He started his production career working in his own studio, Grant Avenue Studios in Hamilton, Ontario. He worked with a number of local bands, most notably Martha and the Muffins, for whom his sister Jocelyne played bass, Ray Materick, as well as the Canadian children's singer Raffi.
After being discovered by Brian Eno and working collaboratively with him on some of Eno's own projects, his career was given a huge boost when Eno invited him to co-produce U2's album The Unforgettable Fire. Along with Eno, he went on to produce U2's The Joshua Tree, the 1987 Grammy Winner for Album of the Year. Bono of U2 recommended Lanois to Bob Dylan in the late 1980s; in 1989 Lanois produced Dylan's Oh Mercy, widely considered one of Dylan's greatest later albums. Eight years later Dylan and Lanois worked together on Time Out of Mind, Dylan's first studio album of original material since 1990, which won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1997.
Wrecking Ball, his 1995 collaboration with Emmylou Harris, received almost unanimous critical praise (many critics placed the album on their year-end "best albums of the year" lists), and revived the aging country artist's career, bringing her to the attention of much younger rock audiences.
As well as being a producer, singer and songwriter, Daniel Lanois plays the guitar, pedal steel and drums. His desire is to bring out the best in the artists he works with and produces, with his wide range of talents and musical ideas. He often leaves an atmospheric and emotionally resonant sound on the projects he produces, which some say has become his 'signature sound'.
Daniel founded Red Floor Records to release his own music albums and DVD films that he sells direct to consumers from his website in high resolution downloads and traditional formats: www.DanielLanois.com
After completing production work on U2's latest album "No Line In The Horizon" in 2009, Daniel has built a new recording studio in Toronto, which he has named "The Temple", as it is located on the site of a former Buddhist Temple. He recently completed producing Neil Young's latest 2010 release, "Le Noise". However, on June 5th, 2010, while working on Young's album, Daniel was in a serious motorcycle accident near his Silver Lake area home of Los Angeles, and he had to postpone his latest personal priority project, Black Dub which features Daniel on guitars, world renown drummer/percussionist Brian Blade, bassist and harmony vocalist Daryl Johnson, and lead vocalist/keyboardist Trixie Whitley (the daughter of the late Chris Whitley).
Black Dub have been signed to Jive Records and they are expected to commence a world tour in early 2011 supporting their debut self titled release, and they are currently doing special engagements throughout November and early December 2010 across the USA.
Daniel has recently written an autobiographical memoir entitled "Soul Mining, A Musical Life" that can be pre-ordered and is expected to be officially released through traditional book store channels in late November 2010.
Jolie Louise
Daniel Lanois Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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
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
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
@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..
@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.