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.
Qu'ils sont heureux
Françoise Hardy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
et la neige en tombant
parle de toi, et je m'assois
sur chaque banc
et je t'attends
quatre fois j'ai vu les feuilles rouillées
qui mouraient à l'automne
quand nous allions
dans la forêt
rappelle-toi
nous marchions
et les gens disaient
"qu'ils sont heureux!"
"qu'ils sont heureux!"
nous marchions
et les gens disaient
"qu'ils sont heureux ces deux là"
quatre fois j'ai connu l'été sans toi
quand le sable brûlait
entre mes mains
j'ouvrais les doigts
et je crois bien
que j'avais froid
le printemps je ne l'ai jamais revu
c'est peut-être qu'avant
je le voyais
avec tes yeux
oui, mais tes yeux
ne me voient plus
comme avant
quand les gens disaient
"qu'ils sont heureux!"
"qu'ils sont heureux!"
comme avant
quand les gens pensaient
"qu'ils sont heureux ces deux là"
The lyrics of Françoise Hardy's "Qu'ils sont heureux" speak to the heartache and longing felt in the absence of a loved one. The singer reflects on the passing of the seasons, noting how the changing weather patterns remind her of the person she is missing. Winter is especially poignant, as the snow falling seems to carry her loved one's voice. She sits on benches and waits, hoping they will return, but they never do.
The other seasons are also connected to memories of the person she loves. Autumn brings to mind walks in the forest where they used to go and the leaves that fell around their feet. Spring is absent because it was a season shared with her partner, and her memories of it are too painful to revisit. Summers without her partner are described as lonely, and the sand that burns between her fingers reminds her of the heat of their love that she now misses.
Throughout the song, the singer also comments on how people perceived them as a couple when they were together. Strangers would often remark on how happy they looked. But now that she is alone, those moments of envy from others only serve to remind her of what she has lost. In the end, the song is a poignant reflection on the fleeting nature of love, and how the memories of a lost romance can linger even as the seasons continue to change.
Line by Line Meaning
quatre fois l'hiver est venu, déjà
Winter has come four times already
et la neige en tombant
And as the snow falls
parle de toi, et je m'assois
It reminds me of you and I sit down
sur chaque banc
On every bench
et je t'attends
And I wait for you
quatre fois j'ai vu les feuilles rouillées
I have seen the leaves turn red four times
qui mouraient à l'automne
As they died in the autumn
sous nos pas
Beneath our feet
quand nous allions
When we went
dans la forêt
Into the forest
rappelle-toi
Remember
nous marchions
We walked
et les gens disaient
And people said
"qu'ils sont heureux!"
"How happy they are!"
"qu'ils sont heureux!"
"How happy they are!"
nous marchions
We walked
et les gens disaient
And people said
"qu'ils sont heureux ces deux là"
"Those two are so happy"
quatre fois j'ai connu l'été sans toi
I have experienced summer without you four times
quand le sable brûlait
When the sand was burning
entre mes mains
In my hands
j'ouvrais les doigts
I opened my fingers
et je crois bien
And I believe
que j'avais froid
That I felt cold
le printemps je ne l'ai jamais revu
I have never seen the spring again
c'est peut-être qu'avant
Maybe it's because before
je le voyais
I used to see it
avec tes yeux
Through your eyes
oui, mais tes yeux
Yes, but your eyes
ne me voient plus
Do not see me anymore
comme avant
As before
quand les gens disaient
When people said
"qu'ils sont heureux!"
"How happy they are!"
"qu'ils sont heureux!"
"How happy they are!"
comme avant
As before
quand les gens pensaient
When people thought
"qu'ils sont heureux ces deux là"
"Those two are so happy"
Contributed by Molly N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.