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
La fin du St Empire Romain-Germanique
Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fondamentalement épuisée
Passe moi ma pipe de marijane
Sinon je me shoote à la banane
Tout comme ses autres copains mon père
S'en revenait de Germanie
Quand on leur a dit les petits pères
Faut nous faire de la démographie
Par un beau matin aux aurores
La guerre venait de se terminer
On revendait les miradors
Les miradors...
Avec les germes de la guerre
On ne fabrique que des tarés
Moi j'ai le coeur qui tape à l'envers
Et le cerveau qui a des ratés
Pourtant on m'a donné l'enfance
D'un petit Français bien rassasié
Jusqu'à l'école où Mendès France
Venait nous donner la tétée
Mais si je fus un beau nourrisson
Répondant aux normes Nestlé
Aujourd'hui j'ai l'air tellement con
Qu'on veut pas de moi même dans l'armée
Même dans l'armée...
D'ailleurs je suis toujours mal foutu
J'ai mal aux seins, j'ai mal au...
Y a guère que dans la naphtaline
Que je trouve un peu de vitamines
Et pour ce qui est des nanas
J'ai même plus le courage de draguer
Quand je les emmène au cinéma
Je m'endors aux actualités
Faut dire que maintenant les starlettes
Ca devient micheton à dégommer
Quand elles cartonnent pas MLF
Elles vous allongent au karaté
Au karaté...
Arné sné connunu palome
Massasné masna en Sodome
Loukoum loukoum dé trougaga
Aro snavi rutabaga
Je suis le fils d'une société
Fondamentalement épuisée
Refile moi mon dir-la-da-da
Sinon je me shoote au Banania
C'est la fin de mes éructations
J'ai pas le courage d'aller plus loin
Mieux vaut s'arrêter là sinon
Ca va se terminer en boudin
Ouais, en boudin...
The song "La fin du St Empire Romain-Germanique" by Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine is a reflection on the singer's life, upbringing, and society in which he lives. The lyrics suggest that he is the product of a post-war generation that was traumatized by the horrors of war and the resulting shift in society. The lyrics suggest that the society that the singer lives in is fundamentally exhausted, with the youth of the generation being produced as a result of war being dysfunctional and disconnected from contemporary society. The lyrics portray the singer as someone who is a victim of his generation's failures, having been born into a broken world without a real place in it.
The opening lines of the song, "Je suis le fils d'une société/ Fondamentalement épuisée" (I am the son of a society / Fundamentally exhausted), suggest that the singer's upbringing was overshadowed by the exhaustion that permeated post-war society. The singer then goes on to describe his relationship with his father, who was similarly affected by the war. The lyrics suggest that his father had returned from Germany and was told that there was a need for demographic growth. The singer is the product of that growth, having been born in the aftermath of the war, and the song suggests that he is the victim of a society that had lost its way.
The song then goes on to describe the singer's own dysfunctional life, with lyrics suggesting that he is unable to find his place in society, that he is struggling with his gender identity, and that he is uninterested in contemporary culture. The lyrics reference the singer's inability to find love, and the fact that he is so disconnected from his world that he falls asleep during the news. The song concludes with the repeated line "Refile moi mon dir-la-da-da/ Sinon je me shoote au Banania" (Pass me my pipe of marijuana/ Otherwise, I'll shoot up on Banania), suggesting that the singer is resigned to a life of self-medication as a result of a world that has failed him.
Line by Line Meaning
Je suis le fils d'une société
I am the son of a fundamentally exhausted society
Fondamentalement épuisée
That is fundamentally worn out
Passe moi ma pipe de marijane
Pass me my marijuana pipe
Sinon je me shoote à la banane
Otherwise, I'll get high on bananas
Tout comme ses autres copains mon père
Just like his other buddies, my father
S'en revenait de Germanie
Was back from Germany
Quand on leur a dit les petits pères
When they were told, the little fathers
Faut nous faire de la démographie
We need to increase our population
Moi c'est comme ça que j'ai débarqué
That's how I arrived
Par un beau matin aux aurores
On a beautiful dawn morning
La guerre venait de se terminer
The war had just ended
On revendait les miradors
They were selling off the watchtowers
Avec les germes de la guerre
With the seeds of war
On ne fabrique que des tarés
All you get are crazies
Moi j'ai le coeur qui tape à l'envers
My heart beats backwards
Et le cerveau qui a des ratés
And my brain has flaws
Pourtant on m'a donné l'enfance
Nevertheless, I was given a childhood
D'un petit Français bien rassasié
Of a well-fed little Frenchman
Jusqu'à l'école où Mendès France
Right up to school where Mendes France
Venait nous donner la tétée
Came to breastfeed us
Mais si je fus un beau nourrisson
But even though I was a beautiful baby
Répondant aux normes Nestlé
Meeting Nestlé's standards
Aujourd'hui j'ai l'air tellement con
Today, I look so stupid
Qu'on veut pas de moi même dans l'armée
That even the army doesn't want me
D'ailleurs je suis toujours mal foutu
Besides, I'm still in bad shape
J'ai mal aux seins, j'ai mal au...
My breasts hurt, I hurt in other areas too
Y a guère que dans la naphtaline
It's only in mothballs
Que je trouve un peu de vitamines
Where I can find some vitamins
Et pour ce qui est des nanas
And as for girls
J'ai même plus le courage de draguer
I no longer have the courage to flirt
Quand je les emmène au cinéma
When I take them to the cinema
Je m'endors aux actualités
I fall asleep during the news
Faut dire que maintenant les starlettes
It must be said that now, the starlets
Ca devient micheton à dégommer
Are like punching bags
Quand elles cartonnent pas MLF
If they're not feminists
Elles vous allongent au karaté
They kick you with karate
Arné sné connunu palome
Arné sné connunu palome
Massasné masna en Sodome
Massasné masna in Sodom
Loukoum loukoum dé trougaga
Loukoum loukoum dé trougaga
Aro snavi rutabaga
Aro snavi rutabaga
Refile moi mon dir-la-da-da
Give me my dir-la-da-da
Sinon je me shoote au Banania
Otherwise, I'll get high on Banania
C'est la fin de mes éructations
This is the end of my rants
J'ai pas le courage d'aller plus loin
I don't have the courage to go further
Mieux vaut s'arrêter là sinon
Better to stop here or else
Ca va se terminer en boudin
It will end up as a mess
Ouais, en boudin...
Yeah, a mess...
Lyrics © SM PUBLISHING FRANCE, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Hubert-Félix THIEFAINE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind