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]
Only Friends
Francoise Hardy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Why do you kiss me like you do
If we are only friends
Why do you hold me all night through
Do the words "I love you"
Never come to your mind
Don't you know I love you
Or is love really blind
And every time we dance
When there is starlight up above
I wonder if by chance
You will discover this is love
Could we be as happy
As we both seem to be
Could we be so happy
For the whole world to see
If we are only friends
All evening in your arms you hold me
Till suddenly it's time to part
I wonder why you always hold me
So close to your heart
If we are only friends
Why don't you dance with someone new
And when the party ends
Why do I always leave with you
There's a happy ending
But on you that depends
And until you tell me
I can only say
We're just very good friends
We are only good friends
We're still very good friends
The song "Only Friends" by Françoise Hardy explores the complicated emotions and uncertain boundary lines between friends and lovers. The first few lines of the song pose a series of questions to the person she's addressing - if they're only friends, why do they kiss and hold each other all night through? Do they ever think about saying "I love you" to each other? The tone of the song is gentle but questioning, as if Hardy is trying to figure out her own emotions as well as her friend's.
As the song goes on, Hardy talks about the moments of closeness and intimacy they share, like dancing together under the stars, and wonders if they could be happy as something more than friends. But she also acknowledges the uncertainty of the situation - she wonders why he always holds her so close to his heart when they part, but she doesn't know if he feels the same way she does. The song ends with a nod to the possibility of a "happy ending", but with the recognition that it all depends on the other person.
Overall, "Only Friends" is a poignant and relatable meditation on the complexity of romantic relationships and the blurry line between friendship and love.
Line by Line Meaning
If we are only friends
I'm confused about our relationship
Why do you kiss me like you do
Your actions show that there is something more than friendship
If we are only friends
I need clarification about our relationship
Why do you hold me all night through
Your actions suggest that you have deeper feelings for me
Do the words "I love you"
Are you in love with me?
Never come to your mind
Do you ever think about telling me how you truly feel?
Don't you know I love you
I've fallen in love with you
Or is love really blind
Maybe love is truly blind and we can't see the truth
And every time we dance
Every moment spent with you makes me question our relationship
When there is starlight up above
During these romantic moments, I wonder about our love
I wonder if by chance
Maybe you'll realize that what we have is more than just friendship
You will discover this is love
Maybe you'll find that you're in love with me too
Could we be as happy
Would we be just as happy and content in a real romantic relationship?
As we both seem to be
Our friendship is great, but maybe there is more to our connection
Could we be so happy
Would we truly be happy if we pursued a romantic relationship?
For the whole world to see
Would our love be obvious to everyone around us?
If we are only friends
I still don't know where we stand with each other
All evening in your arms you hold me
I feel safe and cared for when I'm with you
Till suddenly it's time to part
Our time together always feels too short
I wonder why you always hold me
I question your intentions when you hold me so closely
So close to your heart
Your actions suggest that you have feelings for me too
Why don't you dance with someone new
Are you intentionally avoiding other people because of our friendship?
And when the party ends
When the night is over, why do we always end up leaving together?
Why do I always leave with you
This friendship is complicated, and I can't seem to let go
There's a happy ending
We could have a happy ending if we were in a relationship
But on you that depends
It's up to you to decide if you want to pursue something more with me
And until you tell me
I can't make any assumptions about our relationship
I can only say
All that I know for sure is that we are close friends
We're just very good friends
But maybe there is something more than friendship between us
We are only good friends
For now, we're just friends, but who knows what the future holds
We're still very good friends
Our friendship is strong, despite the unanswered questions about our relationship
Contributed by Arianna P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.