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)
Les filles qui la nuit
Fréhel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Connaissent des belles histoires
Qu'elles disent parfois mêlant aux phrases crues
Des chers souvenirs que garde leur mémoire
Mais d'une voix si grave émouvante et têtue
Qu'on ne peut s'empêcher de croire
Les filles qui la nuit s'offrent au coin des rues
Passée au bord de l'océan
L'autre d'un jour meilleur évoque la caresse
Celle ci parle d'un enfant
Et toutes se dépouillent humblement et confessent
Leur plus dur leur plus doux instant
Les filles qui la nuit s'offrent au coin des rues
Connaissent de belles histoires
Qu'elles disent parfois mêlant aux phrases crues
Des chers souvenirs que garde leur mémoire
Mais d'une voix si grave émouvante et têtue
Qu'on ne peut s'empêcher de croire
Les filles qui la nuit s'offrent au coin des rues
Elles ont du porter sur leurs frêles épaules
Un fardeau souvent par trop lourd
Subir les plus mauvais et les plus tristes rôles
Sans se révolter un seul jour
Et toutes cependant dès qu'un espoir les frôle
Toutes croient encore à l'amour
Les filles qui la nuit s'offrent au coin des rues
Connaissent de belles histoires
Qu'elles disent parfois mêlant aux phrases crues
Des chers souvenirs que garde leur mémoire
Mais d'une voix si grave émouvante et têtue
Qu'on ne peut s'empêcher de croire
Les filles qui la nuit s'offrent au coin des rues
The song "Les Filles Qui la Nuit" by Fréhel is sung from the perspective of the women who offer themselves on the street at night. The song describes their lives and experiences through their own voices, which are "grave émouvante et têtue" (grave, moving, and stubborn). These women have beautiful stories to tell, ones that they sometimes mix in with vulgar language, and they hold dear memories of their lives.
Some of the women recall their youth spent by the ocean, while others dream of better days spent in the arms of a lover. There are those who speak of their children, and they all candidly confess their hardest and their sweetest moments. Despite the hardships that come with their profession, these women remain resilient and maintain their belief in love.
The song shows the listener that even those whom society may look down upon have a history, a personality, and a story to tell. Through the power of music and storytelling, Fréhel gives a voice to those who are often silenced and forgotten.
Line by Line Meaning
Les filles qui la nuit s'offrent au coin des rues
Women who offer themselves at night on street corners
Connaissent des belles histoires
Have lived through touching and remarkable experiences
Qu'elles disent parfois mêlant aux phrases crues
Which they sometimes reveal alongside coarse expressions
Des chers souvenirs que garde leur mémoire
Precious memories that they hold onto in their minds
Mais d'une voix si grave émouvante et têtue
But with a voice so solemn, moving, and determined
Qu'on ne peut s'empêcher de croire
That you can't help but believe them
Une en joignant les mains évoque sa jeunesse
One, clasping her hands, recalls her youth
Passée au bord de l'océan
Spent by the ocean
L'autre d'un jour meilleur évoque la caresse
Another remembers a better day when she was spoiled
Celle ci parle d'un enfant
This one talks about a child
Et toutes se dépouillent humblement et confessent
And they all humbly reveal their most difficult and sweetest moments
Leur plus dur leur plus doux instant
Their hardest and sweetest memories
Elles ont du porter sur leurs frêles épaules
They had to carry heavy burdens on their fragile shoulders
Un fardeau souvent par trop lourd
A burden that was often too heavy
Subir les plus mauvais et les plus tristes rôles
Enduring the worst and saddest roles
Sans se révolter un seul jour
Without ever rebelling
Et toutes cependant dès qu'un espoir les frôle
And yet, every time hope touches them
Toutes croient encore à l'amour
They all still believe in love
Writer(s): Jean Boyer, Léo Lelièvre, Maurice Aubret
Contributed by Julian V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@blueline8963
Merci le Cabaret de Poussière de me l'avoir faite découvrir ❤ Superbe interprétation de votre part !
@merlealors3706
une grande dame !!! pour sur !!!
@MrModulateur
j'aime beaucoup cette chanteuse