Charles Trenet (May 18, 1913, Narbonne, France – February 19, 2001, Créteil… Read Full Bio ↴Charles Trenet (May 18, 1913, Narbonne, France – February 19, 2001, Créteil, France) was a French singer and songwriter, most famous for his recordings from the late 1930s through the mid-1950s, though his career continued through the 1990s. In an era in which it was exceptional for a singer to write his or her own material, Trenet wrote prolifically and preferred to record his own songs.

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.

Ma maison
Charles Trenet Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Ma maison
Est jolie en hiver sous la neige
Ma maison
Est jolie quand revient le printemps
Les saisons
Ont pour elle un cortège émouvant
De chansons
Qu'elle dit dans le vent

Ma maison
Volets gris jardinet vieilles portes
Ma maison
Je la vois quelquefois rapidement
Quand je passe
Dans le train de la vie qui m'emporte
Ma maison
Me regarde tristement

Mais quand tous mes voyages
Un jour seront finis
Je reviendrai bien sage
Retrouver mon amie

Qu'il est doux
De vieillir au milieu de ces choses loin de tout
Et des jours qui nous ont éprouvés
Ma maison

Fleurira et sa dernière rose
Sera celle de mon cœur retrouvé

Overall Meaning

The lyrics are a poetic expression of the singer's deep connection to their house throughout the changing seasons. The song begins by highlighting the beauty of the house in winter, covered in snow, and in spring, when everything comes back to life. The seasons hold a sentimental significance for the house, as they bring along a procession of songs that the house whispers in the wind. The imagery of gray shutters, a little garden, and old doors further underscores the simplicity and charm of the house.

The singer sometimes catches a glimpse of their house, but only fleetingly, as they are carried away on the train of life. There is a sense of melancholy as the house sadly watches them go. However, the singer suggests that once all their journeys are over, they will return to their house as a wise person and reunite with their beloved friend.

The second verse reflects on the joys of growing old surrounded by the familiar sights and objects in their house, far away from the trials and tribulations of the outside world. The house will continue to flourish, with its last rose symbolizing the singer's rekindled heart.

In essence, the lyrics of "Ma maison" evoke a deep appreciation for the comfort and familiarity found within the singer's house, and the longing to eventually return to it after the experiences of life.

Line by Line Meaning

Ma maison
My house

Est jolie en hiver sous la neige
Looks beautiful in winter under the snow

Ma maison
My house

Est jolie quand revient le printemps
Looks beautiful when spring comes

Les saisons
The seasons

Ont pour elle un cortège émouvant
Have an emotional procession for it

De chansons
Of songs

Qu'elle dit dans le vent
That it whispers in the wind

Ma maison
My house

Volets gris jardinet vieilles portes
Gray shutters, little garden, old doors

Ma maison
My house