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]
Les pas
Francoise Hardy Lyrics
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faire les cent pas :
des petits pas
aux pas d'géant…
ça marche pas :
nada, néant…
les premiers pas
les entrechats
ça marche pas mieux …
à pas de loup
je quitte les clous…
au diable l'hémorragie
de temps et d'énergie
au diable les séquelles
je jette à la poubelle
les référentiels
tels les routines, les piqûres de rappel :
des poisons mortels…
compter les coups
les quatre-cent coups
les coups du sort
compter les morts…
bataille perdue
et bouche cousue…
compter les heures
attendre son heure
est-ce déjà l'heure
du coup de blues ?
je soigne en douce
mes coups de coeur…
au diable les vieux refrains
vulgaires, manichéens
au diable les scanners, les mises en examen
mieux vaut passer la main
arrêter de remettre à demain…
il flotte un parfum
un peu spécial
subtil et entêtant
rien d'anormal
ça fait juste un peu mal
de mourir au printemps…
compter les heures
attendre son heure
c'est bientôt l'heure
du dernier blues
je soigne en douce
mes crève-coeur…
au diable les vieux refrains
binaires, manichéens
au diable les scanners, les mises en examen
mieux vaut passer la main
arrêter de remettre à demain
c'est un mal pour un bien…
c'est un mal pour un bien…
In Françoise Hardy's song "Les pas," the singer talks about the frustration of counting steps and pacing back and forth without getting anywhere. She starts by saying that she counts steps of all sizes, from small ones to gigantic ones, but nothing seems to work. She tries different kinds of steps, like ballet moves or dancing with a partner, but even those don't help. Frustrated, she decides to leave the beaten path and abandon her old routines and habits in order to let go of wasted time and energy. She counts blows of fate and dead bodies but knows that it's a lost battle. She decides to stop counting hours and instead focus on her secret passions and pleasures, even if they hurt her. She wants to forget the old, binary songs of her youth and stop worrying about being judged or scanned by others.
Throughout the song, the singer seems to be struggling with the feeling of being stuck and unable to move forward. She describes different ways of walking and counting, from small to giant steps, from ordinary to special ones, but nothing seems to bring her peace or satisfaction. She understands that she needs to let go of old patterns and routines and find her own path, even if it involves risk and pain. The use of the preposition "au diable" (to hell with) suggests a rejection of societal norms and expectations, and a desire to follow one's own intuition and desires. The repeated use of the phrase "compter les..." (counting...) emphasizes the singer's obsessive need for control and measurement, which ultimately leads to disappointment and despair.
Line by Line Meaning
Compter les pas
Counting footsteps
faire les cent pas :
Walking around aimlessly
des petits pas
Small steps
aux pas d'géant…
To giant steps
ça marche pas :
It doesn't work
nada, néant…
Nothing at all
les premiers pas
The first steps
les entrechats
The pas de chats (a ballet step)
les pas de deux
The dance for two (ballet steps)
ça marche pas mieux …
It doesn't work any better
à pas de loup
Stealthily
je quitte les clous…
I'm leaving the beaten path
au diable l'hémorragie
To hell with bleeding
de temps et d'énergie
Of time and energy
au diable les séquelles
To hell with the aftermath
je jette à la poubelle
I'm throwing away
les référentiels
The benchmarks
tels les routines, les piqûres de rappel :
Like routines, reminders
des poisons mortels…
Deadly poisons
compter les coups
Counting the blows
les quatre-cent coups
The 400 Blows (French movie title)
les coups du sort
The blows of fate
compter les morts…
Counting the dead
bataille perdue
Lost battle
et bouche cousue…
And lips sealed
compter les heures
Counting the hours
attendre son heure
Waiting for one's time
est-ce déjà l'heure
Is it already time
du coup de blues ?
For the blues to hit?
je soigne en douce
I tend to secretly
mes coups de coeur…
My heartaches
au diable les vieux refrains
To hell with old tunes
vulgaires, manichéens
Vulgar, black-and-white
au diable les scanners, les mises en examen
To hell with scans, investigations
mieux vaut passer la main
Better to move on
arrêter de remettre à demain…
Stop procrastinating
il flotte un parfum
A scent lingers
un peu spécial
A little peculiar
subtil et entêtant
Subtle and persistent
rien d'anormal
Nothing out of the ordinary
ça fait juste un peu mal
It just hurts a little
de mourir au printemps…
To die in springtime
c'est bientôt l'heure
It's almost time
du dernier blues
Of the last blues
mes crève-coeur…
My heartbreaks
binaires, manichéens
Binary, black-and-white
mieux vaut passer la main
Better to move on
arrêter de remettre à demain
Stop procrastinating
c'est un mal pour un bien…
It's a blessing in disguise
c'est un mal pour un bien…
It's a blessing in disguise
Contributed by Tyler R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.