In 1983, she travelled to Toronto to seek a musical career. In 1986, she founded a trio with bassist David Piltch and pianist Aaron Davis. Offered a record deal in 1989, the Holly Cole Trio released an EP, Christmas Blues, that year, which featured a version of The Pretenders' "2,000 Miles". This was followed by their first full album, Girl Talk, in 1990.
A succession of releases followed through the early 1990s. For example, 1991's Blame It On My Youth, covered songs by Tom Waits ("Purple Avenue", aka "Empty Pockets"), Lyle Lovett ("God Will"), includes show tunes such as "If I Were a Bell" (from Guys and Dolls) and "On the Street Where You Live" (from My Fair Lady), and even remakes "Trust In Me", from Disney's The Jungle Book, into a strikingly sultry and sinister song of seduction and death. Also recorded in this period was "Alison", a reinterpretation of Elvis Costello's original.
Following 1993's Don't Smoke in Bed, the trio released a CD entirely of songs by Tom Waits, called Temptation. With this 1995 release, the "Trio" was dropped from the group's name.
Cole next went into a two-album flirtation with pop music, perhaps keeping with the "diva" fad of the late 90s. These albums, Dark Dear Heart (1997) and Romantically Helpless (2000) veered further from jazz by introducing pop elements to Cole's sound.
In 2001, she returned to the Christmas jazz roots of her first CD with Baby It's Cold Outside, which included such should-be classics as "Christmas Time is Here" (from A Charlie Brown Christmas), "Santa Baby", and the title track. Swapping cold for hot, she moved to a Summer theme in 2003's Shade, this time reinterpreting Cole Porter ("Too Darn Hot"), Irving Berlin ("Heatwave"), and The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson ("God Only Knows").
Cole's latest album, Holly Cole (originally entitled This House Is Haunted) was released in Canada in March 2007. It was released in the US in January 2008 and was followed by a US tour.
Cole tours frequently, particularly around the holiday season, in Canada. She was also a part of the 1999 Lilith Fair tour.
Je ne t'aime pas
Holly Cole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tu n'as rien vu
Qu'un homme qui voulait te prendre
Tu n'as rien vu
Mes failles mais pas mes gestes tendres
Rien entendu
Quand j'essayais de te comprendre
T'es disparue
Tu n'as rien vu
De l'amour que je respirais
Mon âme à nu
Je l'ai révélée sans regret
Tu n'as rien cru
Tu m'as largué comme un déchet
Comme on méprise sans raison
Un détenu
Tu n'as rien su
De ma douleur et de mon sang
Qui ne bat plus
Que pour inventer tes serments
Des coins de rue
Où je t'espère où je t'attends
Ta peau, ton corps et ton prénom
Et ça me tue
Il a fallu
Que tu t'éloignes de ma porte
De ma vue
Pour que je laisse une cohorte
D'inconnus
Alimenter mes nuits, mes jours
Pour protèger mon propre amour
Et mon salut
Tu n'as rien vu
Mon souffle et ma voix qui déraillent
Ne donnent plus
Mon cœur qui craignait la chamaille
A survécu
Quand tu m'as livré la bataille
A coups de haine sans pardon
Sans retenue
Je n'ai pas su
Te posséder te retenir
Je n'ai pas su
Trouver la force d'en mourir
Je n'ai pas su
Trouver les mots pour te le dire
Pour en finir et pour de bon
Je n't'aime plus
Je n't'aime plus
Tu l'as cherché tu l'as voulu
Je n'taime plus
Je suis crevé, je suis vaincu
Je n'ai pas su
Trouver les mots pour te le dire
Pour en finir et pour de bon
Je n't'aime plus
Je n't'aime plus
Je n't'aime plus
In Holly Cole's song "Je Ne T'Aime Pas," the singer expresses their disappointment, hurt, and anger towards their past lover for not recognizing the love they had to offer. The lyrics chronicle the pain and emotions the singer experienced after being left behind, and the bitterness left in the aftermath. The singer reveals how they had opened up and revealed their soul to their lover, only to be let go and treated like trash. They express how they hoped their former lover would understand them, but they didn't notice, listen or accept their love.
The song is a story of a person's attempt to love someone who did not reciprocate that love. They gave their everything and were nonetheless met with disappointment and heartbreak. Through their emotional journey, they accept that they are moving on from their past lover even though they wished they could have made the love work. In the end, they confidently assert that they no longer love their former partner, accept their defeat, and are ready to move on.
Line by Line Meaning
Je ne t'aime plus
I don't love you anymore
Tu n'as rien vu
You didn't see
Qu'un homme qui voulait te prendre
Just a man who wanted to take you
Mes failles mais pas mes gestes tendres
My flaws but not my tender gestures
Rien entendu
Heard nothing
Quand j'essayais de te comprendre
When I tried to understand you
Damner, condamner tes démons
Damn, condemn your demons
T'es disparue
You disappeared
De l'amour que je respirais
Of the love I breathed
Mon âme à nu
My soul nude
Je l'ai révélée sans regret
I revealed it without regret
Tu n'as rien cru
You didn't believe
Tu m'as largué comme un déchet
You dumped me like garbage
Comme on méprise sans raison
As one disdains without reason
Un détenu
A prisoner
De ma douleur et de mon sang
Of my pain and my blood
Qui ne bat plus
That doesn't beat anymore
Que pour inventer tes serments
Only to invent your vows
Des coins de rue
Street corners
Où je t'espère où je t'attends
Where I hope and wait for you
Ta peau, ton corps et ton prénom
Your skin, your body, and your name
Et ça me tue
And it kills me
Il a fallu
It took
Que tu t'éloignes de ma porte
You had to move away from my door
De ma vue
Out of my sight
Pour que je laisse une cohorte
So I could let a cohort
D'inconnus
Of strangers
Alimenter mes nuits, mes jours
Feed my nights, my days
Pour protèger mon propre amour
To protect my own love
Et mon salut
And my salvation
Mon souffle et ma voix qui déraillent
My breath and my voice that derail
Ne donnent plus
Don't give anymore
Mon coeur qui craignait la chamaille
My heart that feared the argument
A survécu
Survived
Quand tu m'as livré la bataille
When you waged war against me
A coups de haine sans pardon
With blows of hatred without forgiveness
Sans retenue
Without holding back
Je n'ai pas su
I didn't know how to
Te posséder te retenir
Possess you, hold you back
Trouver la force d'en mourir
Find the strength to die over it
Trouver les mots pour te le dire
Find the words to tell you
Pour en finir et pour de bon
To end it, for good
Tu l'as cherché tu l'as voulu
You looked for it, you wanted it
Je suis crevé, je suis vaincu
I'm exhausted, I'm defeated
Je n't'aime plus
I don't love you anymore
Contributed by Keira R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.