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.

Fume Cette Cigarette
Eddy Mitchell Lyrics

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À l'école quand j'étais petit
Les grands se cachaient sous leur lit
Pour fumer en cachette une cigarette
Ils se faufilaient
Sans un bruit
À la faveur de la nuit
Certains d'entre eux fumaient dans les toilettes
Le privilège qu'ils m'accordaient

C'est moi, le petit, qui craquait
Une allumette pour leur cigarette

Fume, fume, fume cette cigarette
Fume, fume, fume, fume cette cigarette
Et j'entends leur voix me dire
Elle revient en souvenir
Pour devenir un homme
Fume cette cigarette

La surveillante des cours du soir
M'a entraîné dans le parloir
Je n'ai pas l'impression d'être à la fête
Elle dit qu'il faut me rattraper
Qu' j'ai besoin d cours particuliers
Qu'elle a toujours maté les fortes têtes
Elle m'a reçu dans son peignoir
M'a demandé si j' voulais boire
Et tendu un paquet de cigarettes

Fume, fume, fume cette cigarette
Fume, fume, fume, fume cette cigarette
Et j'entends sa voix me dire
Elles reviennent en souvenir
Pour devenir un homme
Fume cette cigarette
Mais j'ai vraiment fumé plus tard
Lorsque j'ai vu Humphrey Bogart
Pincer entre ses lèvres une cigarette
Identifié à ce héros
Je marchais en courbant le dos
Je me prenais pour un roi du racket
Je n'ai connu que des déboires
Je rentrais en toussant le soir
Sans la moindre féminine conquête

Fume, fume, fume cette cigarette
Fume, fume, fume, fume cette cigarette
Et j'entends des voix me dire
Elles reviennent en souvenir
Pour devenir un homme
Fume cette cigarette

Il m'arrive souvent de fumer
Des choses plus ou moins bien roulées
Qui n' ressemblent pas toujours aux cigarettes
Je n'ai rien compris et rien vu
Mais un homme je suis devenu
Accroché pour toujours aux cigarettes

Fume, fume, fume cette cigarette
Fume, fume, fume, fume cette cigarette
Et j'entends des voix me dire
Elles reviennent en souvenir

Pour devenir un homme
Fume cette cigarette

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Eddy Mitchell's song "Fume Cette Cigarette" tell the story of a young boy's introduction to smoking and how it became a symbolic rite of passage for him to become a man. The first verse describes how the boy would light cigarettes for the older boys at school, who would hide and smoke in secret. The privilege of being able to light their cigarettes and join in this act of rebellion made him feel grown-up and part of their group. Through this experience, smoking became associated with feelings of independence and maturity for him.

In the second verse, the boy is taken to task by the "surveillante des cours du soir", who sees him as a troublemaker and in need of special attention. She invites him into her room, offers him a cigarette, and encourages him to smoke, saying that cigarettes will help him become a man. Once again, smoking becomes linked to the idea of manhood and being "cool". However, as the song progresses, the tone becomes more introspective and melancholic. The singer recounts how smoking led to him adopting the mannerisms and attitudes of his heroes, Humphrey Bogart and other Hollywood stars, believing that smoking would make him appear tougher and more charismatic. But the reality was that he was simply addicted, coughing and wheezing his way through life, without true love or companionship.

The final verse acknowledges that smoking has become a way of life for the singer, despite its negative effects on his health and well-being. He has become an adult, but at a heavy cost. The haunting final lines, "Et j'entends des voix me dire, Elles reviennent en souvenir, Pour devenir un homme, Fume cette cigarette" can be translated to, "And I hear voices telling me, They come back as memories, to become a man, Smoke this cigarette." Here, memories of smoking are revisited, perhaps with a sense of nostalgia or even regret, as the emotional and physical toll of addiction is laid bare.

Fume Cette CigaretteEddy Mitchell Lyrics

Fume Cette Cigarette
Eddy Mitchell Lyrics