Françoise Hardy (born Françoise Madeleine Hardy on 17 January 1944) is a Fr… Read Full Bio ↴Françoise Hardy (born Françoise Madeleine Hardy on 17 January 1944) is a French former singer and songwriter mainly known for singing melancholic sentimental ballads.

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.

Rendez-vous d'automne
Françoise Hardy Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Comme s'en vont les nuages
Sur le gris bleu de la mer
Notre amour est à l'orage
Et mon cœur est à l'envers

Tout ce que la vie nous donne
Aujourd'hui je l'ai perdu
Par ce rendez-vous d'automne

Où tu n'es jamais venu

Je la dois à ton oubli
Cette larme sur ma joue
Ce n'est rien qu'un peu de pluie
Le vent effacera tout

Quel chemin pourrais-je prendre
Pour me détacher de toi
Qui n'a pas su comprendre
Quand tu étais près de moi

Mais pendant que tourbillonne
Le moindre de mes regrets
Toutes les feuilles frissonnent
Et s'envolent à jamais

Je la dois à ton oubli
Cette larme sur ma joue
Ce n'est rien qu'un peu de pluie
Le vent effacera tout

Mais plus le temps nous sépare
Plus il me laisse à penser

Qu'il reste à peine de notre histoire
À peine de quoi pleurer

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Françoise Hardy's song Rendez-vous d'automne paint a picture of lost love, a love that was once beautiful but has now been soured. The first verse sets the scene, as any love that was once present is now overshadowed by a storm that whips up emotions, mirroring the turmoil of their hearts. The second verse laments that she has lost everything that life gave her, and the only thing left is the memory of the autumn rendezvous they had planned but he never came to. She blames him for her sadness, as he forgot about their promised meeting and left her alone. The third verse questions what path she can take to detach herself from him, as he didn't understand her love when he was near her. The leaves are falling, and her heartbreak is forever.

The chorus repeats, signifying that the memory of her lost love will always be with her, and even though it's just a tear that she sheds, in reality, it's much heavier than that. Time seems to be a factor; although the pain may have subsided, it still keeps on festering in her thoughts, and the sadness still clings to her. As she can barely even recognize any remnant of the past love, she can only cry in silence.

The French term "Rendez-vous d'automne" translates to "Autumn rendezvous," which was presumably a planned meeting between the two lovers in the lyrics. Though he never turned up, it seems that it became a significant event in her life, resulting in this song. The words describe the events leading up to this event and what followed.

Line by Line Meaning

Comme s'en vont les nuages
Our love is like the departing clouds on the pale blue sea

Sur le gris bleu de la mer
A reflection of how our love is at a breaking point

Notre amour est à l'orage
And how my heart is now upside down

Et mon cœur est à l'envers
As a result of our turbulent love

Tout ce que la vie nous donne
Everything that life offers us

Aujourd'hui je l'ai perdu
I have lost it all today

Par ce rendez-vous d'automne
All thanks to your absence at our autumn rendezvous

Où tu n'es jamais venu
A time when you never came through

Je la dois à ton oubli
The tear on my cheek is owed to your forgetfulness

Cette larme sur ma joue
A small droplet of rain that will soon fade away

Ce n'est rien qu'un peu de pluie
Just like rain, this pain will eventually heal