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
Femme de Loth
Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pendant que ma voisine clignote sur mon vu-mètre
Et j'imagine son cri, ses crimes et ses dentelles
Moi qui m' croyais gazé v'là que j'déconne pour elle
Météo-sex-appeal en matant la dérive
Du Sèvres-Babylone correspondance Ninive
Et je change à Sodome, à Gomorrhe j'ouvre un pack
Ne te retourne pas
Ne te retourne pas
J'ai ma bombe à étrons et j'ai mes droits de l'homme
Et j'ai ma panoplie de pantin déglingué
Et j'ai ces voix débiles qui m'gueulent dans l'hygiaphone
Ne vous retournez pas, la facture est salée
Ne te retourne pas, lady Prends tes distances
La terre joue au bingo sa crise d'adolescence
La terre joue au bingo sa crise d'adolescence
Nous sommes les naufragés dans cet avion-taxi
Avec nos yeux perdus vers d'autres galaxies
Nous rêvons d'ascenseurs au bout d'un arc-en-ciel
Où nos cerveaux malades sortiraient du sommeil
Ne te retourne pas
The lyrics of Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine's song Femme de Loth are rich with complex and layered imagery that invites interpretation. The song begins with the singer listening to the wind whistle at 11500 meters while his neighbor's presence is indicated on his 'vu-mètre', or measuring device. The singer then imagines his neighbor's scream, crimes and lingerie, before suggesting that his own state of mind has become unhinged for her. He is romantically entangled with his neighbor but is still unable to resist his voyeuristic impulses.
The second verse moves from sexual imagination to political commentary, highlighting the idea of 'Météo-sex-appeal' or weather-sex appeal, as he watches the drift of the Sèvres-Babylone metro line connecting with the ancient city of Nineveh. He then changes at Sodom and buys cigarettes at Gomorrhe, referencing these two cities in the Bible associated with sin and destruction. The singer is trapped in a kind of hedonistic paradise, but is also satirical in his references to contemporary politics and consumerism.
The chorus of the song, 'Ne te retourne pas', means 'Don't turn around'. It is repeated twice, in a haunting and surreal manner, possibly suggesting that the singer is warning his lover to resist the dangerous temptations that surround them. The song continues with descriptions of a world in crisis, with themes of ecological destruction and social dislocation. The singer suggests that humanity is lost and stranded, dreaming of a better world but unable to escape the reality of their situation.
Line by Line Meaning
J'écoute siffler le vent à 11500 mètres
I am airborne, listening to the sound of the wind at an altitude of 11500 meters
Pendant que ma voisine clignote sur mon vu-mètre
My airplane's device shows signals from my neighbor's aircraft and I notice them
Et j'imagine son cri, ses crimes et ses dentelles
I am curious about my neighbor's potential secrets, fascinations and wrongdoings
Moi qui m' croyais gazé v'là que j'déconne pour elle
I thought I was immune to this kind of distractions, but now I am getting distracted
Météo-sex-appeal en matant la dérive
I am attracted to a person on another aircraft while monitoring weather information
Du Sèvres-Babylone correspondance Ninive
I am traveling and changing routes, from one place to another
Et je change à Sodome, à Gomorrhe j'ouvre un pack
I change my mode of thinking and behavior, and find comfort in things considered sinful
Avant de me tirer de c'putain d'Eden-Park
Before leaving a luxurious and comfortable place
Ne te retourne pas
Don't look back, don't dwell on the past or the things left behind
J'ai ma bombe à étrons et j'ai mes droits de l'homme
I have my sense of humor and my human rights
Et j'ai ma panoplie de pantin déglingué
I have my collection of things that make me feel comfortable, even though they may seem odd to others
Et j'ai ces voix débiles qui m'gueulent dans l'hygiaphone
I hear strange and distorted voices in my communication device
Ne vous retournez pas, la facture est salée
Don't look back, or you will face the negative consequences of your choices
Ne te retourne pas, lady Prends tes distances
Don't look back, keep moving forward and distancing yourself from the past
La terre joue au bingo sa crise d'adolescence
The world is going through a difficult and uncertain time
Nous sommes les naufragés dans cet avion-taxi
We are like passengers stranded in a plane that is taking us to an unknown destination
Avec nos yeux perdus vers d'autres galaxies
We are curious and hopeful, looking beyond our current situation
Nous rêvons d'ascenseurs au bout d'un arc-en-ciel
We dream of possibilities and opportunities, that seem almost impossible to achieve
Où nos cerveaux malades sortiraient du sommeil
Where our troubled minds would find clarity and solutions
Contributed by James T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
U Paradize
J'ai discuté deux fois avec lui à Rouillac, quelqu'un de simple, accessible, de l'humour, des souvenirs à vie ♥️
FRANCOISE DANDRE
Quand la musique devient magie, on s'échappe de soi pour le meilleur.
Daniele Chany
Hubert Felix quel parolier !! un génie , merci, merci <3
FRANCOISE DANDRE
Une vie de grand amour pour le public : le résultat est là, il nous tire vers le haut.
Zero Cool
"Nous nous sommes des naufragés, dans cette avion taxi avec nos yeux perdu vers d'autres galaxies" merci hubert
RED JOHN
Grandiose. Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine, l'artiste le plus sous-estimé de l'histoire du rock.
Papi the Crow
Les meilleurs sont toujours sous côté 😎🖤
Septimanie Charles
Génialement bon Hubert !
Christine Dayeure
Hubert, armé de sa sagacité légendaire et de ses supers musiciens, qu'est-ce que j'aime ce morceau, Merci ♥.
« Ne te retourne pas la facture est salée » . . . en plus c'est d'actu, on va pas tarder à le revivre ;-) :D !!
michel barges
cet homme est un phénomene dans tous les sens du terme