Françoise Hardy signed her first contract with the record label Vogue in November 1961. In April 1962, shortly after finishing school, her first record Oh Oh Chéri appeared, written by Johnny Hallyday's writing duo. Her own flip side of the record, "Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles" became a success, riding the wave of Yé-yé music in France, with two million sales.
Hardy sang in French, English, Italian, Spanish, and German. In 1963 she came fifth for Monaco in the Eurovision Song Contest with "L'amour s'en va". In 1963, she was awarded the Grand Prix Du Disque of the Charles Cros Academy.
In 1981, she married her long-time companion Jacques Dutronc, with whom she had had a son, Thomas Dutronc, in 1973. In 1994, she collaborated with the British pop group Blur for their "La Comedie" version of To The End. In May 2000, she made a comeback with the album Clair Obscur. Her son played guitar and her husband sang the duet "Puisque Vous Partez En Voyage." Iggy Pop and Étienne Daho also took part. Hardy lives near Paris and Dutronc lives in Monticello, Corsica, although they remain a couple.[citation needed]
If You Listen
Francoise Hardy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
birds sing and flowers grow
if you listen you can hear
my love for you just grow
in the silence that's around
deep peace and love are found
in the days that will be here
my love will call you loud and clear
where loneliness is found
I'll wander through the open door
to look for you
there in that magic land
that lies beyond the clouds
floating on the sea of dreams
I'll sing to you
Françoise Hardy's song If You Listen is a beautiful expression of love and the power of listening. The song encourages the listeners to pay attention to the world around them, to the sounds of the birds singing and the flowers growing, because in doing so they can hear the love growing inside the singer's heart. The lyrics suggest that deep peace and love can be found in silence and encourages the listeners to be aware of the beauty that is present in everyday life.
The singer of the song promises that their love will call out loud and clear in the days to come. They express their willingness to seek out their loved one in the silent places of loneliness, to wander through the open door to find them in that magic land that lies beyond the clouds. The singer's love is summed up in the final line of the song when they promise to sing to the beloved, to express their love in the most beautiful way possible.
Line by Line Meaning
if you listen you can hear
If you pay attention, you'll notice
birds sing and flowers grow
The beauty of nature is around us
if you listen you can hear
Make an effort to really hear
my love for you just grow
My feelings for you are constantly growing stronger
in the silence that's around
When it's quiet
deep peace and love are found
You can find tranquility and affection
in the days that will be here
In the future
my love will call you loud and clear
My love for you will be unwavering and evident
and in the silent place
In a quiet moment
where loneliness is found
When you're feeling alone
I'll wander through the open door
I'll explore new possibilities
to look for you
To search for your company
there in that magic land
In a wonderful and enchanting place
that lies beyond the clouds
An unreachable and elusive space
floating on the sea of dreams
Drifting in the realm of imagination
I'll sing to you
I'll express my feelings through music
Contributed by Isaiah M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Christian Duquesne
De la pureté dans la voix
...dans la mélodie...j adore...c est parfait...
D B
Oh my God!!!! Her sound!!! Beautiful ...
marc21091
This song is on the 1972 Album which includes the songs recorded with the English folk-rock players associated with Fairport Convention and similar bands. The Nick Drake influence on Francoise Hardy was at this time; she writes about discovering his music, and her encounters with him (in Paris), in her autobiography. The words and music were written by Tommy Brown and Mick Jones (as noted in the sub-title above); one can guess that FH brought to it something of a Nick Drake style.
Isabelle Nicaud
Quelle merveille ! Jamais entendu cette chanson de la bouche de FH. Sa prononciation est quasi parfaite, elle a une bonne oreille au cas où on douterait encore ! Et le chenapan malicieux, notre Pierre Perret tout jeune dans le décor, les guerriers nains, que j'aimerais voir l'émission en entier ! Merci pour cette découverte étonnante et légèrement surréaliste
Maurice
Never seen this before. Fantastic.
Lorenzo Sabato
Adsolument magnifique
Andy N
Wow. There is talk that Nick Drake wrote and maybe played on some songs of hers. This is possible with this track but it is lovely either way (:
Comte De Micha II
My dear love have beautiful English 💕🤗... Even melody progressions on this album have that Anglo-American country rock ride, like Joni Mitchell... And some renaissance passages ❤️😊
coopsmusicvision
wow this is very cool
Becky9301
Les revoilà ! (faux-Godard, faux-Rolling Stone, vrai Charlot) et au milieu de cette scène burlesque (les bouts de cigarette changent de lèvres), Françoise, sculpturale,... comme si de rien n'était !