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)
La môme catch-catch
Fréhel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Des lutteurs, des catcheurs, des boxeurs, des tombeurs,
Pour moi ça c'est de la petite bière
Tous ces mecs à biceps ne m'ont jamais fait peur
Leur soi-disant combat, c'est du chiqué
Ils passent leurs temps à s'caresser
Si y en a un dans la salle aujourd'hui
Qu'il vienne ici, il s'ra servi !
{Refrain:}
C'est moi la môme catch-catch
Voyez mes gros biscottos
Costauds
Avec ça j'ai l'air vache
Et une paire de pectoraux
Taureau !
J'ai une poigne de fer,
Un cœur en acier,
La gueule en or
Et les deux pieds nickelés
J'fais les pieds au mur,
Le grand écart
Et je crache à quinze pas
Je bois du gros qui tache
C'est moi la môme catch-catch !
Un jour dans une bagarre
Avec deux affranchis dans l'quartier de l'Arsenal
J'ai cogné sans crier gare
Le premier en est mort, l'autre est à l'hôpital
Les flics sont arrivés, naturellement
Bien après l'coup, c'est plus prudent,
"Ton nom ?" me dit le commissaire au car
J'lui dis "y a que toi pour pas le savoir"
{au Refrain}
J'ai une poigne de fer,
Un cœur en acier,
La gueule en or
Et les deux pieds tatoués
J'fais les pieds au mur,
Le grand écart
Et je crache à quinze pas
Je bois du gros qui tache
C'est moi la môme catch-catch !
The song La môme catch-catch by Fréhel is a defiant and empowering proclamation of strength and toughness. The lyrics describe the singer as a "catch-catch girl," a term used to refer to someone who participates in catch wrestling, a style of wrestling that originated in France. The singer dismisses the strength and bravado of professional wrestlers and boxers, and declares her own superiority over them. She boasts about her muscular arms, firm grip, and the way she "spits fifteen paces" and "drinks strong liquor."
The singer also recounts a violent incident where she got into a fight with two men in the Arsenal neighborhood, which resulted in one of them dying and the other being hospitalized. The police came to investigate, and when asked for her name, she responds with defiance, implying that her reputation is already well-known.
Overall, the song is a celebration of female strength and resilience in a male-dominated society. By casting herself as a fearless and unbeatable fighter, the singer defies gender norms and asserts her right to be as tough and powerful as any man.
Line by Line Meaning
On a fait toute une affaire
People have made a big deal out of it
Des lutteurs, des catcheurs, des boxeurs, des tombeurs,
Wrestlers, boxers, and fighters of all kinds
Pour moi ça c'est de la petite bière
For me, they are no big deal
Tous ces mecs à biceps ne m'ont jamais fait peur
All these muscular men have never scared me
Leur soi-disant combat, c'est du chiqué
Their so-called fights are fake
Ils passent leurs temps à s'caresser
They spend their time rubbing each other
Si y en a un dans la salle aujourd'hui
If there is one in the room today
Qu'il vienne ici, il s'ra servi !
Let him come here, he'll get what he deserves!
C'est moi la môme catch-catch
I am the catch-catch girl
Voyez mes gros biscottos
See my big muscles
Costauds
Strong
Avec ça j'ai l'air vache
With that, I look like a cow
Et une paire de pectoraux
And a pair of pectorals
Taureau !
Bull!
J'ai une poigne de fer,
I have an iron grip
Un cœur en acier,
A heart of steel
La gueule en or
A golden mouth
Et les deux pieds nickelés
And the two penniless feet
J'fais les pieds au mur,
I put my feet on the wall
Le grand écart
The splits
Et je crache à quinze pas
And I spit fifteen feet away
Je bois du gros qui tache
I drink rough drinks
Un jour dans une bagarre
One day in a fight
Avec deux affranchis dans l'quartier de l'Arsenal
With two gangsters in the Arsenal district
J'ai cogné sans crier gare
I hit without warning
Le premier en est mort, l'autre est à l'hôpital
The first one died, the other is in the hospital
Les flics sont arrivés, naturellement
The cops naturally arrived
Bien après l'coup, c'est plus prudent,
Well after the blow, it's more prudent
"Ton nom ?" me dit le commissaire au car
"Your name?" said the inspector in the car
J'lui dis "y a que toi pour pas le savoir"
I told him "only you wouldn't know"
J'ai une poigne de fer,
I have an iron grip
Un cœur en acier,
A heart of steel
La gueule en or
A golden mouth
Et les deux pieds tatoués
And the two tattooed feet
J'fais les pieds au mur,
I put my feet on the wall
Le grand écart
The splits
Et je crache à quinze pas
And I spit fifteen feet away
Je bois du gros qui tache
I drink rough drinks
C'est moi la môme catch-catch !
I am the catch-catch girl!
Contributed by Layla C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@clauderivoire9396
Sans ces artistes rien ne serait arrivé merveille
@sylviefayolle7494
L ' accordéon j'adore donne envie de dance et cette chanson extraordinaire 🧙❤️🍾👍
@nikkythanh
la voix du coeur ! merveilleuse battante
@chabaudmariette1172
J'adore !!! 🤯🤯👍❤
@MsLorania
Il faut qu'une diva française du catch ose une gimmick avec cette chanson ^^
@knukdezout
vive le groupe "Jour De Fête " qui à repris cette cha,son dans un groupe théatro -musical super chouette!!
@louis-karimnebati6143
Magnifique
@luislamas7713
J'adore cette chanson
@eugeniacarmenlazarine8621
Je veux danser sur cette chanson🌺🌺🌺
@sandrinerousseau6579
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️