In the 80s and 90s, he enjoyed popular success singing his own songs, many of which climbed quickly to the top of the French charts of the era. In the 1990s, he sung several titles with Félix Gray.
He was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur in 2009.
Michele
Didier Barbelivien Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tes cheveux portaient des rubans
Tu habitais tout près
Du Grand Palais
Je t'appelais le matin
Et ensemble on prenait le train
Pour aller
Tou tou tou tou tou tou Au lycée
Michèle assis près de toi
Moi j'attendais la récré
Pour aller au café
Boire un chocolat
Et puis t'embrasser
Un jour tu as eu dix-sept ans
Tes cheveux volaient dans le vent
Et souvent tu chantais
Oh yesterday
Les jeudis après-midi
On allait au cinéma gris
Voir les films
Tou tou tou tou tou tou
De Marilyn
Michèle un soir en décembre
La neige tombait sur les toits
Nous étions toi et moi
Endormis ensemble
Pour la première fois
Le temps a passé doucement
Et déchu le Prince charmant
Qui t'offrait des voyages
Dans ses nuages
En avril au printemps dernier
Que tu vis
Tou tou tou tou tou tou
A Paris
Michèle, c'est bien loin tout ça
Les rues, les cafés joyeux
Mêmes les trains de banlieue
Se moquent de toi
Se moquent de moi
Michèle, c'est bien loin tout ça
Les rues, les cafés joyeux
Mêmes les trains de banlieue
Se moquent de toi
Se moquent de moi
Se moquent de moi
The lyrics to Didier Barbelivien's song Michèle tell the nostalgic story of a teenage love affair. The singer reminisces about his fond memories of Michèle, a girl he met when he was just fifteen years old. He would call her in the morning and they would take the train to school together. They were each other's first love and would steal kisses during recess while drinking hot chocolate at the café. The song also mentions Michèle's love for the Beatles and her singing of "Yesterday," which adds a touch of innocence and sweetness to this love story.
However, things changed when Michèle turned seventeen. The singer explains how her hair would blow in the wind and they would often go to the cinema to watch Marilyn Monroe films. Finally, one snowy December night, they slept together for the first time. This marked a new chapter in their relationship, one where they were closer and had a deeper connection. Despite this, the singer acknowledges how time changes people and that Michèle has moved on. She got married recently and is now living in Paris, far away from their teenage love affair.
Overall, the lyrics to Michèle are bittersweet and reflective of a long-gone past. They remind us of the innocence and simplicity of young love, but also of how it fades away with time and distance.
Line by Line Meaning
Tu avais à peine quinze ans
You were barely fifteen years old
Tes cheveux portaient des rubans
Your hair had ribbons
Tu habitais tout près Du Grand Palais
You lived very close to the Grand Palais
Je t'appelais le matin Et ensemble on prenait le train
I used to call you in the morning and we would take the train together
Pour aller Tou tou tou tou tou tou Au lycée
To go to high school together
Michèle assis près de toi
Michèle sitting close to you
Moi j'attendais la récré Pour aller au café
I would wait for the break to go to the café
Boire un chocolat Et puis t'embrasser
To drink hot chocolate and then kiss you
Un jour tu as eu dix-sept ans
One day you turned seventeen
Tes cheveux volaient dans le vent
Your hair was blowing in the wind
Et souvent tu chantais Oh yesterday
And you often sang 'Oh yesterday'
Les jeudis après-midi On allait au cinéma gris
On Thursday afternoons, we would go to the old cinema
Voir les films Tou tou tou tou tou tou De Marilyn
To watch Marilyn Monroe's movies
Michèle un soir en décembre La neige tombait sur les toits
One evening in December, while the snow was falling on the roofs
Nous étions toi et moi Endormis ensemble Pour la première fois
You and I fell asleep together for the first time
Le temps a passé doucement
Time went by slowly
Et déchu le Prince charmant
The Prince Charming fell from grace
Qui t'offrait des voyages Dans ses nuages
Who would offer you trips in his clouds
On m'a dit que tu t'es mariée En avril au printemps dernier
I heard that you got married last spring in April
Que tu vis Tou tou tou tou tou tou A Paris
That you live in Paris now
Michèle, c'est bien loin tout ça Les rues, les cafés joyeux
Michèle, all of that is far away now, the happy streets and cafés
Mêmes les trains de banlieue Se moquent de toi Se moquent de moi
Even the suburban trains mock you, mock me, and the past we had together
Michèle, c'est bien loin tout ça Les rues, les cafés joyeux
Michèle, all of that is far away now, the happy streets and cafés
Mêmes les trains de banlieue Se moquent de toi Se moquent de moi Se moquent de moi
Even the suburban trains mock you, mock me, and the past we had together, constantly reminding us of what we've lost
Contributed by Levi T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.