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.
Troubadour Ou La Crue Du Tage
Boby Lapointe Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Soutenait le corps beau à peau lisse
D'une belle fille qui pensait "comme y serre"
Et pourtant il était inspecteur (oui)
Et chantait en nageant
Pour se donner de l'entrain
Ce suave refrain
Ces propos engageants (de police)
{Refrain:}
Viens t'allonger sur l'herbe tendre des prés
(patatrac)
Je te ferai des gentillesses
J't'énivrerai de langueur, de volupté
(Tra la la)
De doux baisers et de caresses
Je suis un tendre troubadour
Et je ne vis que pour l'amour
Oui pour l'amour.
La belle fille fut émue de ces mots-là
Elle en eut un petit p'tit choc au... là
Comme une fleur d'une voix assez pâle
Comme une fleur elle lui répéta le
Doux refrain déjà dit
Et puisqu'elle le redit (ah)
Moi aussi je l'redis
Comme ça, ça s'ra dit (rose)
{au Refrain}
Le poulet barbotant dans le Tage
Retrouva son p'tit cœur de potache
A celle qui n'avait d'yeux que pour lui, le
Le sieur répéta toute la nuit, le
Toujours même refrain
En caressant le sein doux
De la p'tite écuyère
Qui n'trouvait pas ça louche
{au Refrain}
J'les agrippe en disant : "Quand on est trois
On se sent tout de même moins au large"
Et sans me demander : "Les connais-je ?"
Avec eux pour flotter me liai-je
Et nous avons coulé
Des instants de grand bonheur
En susurrant tous les
Trois encore et en cœur, un, deux, trois.
{au Refrain}
{Coda:}
Avec, avec du poil sous les roses.
The song "Troubadour Ou La Crue Du Tage" by Boby Lapointe tells the story of a peculiar situation: a police inspector who, while swimming in the Tagus river, finds a beautiful girl who has apparently drowned. After managing to rescue her, he starts singing a seductive song to her, inviting her to indulge in love and passion. The girl is moved by his words, and they spend the night together, repeating the same refrain over and over again.
The lyrics of the song are full of wordplay and double entendres, as is typical of Lapointe's style. The inspector's ambiguous behavior, his apparent contradiction between being a law enforcer and a seducer, is mirrored in the lyrics, which alternate between innocent lines about flowers and nature and suggestive ones about love and sex. The chorus, with its catchy melody and playful lyrics, reinforces the troubadour character of the inspector, who uses his charm and wit to win over the girl.
Line by Line Meaning
Dans les flots un poulet de la P.J.
In the waves, a police chicken was supporting the beautiful smooth skin body of a girl who was thinking “how tight he is,” even though he was an inspector (yes) and singing while swimming to give himself some pep with this sweet refrain and engaging police talk.
Viens t'allonger sur l'herbe tendre des prés (patatrac) Je te ferai des gentillesses J't'énivrerai de langueur, de volupté (Tra la la) De doux baisers et de caresses Je suis un tendre troubadour Et je ne vis que pour l'amour Oui pour l'amour.
Come lie down on the tender green grass (crash), I will do nice things for you. I will make you drunk with mellowness, rapture (tra la la), sweet kisses, and caresses. I am a sweet troubadour, and I live only for love, yes, for love.
La belle fille fut émue de ces mots-là Elle en eut un petit p'tit choc au... là Comme une fleur d'une voix assez pâle Comme une fleur elle lui répéta le Doux refrain déjà dit Et puisqu'elle le redit (ah) Moi aussi je l'redis Comme ça, ça s'ra dit (rose)
The beautiful girl was moved by these words; she had a little shock there… like a flower, in a voice quite pale, she repeated the sweet refrain already said, and since she repeated it (ah), I repeat it too; like this, it will be said (rose).
Le poulet barbotant dans le Tage Retrouva son p'tit cœur de potache A celle qui n'avait d'yeux que pour lui, le Le sieur répéta toute la nuit, le Toujours même refrain En caressant le sein doux De la p'tite écuyère Qui n'trouvait pas ça louche
The chicken splashing around in the Tagus river found his little childish heart in her. To the one who had eyes just for him, he repeated the same refrain all night long while caressing the soft breast of the little horsewoman who didn't find it suspicious.
J'les agrippe en disant : "Quand on est trois On se sent tout de même moins au large" Et sans me demander : "Les connais-je ?" Avec eux pour flotter me liai-je Et nous avons coulé Des instants de grand bonheur En susurrant tous les Trois encore et en cœur, un, deux, trois.
I grabbed them, saying: “when there are three of us, we still feel less at ease.” Without asking if I know them, I tied myself to them to float, and we sank in moments of great joy while whispering all together, one, two, three.
Avec, avec du poil sous les roses.
With, with hairs under the roses.
Contributed by Stella M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.