Mostly shunned by television and radio, he has built through word of mouth and frequent touring a considerable following over the years, which allowed him to fill the 17,000-seater Palais Omnisport de Bercy for an anniversary concert in 1998. In recent years he has been increasingly name-dropped as an influence by the latest generation of performers in France, and was the subject of a tribute album of covers in 2002. He has been performing since the late 1960s and releasing records since 1978.
His parents sent him to a catholic boarding school. He spent few years there, where being singled out by his schoolmates started to be interested in great poets (such as Rimbaud) and writers. The catholic education he received will leave its mark on him. He became nonconformist; he wrote blasphemous lyrics, such as "Au nom du Pere, au nom du vice, au nom des rades et des mégots" (In the name of the Father, in the name of vice, in the name of the cafés and the (cigarette) butts), made biblical and latin references in "Femme de Loth" and many others. Musically, H-FT draws mostly from classic rock, with rare nods to the latest musical trends, and generally leaves the arranging to a collaborator. But his songs are most notable for instantly recognisable lyrics, with their trademarks streams of consciousness, surreal and often extreme or dark imagery, often tinged with comedy, cynicism, literary references, neologisms and liberal use of scientific, long or foreign words. The lyrical mayhem sometimes spreads into comically long song titles, such as Enfermé dans les cabinets (avec la fille mineure des 80 chasseurs), or Exercice de simple provocation avec 33 fois le mot « coupable ».
His avowed influences include Léo Ferré, Lou Reed, and many French, Anglo-saxon and German novelists and poets, with a preference for romantic litterature.
Discography
* 1978 - Tout corps vivant branché sur le secteur étant appelé à s'émouvoir
* 1979 - Autorisation de délirer
* 1980 - De l'amour, de l'art ou du cochon
* 1981 - Dernières balises (avant mutation)
* 1982 - Soleil cherche futur
* 1983 - En concert - live (double album)
* 1984 - Alambic/sortie-sud
* 1986 - En concert vol.2 - live
* 1986 - Météo für nada
* 1988 - Eros über alles
* 1988 - 1978-1983 - compilation
* 1988 - Routes 88 - live
* 1989 - 1984-1988 - compilation
* 1990 - Chroniques bluesymentales
* 1993 - Fragments d'hébétude
* 1995 - Paris-Zénith - live (double album)
* 1996 - La tentation du bonheur
* 1998 - Le bonheur de la tentation
* 1998 - 1978-1998 - compilation
* 1999 - En Concert A Bercy - live (double album)
* 2001 - Défloration 13
* 2002 - Au Bataclan - live
* 2005 - Scandale mélancolique
Exit to Chatagoune-goune
Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dans les tubulures glauques du vent,
L'ange a léché le chimpanzé
Sur l'autel des agonisants.
Clinic-woman-cœur-manivelle
Tournant dans le soleil couchant,
Ce soir je sors de ma poubelle
Pour provoquer tes océans.
Défilant dans mes nuits d'automne
M'accusant de ne plus tricher
Devant ta pompe à méthadone.
Rue Morgue-avenue Desperados
Dans les barbelés du goulag,
Ce soir je sors de mon blockhaus
Pour me parfumer à ta vague.
Je danse pour toi petite,
Je bande pour toi. [2x]
Délires-désirs-corps-entraînés
Dans les brouillards du crépuscule,
Parfums-sexy, cœurs gominés
Tension-danger-sortie-capsule.
Jadis cavalier du néant,
Je reviens en vampire tranquille,
Dans ta nuit, maquiller les blancs
De ton calendrier de petite fille.
Je danse pour toi petite,
Je bande pour toi. [2x]
Curieux soleil de Plexiglas
Dans la vitrine des marchands d'ours,
Gyrophares sur mes pataugas
Nitroglycérine à la bourse,
Filmé par les Mau-Mau
Par les stups et les contes de fées
Je planque mon secret sous ta schizo
Et m'accroche à ton corps blessé.
Amant-mutant matant nos stances
À l'ombre des amours gadgets,
J'endors mes cadences en instance
Et me balance à ta planète.
Inutile d'afficher nos scores
Aux sorties des supermarchés.
Les dieux sont jaloux de nos corps
Nous balayons l'éternité.
Je danse pour toi petite,
Je bande pour toi.
[Ad Libitum]
The song "Exit to Chatagoune-goune" by Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine is a surrealistic masterpiece that defies easy interpretation. The lyrics are a mix of bizarre images, metaphors, and allusions that create a dreamlike atmosphere. The opening lines "Amours-crayons-bites-enfoncés" (Loves-pencils-cocks-stuck) set the tone for the song, which is a journey through the subconscious mind of the singer.
The song is full of religious imagery and references to death and rebirth. The line "L'ange a léché le chimpanzé sur l'autel des agonisants" (The angel licked the chimpanzee on the altar of the dying) suggests a sacrificial ritual that has taken place. The lyric "Clinic-woman-cœur-manivelle tournant dans le soleil couchant" (Clinic-woman-heart-crank turning in the setting sun) describes a scene that is both beautiful and disturbing, evoking the idea of life being sustained artificially.
The song explores themes of desire, addiction, and self-destruction. The line "M'accusant de ne plus tricher devant ta pompe à méthadone" (Accusing me of no longer cheating in front of your methadone pump) suggests a struggle with addiction, while the phrase "sortie-capsule" (exit-capsule) suggests a desire to escape from reality. The chorus, "Je danse pour toi petite, je bande pour toi" (I dance for you little one, I get hard for you), is both seductive and menacing, suggesting a possessive and obsessive love.
Overall, "Exit to Chatagoune-goune" is a deeply enigmatic and poetic song that invites multiple interpretations.
Line by Line Meaning
Amours-crayons-bites-enfoncés
Dans les tubulures glauques du vent,
L'ange a léché le chimpanzé
Sur l'autel des agonisants.
Love-pencil-dicks-inserted
In the murky pipes of the wind,
The angel licked the chimpanzee
On the altar of the dying.
Clinic-woman-cœur-manivelle
Tournant dans le soleil couchant,
Ce soir je sors de ma poubelle
Pour provoquer tes océans.
Clinic-woman-heart-crank
Turning in the setting sun,
Tonight I'm coming out of my garbage can
To provoke your oceans.
Cafards-gardiens-d'enfer-casqués
Défilant dans mes nuits d'automne
M'accusant de ne plus tricher
Devant ta pompe à méthadone.
Cockroach-hell-guards-helmeted
Marching in my autumn nights
Accusing me of no longer cheating
In front of your methadone pump.
Rue Morgue-avenue Desperados
Dans les barbelés du goulag,
Ce soir je sors de mon blockhaus
Pour me parfumer à ta vague.
Rue Morgue-Avenue Desperados
In the barbed wire of the Gulag,
Tonight I'm coming out of my bunker
To perfume myself with your wave.
Je danse pour toi petite,
Je bande pour toi. [2x]
I dance for you, little one,
I get aroused for you. [2x]
Délires-désirs-corps-entraînés
Dans les brouillards du crépuscule,
Parfums-sexy, cœurs gominés
Tension-danger-sortie-capsule.
Delirium-desire-trained bodies
In the twilight mist,
Sexy fragrances, gelled hearts
Tension-danger-capsule exit.
Jadis cavalier du néant,
Je reviens en vampire tranquille,
Dans ta nuit, maquiller les blancs
De ton calendrier de petite fille.
Once a cavalier of nothingness,
I come back as a tranquil vampire,
In your night, disguising the blanks
On your little girl's calendar.
Curieux soleil de Plexiglas
Dans la vitrine des marchands d'ours,
Gyrophares sur mes pataugas
Nitroglycérine à la bourse,
Curious Plexiglas sun
In the teddy bear merchants' window,
Flashing lights on my sneakers
Nitroglycerin on the stock market,
Filmé par les Mau-Mau
Par les stups et les contes de fées
Je planque mon secret sous ta schizo
Et m'accroche à ton corps blessé.
Filmed by the Mau-Mau
By the drugs and fairy tales
I hide my secret under your schizophrenia
And cling to your wounded body.
Amant-mutant matant nos stances
À l'ombre des amours gadgets,
J'endors mes cadences en instance
Et me balance à ta planète.
Mutant lover watching our stances
In the shadow of gadget loves,
I put my rhythms to sleep in progress
And swing to your planet.
Inutile d'afficher nos scores
Aux sorties des supermarchés.
Les dieux sont jaloux de nos corps
Nous balayons l'éternité.
No need to display our scores
At the exits of supermarkets.
The gods are jealous of our bodies
We sweep through eternity.
Je danse pour toi petite,
Je bande pour toi.
[Ad Libitum]
I dance for you, little one,
I get aroused for you.
[Ad Libitum]
Contributed by Avery N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.