Born in Paris, France to a poor and dysfunctional family, Marguerite Boulc'h was a child left to a life on the streets in the dark side of Paris. In her teens she got a break when she met one of the female music-hall performers who heard her sing and introduced her to show business promoters. She began performing under the stage name "Pervenche" and soon met and married Robert Hollard, a performer who used the nom de guerre "Roberty." Alcohol entered her life at an early age and her drinking became a problem for her husband. Their marriage did not last long and Boulc'h's husband left her for the Parisian singer, Damia. Fréhel then began a relationship with Maurice Chevalier but that too did not last long and after he left her for the much older megastar Mistinguett, the distraught girl, still only 19 years old, attempted suicide.
Following her failed suicide attempt, in 1911 Marguerite Boulc'h tried to escape her pain and travelled to Bucharest, Romania and then to Russia where she remained for more than ten years. Lost in a world of alcohol and drugs, she returned to Paris in 1923 to a shocked public that saw the wasted shadow of the singer they had known and loved. She then signalled a new beginning by switching to the stage name "Fréhel", taking the name from Cap Fréhel in Brittany where her parents had been born. Singing as Fréhel, at the Paris Olympia in 1924 she recaptured the former magic with a powerful performance and was soon headlining at the most popular venues in the country. Part of what is now referred to as the bal musette, Fréhel often sang accompanied by pipes and/or an accordion player.
In the 1930s, she appeared in several motion pictures, almost always portraying a singer in a minor or supporting role. The most notable films in which she performed were 1931's De Coeur des Lilas, based on the Tristan Bernard play, and Pépé le Moko that starred Jean Gabin. While her alcohol abuse continued, she nevertheless was a major show business force of 1930s France. Of all her songs, her 1939 "La Java Bleue", with music by Vincent Scotto, proved her most popular.
Despite being one of Europe's most sought after performers, her destructive addictions led to her dropping out of sight for years. She never found the love she had sought for so long and died in 1951, a wretched drunk, alone in a hotel in Pigalle. She was interred in the Cimetière de Pantin, near Paris.
Her 1934 recording "Si tu n'étais pas là" was featured in the 2001 soundtrack for the film Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain (Amélie).
Some of Fréhel's best known songs:
* "Comme un moineau" (1925)
* "Où est-il donc? " (1926)
* "À la dérive" (1932)
* "Où sont tous mes amants" (1935)
* "Tel qu'il est" (1936)
* "La der des der" (1939)
* "La java bleue" (1939)
Films:
* De Coeur des Lilas (1931)
* La Rue sans nom (1934)
* Le roman d'un tricheur (1936)
* Pépé le Moko (1937)
* L'Innocent (1937)
* La Rue sans joie (1938)
A la dérive
Fréhel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Qu'c'était un' femm' (un homm') trop à la page
Mais qu'voulez-vous l'coeur était pris.
Mon coeur tout neuf était en cage
Il (Elle) a fait d'moi c'qu'il (c'qu'elle) a voulu
Sa chose à lui (elle) pour son caprice
Et je n'avais plus qu'un seul but
L'aimer, l'aimer malgré ses vices
Sans savoir comment...
Je me suis senti partir A LA DÉRIVE
Quand il (je) me (la) prenait
Plus rien n'existait
Le désir toujours plus fort me rendait ivre
Sous ses baisers je me sentais partir tout doux
Je ne sais où.
A LA DÉRIVE
Aveuglément, je pardonnais.
Ses mots méchants et ses injures
Pour le (la) garder, j'aurais tout fait.
Pour empêcher cette rupture
Il (Elle) est parti, sait-on c'que c'est.
Que de perdre l'homm' (celle) que l'on aime
Combien de larm's et de regrets
Il faut pourtant vivre quand même
Insensiblement (Misérablement)
Sans savoir comment...
Je voudrais pouvoir partir
A LA DÉRIVE
Noyer mon amour
Dans le fil des jours
Qui me conduirait, tout doux, sur d'autres rives
Dans un ciel clair, lavé de tout, j'irai là-bas
Je ne sais où.
A LA DÉRIVE
The lyrics of Fréhel's song A la dérive tell the story of a person who falls deeply in love with someone who is considered to be a trendsetter, someone who is always up-to-date with the latest fashions and trends. Despite being aware of the person's flaws (vices), the person is unable to resist their charm and becomes driven by their desire for them. The singer surrenders their heart to this person, forgiving their hurtful words and insults in order to keep them close. However, eventually, the person leaves, and the heartbroken narrator is left feeling lost and adrift.
The lyrics are filled with vivid imagery that captures the singer's emotional state, using the metaphor of being "à la dérive" (adrift) to describe their feeling of being lost and without direction. The phrase is repeated several times throughout the song, emphasizing the sense of disorientation and vulnerability that the singer experiences. There is a sense of longing in the lyrics, as the singer yearns to be reunited with their love or to simply move on and find a new direction.
Line by Line Meaning
Quand j'l'ai connu, j'ai bien compris
When I met him/her, I understood
Qu'c'était un' femm' (un homm') trop à la page
That he/she was a person too trendy
Mais qu'voulez-vous l'coeur était pris.
But what can you do, the heart was taken.
Mon coeur tout neuf était en cage
My brand new heart was in captivity.
Il (Elle) a fait d'moi c'qu'il (c'qu'elle) a voulu
He/She made me what he/she wanted.
Sa chose à lui (elle) pour son caprice
His/Her own thing for his/her fancy.
Et je n'avais plus qu'un seul but
And I had nothing left but one goal
L'aimer, l'aimer malgré ses vices
To love him/her despite his/her vices
Puis inconsciemment
Then unconsciously
Sans savoir comment...
Without knowing how...
Je me suis senti partir A LA DÉRIVE
I felt myself drifting away
Quand il (je) me (la) prenait
When he took hold of me
Plus rien n'existait
Nothing else existed
Le désir toujours plus fort me rendait ivre
The desire, always stronger, made me drunk
Sous ses baisers je me sentais partir tout doux
Under his/her kisses, I felt myself drifting away softly
Je ne sais où.
I don't know where.
A LA DÉRIVE
Drifting away
Aveuglément, je pardonnais.
Blindly, I forgave.
Ses mots méchants et ses injures
His/Her mean words and insults.
Pour le (la) garder, j'aurais tout fait.
To keep him/her, I would have done anything.
Pour empêcher cette rupture
To prevent this break
Il (Elle) est parti, sait-on c'que c'est.
He/She left, do we know what it means?
Que de perdre l'homm' (celle) que l'on aime
To lose the man/woman that one loves.
Combien de larm's et de regrets
How many tears and regrets.
Il faut pourtant vivre quand même
We must still live.
Insensiblement (Misérablement)
Unknowingly (Miserably)
Sans savoir comment...
Without knowing how...
Je voudrais pouvoir partir
I would like to be able to leave
A LA DÉRIVE
Drifting away
Noyer mon amour
Drown my love
Dans le fil des jours
In the course of days
Qui me conduirait, tout doux, sur d'autres rives
That would lead me, softly, to other shores
Dans un ciel clair, lavé de tout, j'irai là-bas
In a clear sky, washed of everything, I will go there.
Je ne sais où.
I don't know where.
A LA DÉRIVE
Drifting away
Lyrics © RAOUL BRETON EDITIONS, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BEUSCHER ARPEGE, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: LEON AGEL, EMILE RONN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@stephanefortier9748
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