Jolie Louise
Daniel Lanois Lyrics


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Ma jolie, how do you do?
Mon nom est Jean-Guy Thibault-Leroux
I come from East of Gatineau
My name is Jean-Guy, ma jolie
J'ai une maison à Lafontaine
Where we can live, if you marry me
Une belle maison à Lafontaine
Where we will live, you and me
O-oh Louise... ma jolie Louise

Tous les matins au soleil
I will work till work is done
Tous les matins au soleil
I did work till work is done
And one day the foreman
Said «Jean-Guy, we must let you go
Et puis mon nom, why est pas bon
At the mill any more
O-oh Louise, I'm losing my head
I'm losing my head

My kids are small, four and three
Et la bouteille, she's mon amie
I drink the rum till I can't see
It hides the shame Louise does not see
The carousel turns in my head
And I can't hide, oh no no no no
And the rage turns in my head
And Louise, I struck her down
Down on the ground... I'm losing my mind
I'm losing my mind

En septembre soixante-trois
The kids are gone and so is Louise
Ontario they did go
Near la ville de Toronto
Now my tears, they roll down
Tous les jours, o-o-o-oh
And I remember the days




And the promises that we made
O-oh Louise, ma jolie Louise, ma jolie Louise

Overall Meaning

The song Jolie Louise by Daniel Lanois is a poignant story of a man named Jean-Guy Thibault-Leroux who is deeply in love with a woman named Louise. He asks her to marry him and promises a beautiful life together in Lafontaine. The lyrics of the song are in French and convey the desperation and loneliness of Jean-Guy as he battles the challenges of life.


The song starts with Jean-Guy introducing himself to Louise and the listener. He talks about where he comes from and tries to win Louise’s affection. He speaks of his hopes and dreams for their life together in Lafontaine, but things take a turn for the worse when he loses his job at the mill. This leads him to drink and become violent, eventually leading to him striking down Louise, the woman he loves.


The second part of the song talks about the aftermath of this event, with Jean-Guy left alone and broken-hearted. The lyrics speak of him losing his children and Louise after they move to Ontario. This causes him to obsess over the past and regret his actions. Overall, the song paints a picture of the difficult life of Jean-Guy and his love for Louise, which ultimately leads to his downfall.


Line by Line Meaning

Ma jolie, how do you do?
Dear beautiful woman, how are you doing?


Mon nom est Jean-Guy Thibault-Leroux
My name is Jean-Guy Thibault-Leroux


I come from East of Gatineau
I'm from the Eastern part of Gatineau


J'ai une maison à Lafontaine
I have a house in Lafontaine


Where we can live, if you marry me
We can live there together if you marry me


Where we will live, you and me
Our shared living space will be in Lafontaine


O-oh Louise... ma jolie Louise
Oh Louise, my beautiful Louise


Tous les matins au soleil
Every morning under the sun


I will work till work is done
I will work tirelessly until my job is complete


I did work till work is done
I used to work there until I was let go


And one day the foreman
One day, the boss


Said «Jean-Guy, we must let you go
Informed me that I was being fired


Et puis mon nom, why est pas bon
And my name wasn't good enough


At the mill any more
For that particular workplace


O-oh Louise, I'm losing my head
Oh Louise, I'm going crazy


My kids are small, four and three
My children were young, four and three years old


Et la bouteille, she's mon amie
And the bottle is my friend


I drink the rum till I can't see
I drink rum until I lose consciousness


It hides the shame Louise does not see
Alcohol helps me cover up the shameful behavior that Louise is unaware of


The carousel turns in my head
My thoughts are spinning uncontrollably


And I can't hide, oh no no no no
And I can't conceal my emotions


And the rage turns in my head
My anger boils inside of me


And Louise, I struck her down
And I hit Louise, knocked her to the ground


Down on the ground... I'm losing my mind
She fell to the ground and I'm losing control of my sanity


En septembre soixante-trois
In September sixty-three


The kids are gone and so is Louise
The children and Louise are no longer around


Ontario they did go
They moved to Ontario


Near la ville de Toronto
Near the city of Toronto


Now my tears, they roll down
Now my tears are constantly falling


Tous les jours, o-o-o-oh
Every single day


And I remember the days
I reminisce about the past


And the promises that we made
And the promises we made to each other


O-oh Louise, ma jolie Louise, ma jolie Louise
Oh Louise, my beautiful Louise




Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: Daniel Lanois

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

@louiseuchiwa2295

Je m'appelle Louise et mes parents mettaient cette chanson dans la voiture quand j'étais petite. Cette chanson a donné en partie l'envie à mes parents de m'appeler Louise

@shanyalvarez9462

Je les comprend Louise 💓tellement beau...et le sens de cette chanson est triste.. mais quel talent

@relka3572

Bonjour de même j'ai appeler ma fille Louise j'aimerai que le chanteur nous la chante à la française en complet sa serai sympa

@rigolonzinbrin

C'est joli Louise, Marie aussi et Catherine....

@bettyk8105

Hello Louise! 😄 It’s a great song by which your maman et papa chose your name!

@user-dm1qz8jh2f

Tellement beau chanson..

2 More Replies...

@madeleinehague3247

Such a heartbreaking, beautiful song. "Acadie" is still one of my favourite LP's.

@michellegosser7106

I heard this many years ago while driving through the snowy Quebec countryside. It was magical. So happy to find it tonight!

@sonomafan

I remember the first time I heard this song was while watching the television show Northern Exposure - later they did play it on VH1. This is such a great song and Daniel Lanois is wonderful!

@donnavickers6058

I bought the CD of songs on Northern Exposure. My son and I love all the different music on it. I loved all of it but I think Brian Eno's Lay my Love is my fav.

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