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.
Qui peut dire ?
Françoise Hardy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Viendra après la nuit
Qui peut dire, si le jour
Sera bleu ou bien gris?
Si l'on sait que l'hiver
Reviendra tous les ans
Ce que sera l'hiver
Les jours, tous, plus ou moins
Se ressemblent
Et les nuits
Mais qui peut dire, demain
Sera comme aujourd'hui?
Qui peut être assez sûr?
Ce que l'on croit avoir
On ne peut que le perdre
Et si le ciel est noir
C'est qu'il peut être clair
Car tout commencement
Doit avoir une fin
Ce qui vit
Est changeant
Puis meure
Et n'est plus rien
Les gens, tous, plus ou moins
Se ressemblent
Alors, qui
Peut promettre à quelqu'un
De n'aimer plus que lui.
The lyrics of Francoise Hardy's song Qui Peut Dire? convey a sense of uncertainty about the future and the transience of life. The song poses a series of rhetorical questions about our ability to predict and control what lies ahead. It recognizes that while we may have some knowledge of what is to come, ultimately we cannot fully determine the future.
The first two verses highlight the unpredictable nature of the future, using the example of the weather. Despite our knowledge that there will be both day and night and winter will come each year, we cannot know what these periods of time will bring. The third verse questions our ability to make accurate predictions about tomorrow, emphasizing the fact that life is full of surprises and that nothing is certain.
The final verse reflects on the impermanence of life and the inevitability of change and mortality. It notes that everything has a beginning and an end, and that people are all fundamentally similar in this respect. The song ends with a poignant question, pointing to the difficulty of making promises that we cannot guarantee to keep.
Overall, Francoise Hardy's Qui Peut Dire? is a meditative and introspective song that encourages the listener to reflect on the fragility of life and the uncertainty of the future. It invites us to embrace the present moment and to let go of the illusion of control.
Line by Line Meaning
Si l'on sait que le jour
If we know that the day
Viendra après la nuit
Comes after the night
Qui peut dire, si le jour
Who can say whether the day
Sera bleu ou bien gris?
Will be blue or gray?
Si l'on sait que l'hiver
If we know that winter
Reviendra tous les ans
Comes every year
Ce que sera l'hiver
What it will be like
Nul ne le sait vraiment
No one really knows
Les jours, tous, plus ou moins
Days, more or less,
Se ressemblent
Are similar
Et les nuits
And nights
Mais qui peut dire, demain
But who can say if tomorrow
Sera comme aujourd'hui?
Will be like today?
Qui peut être assez sûr?
Who can be sure?
Ce que l'on croit avoir
What we believe we have
On ne peut que le perdre
We can only lose
Et si le ciel est noir
And if the sky is black
C'est qu'il peut être clair
It can be clear
Car tout commencement
Because every beginning
Doit avoir une fin
Must come to an end
Ce qui vit
What is alive
Est changeant
Is changing
Puis meure
Then dies
Et n'est plus rien
And is nothing
Les gens, tous, plus ou moins
People, more or less,
Se ressemblent
Are similar
Alors, qui
So who
Peut promettre à quelqu'un
Can promise someone
De n'aimer plus que lui.
To love only him?
Contributed by Leah F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.