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.

Vesoul
Florent Pagny Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

T'as voulu voir Vierzon, et on a vu Vierzon
T'as voulu voir Vesoul, et on a vu Vesoul
T'as voulu voir Honfleur, et on a vu Honfleur

T'as voulu voir Hambourg, et on a vu Hambourg
J'ai voulu voir Anvers, on a revu Hambourg
J'ai voulu voir ta sœur, et on a vu ta mère
Comme toujours

T'as plus aimé Vierzon, on a quitté Vierzon
T'as plus aimé Vesoul, on a quitté Vesoul
T'as plus aimé Honfleur, on a quitté Honfleur
T'as plus aimé Hambourg, on a quitté Hambourg
T'as voulu voir Anvers, on n'a vu qu'ses faubourgs
T'as plus aimé ta mère, on a quitté ta sœur
Comme toujours

Mais je te le dis, je n'irai pas plus loin
Mais je te préviens, j'irai pas à Paris
D'ailleurs, j'ai horreur de tous les flonflons
De la valse musette et de l'accordéon

T'as voulu voir Paris, et on a vu Paris
T'as voulu voir Dutronc, et on a vu Dutronc
J'ai voulu voir ta sœur, j'ai vu le Mont Valérien
T'as voulu voir Hortense, elle était dans le Cantal
J'ai voulu voir Byzance, et on a vu Pigalle
À la gare Saint-Lazare, j'ai vu les Fleurs du Mal
Par hasard

T'as plus aimé Paris, on a quitté Paris
T'as plus aimé Dutronc, on a quitté Dutronc
Maintenant j'confonds ta sœur et le Mont Valérien
De c'que je sais d'Hortense, j'irai plus dans le Cantal
Et tant pis pour Byzance, puisque j'ai vu Pigalle
Et la gare Saint-Lazare, c'est cher et ça fait mal
Au hasard

Mais je te le redis (chauffe, Marcel!) je n'irai pas plus loin
Mais je te préviens le voyage est fini
D'ailleurs, j'ai horreur de tous les flonflons
De la valse musette et de l'accordéon

T'as voulu voir Vierzon, et on a vu Vierzon
T'as voulu voir Vesoul, et on a vu Vesoul
T'as voulu voir Honfleur, et on a vu Honfleur
T'as voulu voir Hambourg, et on a vu Hambourg
J'ai voulu voir Anvers, et on a revu Hambourg
J'ai voulu voir ta sœur, et on a vu ta mère
Comme toujours

T'as plus aimé Vierzon, on a quitté Vierzon (chauffe)
T'as plus aimé Vesoul, on a quitté Vesoul
T'as plus aimé Honfleur, on a quitté Honfleur
T'as plus aimé Hambourg, on a quitté Hambourg
T'as voulu voir Anvers, on n'a vu qu'ses faubourgs
T'as plus aimé ta mère, on a quitté sa sœur
Comme toujours (chauffez, les gars!)

Mais je te le re-redis (kai) je n'irai pas plus loin
Mais je te préviens, j'irai pas à Paris
D'ailleurs, j'ai horreur de tous les flonflons
De la valse musette et de l'accordéon

T'as voulu voir Paris, et on a vu Paris
T'as voulu voir Dutronc, et on a vu Dutronc
J'ai voulu voir ta sœur, j'ai vu le Mont Valérien
T'as voulu voir Hortense, elle était dans le Cantal
J'ai voulu voir Byzance, et on a vu Pigalle

À la gare Saint-Lazare, j'ai vu les Fleurs du Mal
Par hasard (kai, hé, hé!)

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Florent Pagny's song "Vesoul" depict a conversation between two people who have been traveling together. One person has been suggesting various destinations to visit, and each time they arrive, the other person decides they don't like it and wants to move on to the next one. The destinations mentioned in the song include Vierzon, Vesoul, Honfleur, Hambourg, Anvers, Paris, and Byzance. The singer expresses their distaste for Parisian nightlife and music, specifically mentioning their dislike for "flonflons" (a word that roughly translates to gaudy, extravagant music) and the traditional French musette style.

Despite the singer's reluctance to continue traveling, they are continually drawn forward by their travel companion's desires. The song jumps back and forth in time and place, almost like a series of snapshots from their journey together. The final verse sees the singer repeating the same refrain, promising not to travel any further and expressing their dislike of the music and nightlife of the city of Paris.

Overall, the song seems to convey a sense of discontent and wanderlust. The singer is always moving forward to the next destination, never quite satisfied with what they find. It's unclear who their travel companion is, but the slightly combative nature of their interactions suggests a level of tension between them.

Line by Line Meaning

T'as voulu voir Vierzon, et on a vu Vierzon
You wanted to see Vierzon, and we saw Vierzon

T'as voulu voir Vesoul, et on a vu Vesoul
You wanted to see Vesoul, and we saw Vesoul

T'as voulu voir Honfleur, et on a vu Honfleur
You wanted to see Honfleur, and we saw Honfleur

T'as voulu voir Hambourg, et on a vu Hambourg
You wanted to see Hamburg, and we saw Hamburg

J'ai voulu voir Anvers, on a revu Hambourg
I wanted to see Antwerp, but we revisited Hamburg

J'ai voulu voir ta sœur, et on a vu ta mère
I wanted to see your sister, but we saw your mother, as always

T'as plus aimé Vierzon, on a quitté Vierzon
You didn't like Vierzon anymore, so we left Vierzon

T'as plus aimé Vesoul, on a quitté Vesoul
You didn't like Vesoul anymore, so we left Vesoul

T'as plus aimé Honfleur, on a quitté Honfleur
You didn't like Honfleur anymore, so we left Honfleur

T'as plus aimé Hambourg, on a quitté Hambourg
You didn't like Hamburg anymore, so we left Hamburg

T'as voulu voir Anvers, on n'a vu qu'ses faubourgs
You wanted to see Antwerp, but we only saw its suburbs

T'as plus aimé ta mère, on a quitté ta sœur
You didn't like your mother anymore, so we left your sister

Mais je te le dis, je n'irai pas plus loin
But I'm telling you, I won't go any further

Mais je te préviens, j'irai pas à Paris
But I'm warning you, I won't go to Paris

D'ailleurs, j'ai horreur de tous les flonflons
Besides, I hate all the fanfare

De la valse musette et de l'accordéon
Of the musette waltz and the accordion

T'as voulu voir Paris, et on a vu Paris
You wanted to see Paris, and we saw Paris

T'as voulu voir Dutronc, et on a vu Dutronc
You wanted to see Dutronc, and we saw Dutronc

J'ai voulu voir ta sœur, j'ai vu le Mont Valérien
I wanted to see your sister, but I saw Mont Valérien instead

T'as voulu voir Hortense, elle était dans le Cantal
You wanted to see Hortense, but she was in Cantal

J'ai voulu voir Byzance, et on a vu Pigalle
I wanted to see Constantinople, but we saw Pigalle instead

À la gare Saint-Lazare, j'ai vu les Fleurs du Mal
At Saint-Lazare station, I saw The Flowers of Evil

T'as plus aimé Paris, on a quitté Paris
You didn't like Paris anymore, so we left Paris

T'as plus aimé Dutronc, on a quitté Dutronc
You didn't like Dutronc anymore, so we left Dutronc

Maintenant j'confonds ta sœur et le Mont Valérien
Now I mix up your sister and Mont Valérien

De c'que je sais d'Hortense, j'irai plus dans le Cantal
From what I know about Hortense, I won't go to Cantal anymore

Et tant pis pour Byzance, puisque j'ai vu Pigalle
And too bad for Constantinople, since I saw Pigalle

Et la gare Saint-Lazare, c'est cher et ça fait mal
And Saint-Lazare station, it's expensive and painful

Mais je te le redis je n'irai pas plus loin
But I'm telling you again, I won't go any further

Mais je te préviens, le voyage est fini
But I'm warning you, the journey is over