Eddy Mitchell (born Claude Moine July 3, 1942, Paris) is a French singer an… Read Full Bio ↴Eddy Mitchell (born Claude Moine July 3, 1942, Paris) is a French singer and actor. He began his career in the late 1950s, with the group Les Chaussettes Noires (The Black Socks), taking his name from the American expatriate tough-guy actor Eddie Constantine (later the star of Jean-Luc Godard's Alphaville). The band performed at the Parisian nightclub Le Golf Drouot before signing to Barclay Records and finding almost instant success; in 1961 it sold two million records.

Heavily influenced by American rock & roll, Mitchell (who went solo in 1963) has often recorded outside France, at first in London, but later in Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee. Guitarist Jimmy Page and drummer Bob Graham were among the British session musicians who regularly supported him in London.

Comme un étranger dans la ville
Eddy Mitchell Lyrics

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Comme un étranger dans la ville, je suis plus seul qu'une ombre
Et ma voix ne parle qu'à moi
Les gens qui me regardent n'ont pas de visage
Ils n'ont que l'ombre d'un regard.

Je veux aller où le soleil brille à travers la pluie
Où un blouson sur mon dos me tient chaud
Echappant au vent du nord, voguant au ciel d'été

Ou ricochant sur des vagues d'océan.

Je veux aller où le soleil brille à travers la pluie
Où mon pauvre blouson me tient chaud
Echappant au vent du nord, voguant au ciel d'été
Ou ricochant sur des vagues d'océan.

Comme un étranger dans la ville, je suis plus seul qu'une ombre
Et ma voix ne parle qu'à moi
Mon cœur que cette ville ne connaît pas
Mon cœur que cette ville ne connaît pas

Mon cœur que cette ville ne connaît pas
Mon cœur que cette ville ne connaît pas.

Overall Meaning

In Eddy Mitchell's song Comme un étranger dans la ville (Like a Stranger in the City), the singer portrays himself as an alienated and lonely individual in a foreign place. As he walks through the city, he feels that he is completely alone and even feels that people looking at him do not truly see him, as he compares them to faceless shadows. His voice only exists within himself, and he appears to live in a world of his own where he longs for the warmth of the sun and a jacket to keep him warm against the rain.

The lyrics highlight the singer's desire to escape the north wind and sail in the summer sky or on the waves of the ocean. He wants to go to a place where he can feel free and alive, where he is not an outsider in a foreign city. Even though he is surrounded by people, he feels distant and disconnected.

Overall, the song expresses the feeling of being lost and disconnected in a big city, where one feels like a stranger and longs to be part of something greater than oneself. The lyrics are beautifully poetic and convey a sense of longing and a search for identity and belonging that many of us can relate to.

Line by Line Meaning

Comme un étranger dans la ville, je suis plus seul qu'une ombre
Feeling like a stranger in this town, I am more alone than a shadow.

Et ma voix ne parle qu'à moi
My voice only talks to me.

Les gens qui me regardent n'ont pas de visage
The people who look at me do not have a face.

Ils n'ont que l'ombre d'un regard.
They only have the shadow of a look.

Je veux aller où le soleil brille à travers la pluie
I want to go where the sun shines through the rain.

Où un blouson sur mon dos me tient chaud
Where a jacket on my back keeps me warm.

Echappant au vent du nord, voguant au ciel d'été
Escaping the north wind, sailing in the summer sky.

Ou ricochant sur des vagues d'océan.
Or bouncing on ocean waves.

Je veux aller où le soleil brille à travers la pluie
I want to go where the sun shines through the rain.

Où mon pauvre blouson me tient chaud
Where my poor jacket keeps me warm.

Comme un étranger dans la ville, je suis plus seul qu'une ombre
Feeling like a stranger in this town, I am more alone than a shadow.