Some of his best known songs include "Boum...!", "Y'A D'La Joie", "Que Reste-T-Il De Nos Amours?", "Ménilmontant", and "Douce France". His catalog of songs is enormous, numbering close to a thousand. While many of his songs mined relatively conventional topics such as love, Paris, and nostalgia for his younger days, what set Trenet's songs apart were their personal, poetic, sometimes quite eccentric qualities, often infused with a warm wit. Some of his songs had unconventional subject matter, with whimsical imagery bordering on the surreal. "Y'A D'La Joie" evokes "joy" through a series of disconnected (though all vaguely phallic) images, including that of a subway car shooting out of its tunnel into the air, the Eiffel Tower crossing the street and a baker making excellent bread. The lovers engaged in a minuet in "La Polka Du Roi" reveal themselves at length to be "no longer human": they are made of wax and trapped in the Musée Grévin. Many of his hits from the 1930s and 1940s effectively combine the melodic and verbal nuance of French song with American swing rhythms.
Other artists have had hits with some of Trenet's songs, such as the American Bobby Darin's success with "Beyond the Sea" ("La Mer"). Darin's version preserved the charming chording of Trenet's original which the author dashed off in about an hour in 1946 as an homage to the French coastline, once again free of battleships and the scars of World War II.
Other Trenet songs were recorded by such popular French singers as Maurice Chevalier, Jean Sablon, and Frehel.
Le Noël Des Enfants Noirs
Charles Trenet Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ont le même Bon Dieu que nous
Ils lui chantent les mêmes cantiques
Tout comme nous à genoux
Et vers la fin décembre
Tout comme nous ils regardent le ciel
Jusqu'à c'qu'ils voient descendre
Dans la nuit le Père Noël
Ils se souviennent d'Hérode
Ce roi qui fut si méchant
Aussi le soir ils ne rôdent
Plus à travers les bois et les champs
Ils restent comme des images
Éblouis devant la crèche
En attendant les Rois Mages
Devant Jésus sur la paille sèche
Ils savent mais ils s'en fichent
Que les plus jolis des joujoux
Iront aux enfants des riches
Mais ils sentent là sur leur joue
La caresse d'un ange qui passe
Et qui leur donne un baiser
En leur disant "Y a d'la place"
Au ciel tu pourras t'amuser
Mais une chose les tourmente
Ils en parlent souvent à mi-voix
C'est comme un rêve qui les hante
Et leur met le cœur en émoi
C'est un mystère qu'on n'explique jamais
Pensent-ils tout tremblants
Pourquoi sur la terre d'Afrique
Le Bon Dieu est-il blanc ?
Pourquoi ?
Pourquoi ?
In Charles Trenet's song "Le Noël des enfants noirs" (The Christmas of Black Children), the lyrics reflect on the similarities between the experiences of black children from Africa and children from other parts of the world during Christmas time. The song begins by stating that black children from Africa also have the same God as everyone else, and they sing the same hymns to Him while kneeling down. Just like others around the world, they too look up at the sky in late December, hoping to catch a glimpse of Santa Claus descending into the night.
The lyrics then reference the story of King Herod, known for his cruelty. The black children, aware of this story, no longer wander through the woods and fields at night. Instead, they become like still images, dazzled by the sight of the manger, waiting for the arrival of the Three Wise Men before Baby Jesus on the dry hay. Despite being aware that the most beautiful toys will go to the rich children, they can feel a kiss from an angel on their cheek, assuring them that there is space for them in heaven where they can enjoy themselves.
However, there is one thing that troubles them, a question that haunts their dreams and stirs their hearts: why is God portrayed as white in Africa? This line expresses the confusion and curiosity of the black children, pondering the representation of God's whiteness on the Earth in Africa, where they themselves come from.
Line by Line Meaning
Les petits Noirs d'Afrique
The little Black children of Africa
Ont le même Bon Dieu que nous
Have the same Good Lord as us
Ils lui chantent les mêmes cantiques
They sing Him the same hymns
Tout comme nous à genoux
Just like us, on their knees
Et vers la fin décembre
And towards the end of December
Tout comme nous ils regardent le ciel
Just like us, they look at the sky
Jusqu'à c'qu'ils voient descendre
Until they see descending
Dans la nuit le Père Noël
In the night, Santa Claus
Ils se souviennent d'Hérode
They remember Herod
Ce roi qui fut si méchant
That evil king
Aussi le soir ils ne rôdent
So in the evening, they don't roam
Plus à travers les bois et les champs
Anymore through the woods and fields
Ils restent comme des images
They remain like images
Éblouis devant la crèche
Dazzled in front of the manger
En attendant les Rois Mages
While waiting for the Three Wise Men
Devant Jésus sur la paille sèche
In front of Jesus on the dry straw
Ils savent mais ils s'en fichent
They know, but they don't care
Que les plus jolis des joujoux
That the prettiest toys
Iront aux enfants des riches
Will go to the rich children
Mais ils sentent là sur leur joue
But they feel there on their cheek
La caresse d'un ange qui passe
The touch of an angel passing by
Et qui leur donne un baiser
And who gives them a kiss
En leur disant "Y a d'la place"
Telling them "There is room"
Au ciel tu pourras t'amuser
In heaven, you can have fun
Mais une chose les tourmente
But one thing troubles them
Ils en parlent souvent à mi-voix
They often talk about it in a low voice
C'est comme un rêve qui les hante
It's like a dream that haunts them
Et leur met le cœur en émoi
And puts their heart in turmoil
C'est un mystère qu'on n'explique jamais
It's a mystery that is never explained
Pensent-ils tout tremblants
They think, all trembling
Pourquoi sur la terre d'Afrique
Why on the African land
Le Bon Dieu est-il blanc ?
Is the Good Lord white?
Pourquoi ?
Why?
Pourquoi ?
Why?
Lyrics © RAOUL BRETON EDITIONS, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Charles Trenet
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind