in hope and that she had everything he dreamed of in a loved one.
J'ai l'espoir de toujours vous voir / J'ai l'espoir d'bientôt vous avoir / J'ai l'espoir de mettre à vos pieds / Les richesses du monde entier.
He expresses all of his dreams and aspirations to her. He wants to always see and be with her, give her everything she wants in life and make her the most important thing in his life.
A pris ses plus jolis espoirs / Les a mis dans un grand mouchoir / A la belle il les a donnés / Mais la belle les a piétinés.
He took all of his hopes and gave them to her, but she crushed them under her feet, saying she didn't want to hear empty promises and preferred real tangible things.
Elle a dit : "le truc de l'espoir / On m'l'a déjà fait, pas d'histoires / Offre-moi des réalités / Sinon sur moi faut pas compter"
She dismisses his romantic speeches and said she's been there before and won't fall for them anymore. She demands real things or else he shouldn't even try.
Petit homm' qui vivait d'espoir / A pleuré dans son grand mouchoir / A pleuré tout ce qu'il savait / Et aussi ce qu'il ignorait
The man who only lived in hope felt devastated after the woman denied his love. He cried all the things he knew and all the things he didn't know, feeling hopeless and lost.
Est monté sur la tour Eiffel / Et s'est élancé vers le ciel / Est retombé sur la chaussée / Son sang a tout éclaboussé.
The artist climbs to the top of the Eiffel tower and then jumps off with the intention of ending his life because he couldn't bear the disappointment of his hopes being crushed. He falls to the ground and dies, his blood spilling all over the road.
Les passants, de sang tout tachés / Sont allés se faire détacher / Du moment qu'y a des teinturiers / Faut bien les faire travailler.
The bystanders who witnessed the man's suicide got blood on their clothes and needed to go to the cleaners to have it washed off. This is because the people who work in that field need to work for a living, and therefore they should be utilized to clean the stains.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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