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.
Soon Is Slipping Away
Françoise Hardy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
lay soft upon the ground
waiting for the winter wind
to blow them all around
I can hear your last words
as you turned across the hill
grieve you not, the way you do
but soon is slipping away my love
like a shadow on a windy sea
I was hoping that I'd hear you say by now
you're coming back to me
soon is slipping away my sweet
and there's still not a word to say
I was hoping that I'd hear you cry my love
you're coming back to stay
remember summers sapwood
that burns now in my grate
with flicker flames that seem to say
unwise you are to wait
I recall your last words
as you walked into the sun
grieve you not, the way you do
I'll be home with you, soon
but soon is slipping away my love
like a shadow on a windy sea
I was hoping that I'd hear you say by now
you're coming back to me
soon is slipping away my sweet
and there's still not a word to say
I was hoping that I'd hear you cry my love
you're coming home to stay
The lyrics of Françoise Hardy's song Soon Is Slipping Away speak to the heartbreak of waiting for a loved one who may never return. The opening lines set the melancholic tone, describing the brown leaves of autumn laying soft on the ground, waiting for the winter wind to blow them around. The imagery of the seasons changing and time slipping away is a poignant metaphor for the singer's deepening despair at the absence of her beloved.
The lyrics are structured around a dialogue with the absent lover, recalling their last words spoken before departing. The repeated lines, "I'll be home with you, soon," offer a glimmer of hope, but it is a hope that is fading fast. The singer is desperately longing to hear that her lover is coming back, yet the silence is deafening. The burning of the summer's sapwood in the fireplace is another reminder of the passage of time and the impermanence of life.
The refrain, "soon is slipping away," emphasizes the inevitability of time passing, and the bitter realization that the promise of reunion may never be fulfilled. The song captures the emotional depth and complexity of waiting for a loved one, the uncertainty and anxiety, the hope and the despair, the longing and the resignation. In the end, the singer is left with nothing but memories and yearning, haunted by the echoes of a love that might have been.
Line by Line Meaning
when crinkled brown leaves of autumn
lay soft upon the ground
waiting for the winter wind
to blow them all around
As autumn comes and leaves fall to the ground, and wait to be blown away by the cold winter wind.
I can hear your last words
as you turned across the hill
grieve you not, the way you do
I'll be home with you, soon
I can remember the last words you spoke before leaving, as you promised we will soon be together again.
but soon is slipping away my love
like a shadow on a windy sea
I was hoping that I'd hear you say by now
you're coming back to me
But time is running out my dear and my hopes of you coming back to me are fading away, like a shadow being lost in the winds of the sea.
soon is slipping away my sweet
and there's still not a word to say
I was hoping that I'd hear you cry my love
you're coming back to stay
Time is running out my dearest one and still there's no word from you. I was longing to hear you say that you're coming back for good.
remember summers sapwood
that burns now in my grate
with flicker flames that seem to say
unwise you are to wait
I remember the wood from summer that I now burn, and the flames remind me that waiting might be unwise.
I recall your last words
as you walked into the sun
grieve you not, the way you do
I'll be home with you, soon
I can still remember the last words you said to me, as you walked away into the bright sun, trying to comfort me by promising you'd be back soon.
Contributed by Layla A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@aimeehylaris1313
Such a soothing voice....
@isatoo1
Très agréable à écouter!!!!!!
@juanmanuelalvarez8823
her sing form and melodies i remember nico both were sweets and dellicios
@tranny54
I Just Love Francoise hardy But Where is the version with the Tubular bells and violins it sounded so more rich and volume as the version i had on the phillips label , Please please Please can someone put that version on U Tube , far superior than this poor English Version MERCI BEAU COUP.
@fabiancastaneda4496
That i believe is the German version i found here on youtube very beautiful with her little hums
@michael49514
La version qui figure sur le LP est nettement plus réussie, et beaucoup mieux orchestrée.
@michelg7598
De