Guesch Patti was born on 19 March 1946 as Patricia Porasse, she was nicknamed Guesch (a Basque name) as a child, Patti is a pet name for Patricia. Her father, Jean Porasse, worked as an artistic director for the record company HMV-Pathé-Marconi, taking care of Gilbert Bécaud and later as an impresario for people like Eric Charden, Jean-Jacques Debout and Nino Ferrer. Aged 9 she danced the role of the Little Rat at the Paris Opera. When she was 19 she had a brief flirtation with singing as one half of the duo Yves et Patricia, a venture she was talked into by her father. They released 2 singles on the Philips label.
In the seventies she frequently worked for television as a dancer, for example in shows with Nana Mouskouri and Silvie Vartan. Later she moved into contemporary dance and became first dancer in Carolyn Carson's group, Prima Ballerina at the Scala in Milan and guest performer with Roland Petit and Maurice Béjart. She worked on the choreography for performances set to the music of Silvano Bussoti, Luigi Nono and Karlheinz Stockhausen. She also worked with the German choreographer Pina Bausch, practised Jazz dance with Michael Peter and worked on Robert Hossein's staging of Les Misérables.
In 1984 she teamed up with Lydie Callier and another girl to form the trio DaCapo. Virgin Records released one single, but declined to take it further. 1987 saw her emerge as a solo artist with the release of the single Étienne. It charted in 9 European countries, accompanied by a video that caused some controversy due to its erotic nature. It ended up winning Best Video awards in several countries. The success was remarkable because at that time modern French pop\rock music was rarely successful in non-French speaking territories. The international success of Étienne landed her an album recording contract with EMI, the band Encore was formed around her and together they produced her first album Labyrinthe, released in 1988. A second album Nomades followed in 1990. After an (amicable) split with Encore, a third album Gobe saw the light in 1992. Sales of Gobe were disappointing, Gobe was to be her last album for EMI.
After a period of reflection she met Étienne Daho, this contributed to a renewed interest in creating music. She teamed up with independent French label XIIIBis Records (now defunct) which resulted in the 1995 release of Blonde. Songs from this album were also used for the Peter Greenaway film The Pillow Book. Her most recent album is Dernieres Nouvelles, released in November 2000.
In recent years she has also appeared in film and television productions, most notably a co-starring role in the 1997 movie Elles where she appeared alongside Marthe Keller and Miou - Miou. 2001 saw her re-emerge as a dancer on stage in the production She smiles through tears. , Her latest work is the Dernieres Nouvelles DVD, released in February 2002 it features a video illustration of the music of the CD with the same title.
Bon Anniversaire
Guesch Patti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Notre amour éphémère
Un goût amer, tu sais
Mauvais concert
Notre amour limonaire
La belle affaire, tu sais
Paris en solitaire
Paris sent ma colère
Et je passe au travers
Mon humour légendaire
Mes tenues singulières
Et je passe en expert
Un an c'est court
Sans un sortie d'secours
Faire demi-tour je sais
Ma zone d'amour
Est mise à contre-jour
Compte à rebours je sais
J'suis comme les troubadours
Un mauvais calembour
Et on passe sans recours
Attention au carrefour
Ça déboule le poids lourd
C'est trop lourd mon amour
Mon amour
Mon amour
Un bon anniversaire
C'est la fuite à l'envers
Ca donne le mal de mer - beau cadeau
Un bon anniversaire
Les mots s'accrochent en l'air
Reste un cœur entr'ouvert
y'en a trop
c'est zéro
Beau mélo oh !..
Beau mélo oh !..
Amour trop cher
J'ai tout foutu par terre
La manière, je sais
Sentiments fiers
Retourner en arrière
C'est pas clair, Je sais
S'en aller sans détours
Se voler ses toujours
Mes regards restent lourds
Attention au carr'four
Ça déboule le poids lourd
C'est trop lourd mon amour
Mon amour
Mon amour.
The lyrics of Guesch Patti's song Bon Anniversaire narrates the story of an ephemeral love that turns into a painful memory. The first two stanzas describe the relationship as a failed business venture or a bad concert, leaving a bitter taste. The next two lines suggest that Paris, the city of love, has become a solitary place filled with anger, and the singer navigates through it with legendary humor and unique clothing styles. The following stanzas continue the theme of disappointment, indicating that the love story lasted only for a year without any escape routes in sight. The singer compares herself to a troubadour, whose jokes fall flat, and the relationship appears to be beyond repair; the weight of the situation is unbearable. The chorus of the song is somewhat ironic – wishing a happy anniversary to signify the opposite, that the relationship was doomed from the start. The lyrics suggest that love seems to be a melodious lie – a beautiful melody that covers up the unpleasant truth.
The second part of the song continues to depict the failure of the relationship. The singer admits that she ruined everything and that her pride and ego prevent her from turning back. She ponders going back in time to avoid the heartache, but she realizes it's too late. The repetition of the line "attention au carrefour, ça déboule le poids lourd" (watch out for the crossroads, the heavy vehicle comes out), acts as a warning. The song ends by emphasizing the heaviness of the singer's love and the pain associated with it.
Line by Line Meaning
Mauvaise affaire
Our short-lived love was a wrong deal
Notre amour éphémère
Our ephemeral love
Un goût amer, tu sais
Leaves a bitter taste, you know
Mauvais concert
Our love is off-key
Notre amour limonaire
Our love is like an organ grinder
La belle affaire, tu sais
It's no big deal, you know
Paris en solitaire
Alone in Paris
Paris sent ma colère
Paris smells my anger
Et je passe au travers
And I pass through it
Mon humour légendaire
My legendary humor
Mes tenues singulières
My peculiar outfits
Et je passe en expert
And I pass like an expert
Un an c'est court
A year is short
Sans un sortie d'secours
Without an emergency exit
Faire demi-tour je sais
I know I should turn back
Ma zone d'amour
My love zone
Est mise à contre-jour
Is backlit
Compte à rebours je sais
I know it's a countdown
J'suis comme les troubadours
I'm like a troubadour
Un mauvais calembour
A bad pun
Et on passe sans recours
And we pass without remedy
Attention au carrefour
Watch out for the crossroad
Ça déboule le poids lourd
Here comes the heavy vehicle
C'est trop lourd mon amour
It's too heavy, my love
Un bon anniversaire
A happy birthday
C'est la fuite à l'envers
It's a reversed escape
Ca donne le mal de mer - beau cadeau
It gives seasickness - a nice present
Les mots s'accrochent en l'air
Words hang in the air
Reste un cœur entr'ouvert
A half-open heart remains
y'en a trop
There are too many
c'est zéro
It's zero
Beau mélo oh !..
Beautiful melodrama
Amour trop cher
Love that is too expensive
J'ai tout foutu par terre
I've messed up everything
La manière, je sais
The way, I know
Sentiments fiers
Proud feelings
Retourner en arrière
Going back
C'est pas clair, Je sais
It's not clear, I know
S'en aller sans détours
Going away without detours
Se voler ses toujours
Stealing one's always
Mes regards restent lourds
My looks remain heavy
Ça déboule le poids lourd
Here comes the heavy vehicle
C'est trop lourd mon amour
It's too heavy, my love
Mon amour
My love
Mon amour
My love
Mon amour
My love
Contributed by Jeremiah J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Mercedes Ferrer
L’une de meilleurs chansons et des meilleurs clips de l’histoire de la musique contemporaine !! Superbe artiste au niveau très supérieure à beaucoup d’autres nommes ‘artistes’ et qui le sont pas … le vrai artiste doit toucher le profond de l’âme humaine !!! C’est exactement ce qu’elle fait …
Mercedes Ferrer
Este clip debería tener al menos 1M de wiews.. es una obra maestra !!!
Arachnéens Séverine François
J'adore cette femme, pas de tabou, des paroles claires, des suggestions, une liberté sexuelle!
Sylvain Bernard
C vrai
Los Bambinos
excellent autant au niveau musical que sur ses paroles.une voie de très grande qualité
LANDE ALAIN
J'adore ce texte, et ces guitares ♥
andrew croft
Quell voix....amazing Band and singer I love this
Robert mas
L'album est genial
melouw
Guesch Patti et le groupe Encore, j'ai adoré! Une bonne partie de ma vie de collégienne se réveille, où sont-ils?
MrLAPRESIDENCE
Fleur carnivore