Hardy signed her first contract with the record label Vogue in November 1961. In April 1962, shortly after finishing school, her first album, "Oh oh Chéri", appeared, with the title song written by Johnny Hallyday's writing duo. The flip side of the record, "Tous les garçons et les filles" became a huge success, which sold 2 million copies. She had long hair and usually wore jeans with a leather jacket, while accompanying her songs on the guitar.
She sang in English, Spanish, and German occasionally. In 1963, she represented Monaco in the Grand Prix d'Eurovision de la Chanson with "L'amour s'en va" and emerged in fifth place. In 1968, she received the Grand Prix du Disque Académie Charles Cros.
In 1981, she married her long-time companion Jacques Dutronc, with whom she had already had a son (Thomas Dutronc) in 1973. In May 2000, she had a comeback with the album "Clair Obscur". Her son played the guitar, and her husband sang the duet "Puisque vous partez en voyage". Iggy Pop and Etienne Daho participated, as well. She currently lives near Paris.
In 2006 she released a new duets album entitled "Parenthèses" which included a song with her son Thomas.
In 2021, Hardy announced that her health had worsened and that she would not be able to sing again owing to the effects of cancer therapy.
Modern style
Françoise Hardy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Et le coeur se déchire quand les chiens sont lâchés
Amour, amour. Anglaise modern style ou Européen recyclé
Les intermittences de nos coeurs
Mon Dieu, mon Dieu, qu'elle crève de douleur
La vie est faite de morceaux qui ne se joignent pas
Les pays sont fait de morceaux qui ne se joignent plus, mademoiselle Brown
Où on court dans la rue pour sauver sa peau, Mademoiselle Brown
Où on ne dort que d'un oeil, si insomniaque est le deuil, est le deuil
La vie est faite de morceaux qui ne se joignent pas
Barbare modern style, européen, petite ordure
L'éminence de nos peurs
Mon Dieu, mon Dieu, qu'elle crève de douleur, de douleur, de douleur
Petite ordure
La vie est faite de morceaux qui ne se joignent pas
A la guerre comme à l'amour
Faut cueillir tel quel, le prochain jour
Et dans l'absolu de l'horreur
Exprimer la secrète douceur
De toute blessure à mort qui n'est pas là encore
De toutes ces blessures à mort qui ne sont pas là... encore
The lyrics to Françoise Hardy's "Modern Style" are laden with melancholy and piercing insights into the human experience. In the first stanza, she notes that life is made up of disparate pieces that do not fit together well: the heart is torn apart when the dogs are released; love takes on different forms, from English to recycled European; and our hearts pulse intermittently, ruptured by pain. The phrasing is stark and poetic, laying bare the vulnerability of the human heart.
As the song continues, she laments the state of the world: countries are made of pieces that no longer fit together; people run in the streets to save their skins; lovers die like pigeons on bridges from the bullets of fools; and even sleep is haunted by insomnia and mourning. She goes on to describe people as "barbarian modern style" and "little scum," but she acknowledges that even in the midst of our greatest terrors, there is a secret sweetness to be found, a tenderness wrought from the wounds that are not yet here.
Overall, the song is a poignant and powerful meditation on the brokenness of the world and the fragile resilience of the human spirit, a testament to the power of poetry to capture the elusive essence of the heart's deepest truths.
Line by Line Meaning
La vie est faite de morceaux qui ne se joignent pas, Mademoiselle Brown
Life is composed of pieces that do not fit together, Mademoiselle Brown.
Et le coeur se déchire quand les chiens sont lâchés
And the heart tears apart when the dogs are unleashed.
Amour, amour. Anglaise modern style ou Européen recyclé
Love, love. Modern English style or recycled European.
Les intermittences de nos coeurs
The intermittencies of our hearts.
Mon Dieu, mon Dieu, qu'elle crève de douleur
My God, my God, let her die of pain.
Les pays sont fait de morceaux qui ne se joignent plus, mademoiselle Brown
Countries are made of pieces that no longer fit together, Mademoiselle Brown.
Où on court dans la rue pour sauver sa peau, Mademoiselle Brown
Where one runs in the street to save one's skin, Mademoiselle Brown.
Où les amants crèvent sur les ponts comme des pigeons, tirés par les cons
Where lovers die on bridges like pigeons, shot by assholes.
Où on ne dort que d'un oeil, si insomniaque est le deuil, est le deuil
Where one sleeps with only one eye if insomnia is the mourning, is the mourning.
Barbare modern style, européen, petite ordure
Barbaric modern style, European, little shit.
L'éminence de nos peurs
The eminence of our fears.
Mon Dieu, mon Dieu, qu'elle crève de douleur, de douleur, de douleur
My God, my God, let her die of pain, of pain, of pain.
Petite ordure
Little shit.
La vie est faite de morceaux qui ne se joignent pas
Life is composed of pieces that do not fit together.
A la guerre comme à l'amour
In war as in love.
Faut cueillir tel quel, le prochain jour
We have to take the next day as it comes.
Et dans l'absolu de l'horreur
And in the absolute horror.
Exprimer la secrète douceur
Express the secret sweetness.
De toute blessure à mort qui n'est pas là encore
Of every mortal wound that is not there yet.
De toutes ces blessures à mort qui ne sont pas là... encore
Of all these mortal wounds that are not there... yet.
Contributed by Victoria B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.