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]
Villégiature
Francoise Hardy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
un mois d'azur
je suis en villégiature
un mois sans toi et puis tout oublier
un mois de mer
un mois de pur
je suis en villégiature
entre passé, passion, passion, futur
un long voyage
où l'on met l'amour en cage
quand on l'entend trop fort, trop fort crier
un mois d'été
un mois d'azur
je suis en villégiature
entre l'amour, la peur et le passé
a quoi ressemblent
les nouveaux murs
sans lierre, sans laurier, sans futur
où l'on enferme les blessures
c'est un espace gris et blanc
où personne au monde ne comprend
que je suis en villégiature
dans quelle chambre de passage
vais-je lire les plus belles pages
de ce poète suicidé
un mois d'été
un mois d'azur
je suis en villégiature
entre l'amour, la peur et le passé
un mois de mer
un mois qu'assure
je suis en villégiature
un mois sans toi et puis tout oublier
The lyrics of Françoise Hardy's song "Villégiature" reflect a state of mind of the singer during a one-month holiday in a seaside resort, a time of reflection and introspection. In her absence from her lover, she tries to forget the past, the passion, the love that she puts in a cage, because it cries too loud. She wonders what the new walls would look like, lacking future, and that "encloses" her wounds in a gray and white space, where nobody understands her state of mind. In her search for peace and serenity, she looks for a room to read the finest pages of a suicidal poet. This month of vacation by the sea is both an opportunity for healing and for taking stock of past relationships.
The central theme of this song is the contrast of loneliness and introspection versus the fear of being alone with one's own thoughts, as well as the search for meaning in one's life. The lyrics are poetic and introspective, with a tone that is reflective and melancholic. Françoise Hardy expertly contrasts the beauty of the azure sea and the summer sky with the grayness of her emotions. The song can be seen as a reflection on the bittersweet nature of life, with its moments of happiness and its moments of sorrow.
Line by Line Meaning
un mois de mer
A month spent by the sea
un mois d'azur
A month of blue skies
je suis en villégiature
I am on vacation
un mois sans toi et puis tout oublier
A month away from you, forgetting everything
un mois de pur
A month of purity
entre passé, passion, passion, futur
Between the past, passion, passion, and the future
je vois venir
I see coming
un long voyage
A long journey
où l'on met l'amour en cage
Where love is put in a cage
quand on l'entend trop fort, trop fort crier
When it screams too loud, too loud
un mois d'été
A month of summer
entre l'amour, la peur et le passé
Between love, fear, and the past
a quoi ressemblent
What do they look like
les nouveaux murs
The new walls
sans lierre, sans laurier, sans futur
Without ivy, without laurel, without a future
où l'on enferme les blessures
Where the wounds are locked away
c'est un espace gris et blanc
It is a gray and white space
où personne au monde ne comprend
Where no one in the world understands
que je suis en villégiature
That I am on vacation
dans quelle chambre de passage
In which passing room
vais-je lire les plus belles pages
Will I read the most beautiful pages
de ce poète suicidé
Of this suicidal poet
un mois qu'assure
A month that ensures
Contributed by Allison I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.