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]
La Folie Ordinaire
Francoise Hardy Lyrics
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Laisser la folie ordinaire
Tout dévorer comme un cancer ?
N'est-il pas bien trop tard
Pour qu'émerge du brouillard
Au milieu de nulle part
Dans la nuit noire
Un peu d'espoir ?
Nos trains déraillent
Tous
Où veux-tu que l'on aille ?
N'est-il pas bien trop tard
Pour un nouveau départ
Loin des murs qui nous séparent ?
J'aimerais pouvoir
Refaire l'histoire
Trouver la force d'y croire
In Françoise Hardy's song La Folie Ordinaire, the lyrics explore the overwhelming feeling of watching the world succumb to the chaos of ordinary madness ("la folie ordinaire") without being able to stop it. The first few lines affirm the need to "let them talk, let them act" and allow the madness to consume everything like a cancer. The true question is whether it's already too late to hope for something to emerge from the mist of nowhere, in the darkness of the night. Is there still a chance for a miracle of hope to appear amidst the chaos?
The second verse paints an even more pessimistic picture. The horizon is moving away and trains are derailing, meaning that everything is falling apart. With all this destruction and chaos, where can one possibly go at this point? Is it too late to start again, breaking down the walls that separate us from one another? Françoise Hardy's own desire for a fresh start is expressed in the final lines, wishing she could rewrite history and find the strength to believe. Overall, the song speaks to the despair of feeling powerless in the face of societal collapse and losing the sense of direction.
Line by Line Meaning
Les laisser dire, les laisser faire
Allow them to speak, allow them to act
Laisser la folie ordinaire
Let ordinary madness prevail
Tout dévorer comme un cancer ?
Devour everything like a cancer?
N'est-il pas bien trop tard
Isn't it far too late
Pour qu'émerge du brouillard
For something to emerge from the fog
Au milieu de nulle part
In the middle of nowhere
Dans la nuit noire
In the dark night
Un peu d'espoir ?
A little bit of hope?
L'horizon s'éloigne
The horizon moves further away
Nos trains déraillent
Our trains derail
Tous
All of us
Où veux-tu que l'on aille ?
Where do you want us to go?
N'est-il pas bien trop tard
Isn't it far too late
Pour un nouveau départ
For a new beginning
Loin des murs qui nous séparent ?
Far from the walls that separate us?
J'aimerais pouvoir
I would like to be able to
Refaire l'histoire
Rewrite history
Trouver la force d'y croire
Find the strength to believe in it
Contributed by Colin F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.