Florent Pagny was born on November 6, 1961 in Chalons sur Saone, France. He… Read Full Bio ↴Florent Pagny was born on November 6, 1961 in Chalons sur Saone, France. He showed an interest in singing at a very early age by belting Luis Mariano and Michel Sardou songs to the great delight of his mother. When he turned 15, he moved to Paris and assiduously followed singing lessons at the academy of Levallois Perret while earning his living by doing odd jobs. While working as a barman, he was spotted by the casting agent Dominique Besnehard who found him a part in the Jean Jacques Beineix movie Diva which unfortunately ended up on the cutting floor.

From a series of minor parts, Pagny moved from cinema to TV. In 1985, he got co-writing credits for Michel Gerard's film "Blessure". Two years later, he recorded its first single "N'importe quoi". The success was immediate for this non-conformist.

He won a Victoire, a prestigious French music award, in 1989, yet the following year his second album bombed following a media boycott. "Don't bite the hand that feeds you"!

After a long period of reflection, he came back on top with his album "Rester Vrai" in 1994. In 1997, his album "Savoir aimer" brought him enormous popularity.

He now spends his time between France and Patagonia where he lives with his wife on a 4000 hectare farm pursuing his two passions: motor biking and fishing.

In 2004, Pagny took on an ambitious project: "Baryton", an album made up of titles of the traditional repertory with an amazing 70 member string orchestra and a 60 member choir under the direction of Yvon Cassar. This album was a true success.

In 2006 with the album "Abracadabra" Pagny returned to more of a pop style and delivered a superb album with poignant lyrics "Le Mur" or "Là où je t'emmènerai".

In 2007, "Pagny Chante Brel", launched a tribute album containing eleven songs by the great singer Jacques Brel.

In 2009, "C'est comme ça" came out as a spanish language album. Recorded in Miami with latin composers and musicians, this worthwhile effort showed the extend of his talent across language barriers.

On Nov 12th 2010, "Tout et son contraire" is Pagny's lucky 13th album. With a french album with songs penned by Grégoire, Calogéro, Pascal Obispo and Marc Lavoine, this album is more conventional fare for this now Miami Resident.

In 2010, Pagny also released Baryton. Gracias a la vida his first of two Spanish albums.
In 2013, Viellir avec toi, 2016 Habana his second spanish album, 2017 Le présent d'abord, 2018 Tout Simplement and 2019 Aime La vie.
Remarquably, since 1990 Pagny's albums have always reached the top 5 in the French market, a remarkable 30 year run.
Pagny is a recurring figure as a judge of the French version of the Voice.

Terre
Florent Pagny Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

la route s'arrete
devant l'océan
dans l'aube tiède du levant

c'est l'ultime escale
la fin de l'errance
avant que j'ose le silence

ici la vie est comme toutes les autres vies
meme valeurs, couleur
le ciel se mele à la poussière
je commence à comprendre...

je connais ces terres
j'ai foulé ces pierres
j'y suis déjà venu
et j'y ai vécu
une sensation franche
cette lumière blanche
j'ai enfin trouvé
la paix que je cherchais

la journée s'achève
c'est l'heure où je veille
la mer va coucher le soleil
ici, la nuit me ramène à qui je suis
cette douceur, chaleur
me renvoient dans une autre vie
je commence à comprendre...

je connais ces terres
j'ai foulé ces pierres
j'y suis déjà venu
et j'y ai vécu

une sensation franche
cette lumière blanche
j'ai enfin trouvé
la paix que je cherchais

je connais ces terres
j'ai foulé ces pierres
j'y suis déjà venu
et j'y ai vécu je connais ces terres
j'ai foulé ces pierres

j'y suis déjà venu
et j'y ai vécu

Overall Meaning

In Florent Pagny's song Terre, the lyrics describe the end of a journey as the road comes to a stop at the ocean, as the dawn is breaking. This is where the singer (presumably Pagny) finds the peace that he has been searching for, before finally finding the courage to be silent. The song speaks of the singer’s familiarity with the land, as he has walked on these stones and visited these lands before, but now he finally understands them. He speaks of the colors, values, and the sky mixing with dust, and how he knows these lands and has lived there before. The night brings him back to who he is, and the warmth of the night takes him back to a different time and space where he understands who he truly is.

The repetition of ‘I know these lands, I have walked on these stones, I have been here before, and I have lived here’ is a form of a lyrical device known as anaphora, which emphasizes the sense of familiarity and belonging to the singer. The song's message is one of finding oneself in a world where everything is so different; however, the destination is the same. The song relates to the idea of living in a world that is so connected but still so diverse, and where humans can find common ground despite their differences.

Line by Line Meaning

la route s'arrete
The journey comes to an end

devant l'océan
In front of the ocean

dans l'aube tiède du levant
In the warm dawn of the rising sun

c'est l'ultime escale
This is the final stop

la fin de l'errance
The end of wandering

avant que j'ose le silence
Before I embrace silence

ici la vie est comme toutes les autres vies
Here, life is like any other life

meme valeurs, couleur
Same values, same color

le ciel se mele à la poussière
The sky blends with the dust

je commence à comprendre...
I am starting to understand...

je connais ces terres
I know these lands