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
Pulque Mescal y Tequila
Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sur un aéroport désert
J'ai confié mon âme à un gnome
Qui jonglait sous un revolver
Puis j'ai pris la première tangente
Qui conduit vers les cantinas
Où la musique se fait bandante
Pour la piéta dolorosa
Pulque, mescal y tequila
Cuba libre y cerveza
Ce soir je serai borracho
Hombre ! Que viva Mejico
Borracho ! Como no ?
Dans le bus pour Cuernavaca
J'révise ma tendresse des volcans
Hôtel-casino d'la Selva
Le soleil se perd au ponant
& je picole en compagnie!
D'un spectre imbibé de strychnine
Welcome señor Malcolm Lowry
Sous la Lune caustique & sanguine
Pulque, mescal y tequila
Cuba libre y cerveza
Ce soir je serai borracho
Hombre ! Que viva Mejico
Borracho ! Como no ?
Jour des morts à Oaxaca
Près de la tombe n°7
Je promène ma cavalera
En procession jusqu'aux toilettes
& dans la douceur des latrines
Loin des clameurs de la calle
Je respire l'odeur alcaline
Des relents d'amour périmé
« No se puede vivir sin amar »
« No se puede vivir sin amar »
Chinga de su madre
Otro Cuba libre
Borracho ! Como no ?
De retour à Ténochtitlan
Du parc de Chapultepec
Les singes me balancent des bananes
Sur des slogans de fièvre aztèque
& dans ma tristesse animale
D'Indien qu'on soûle & qu'on oublie
Je m'écroule devant le terminal
Des bus à Mexico-City
Pulque mescal y tequila
Cuba libre y cerveza
Ce soir je suis « el borracho »
Hombre ! Un ‘perdido de Mejico
Borracho ! Como no ?
The song "Pulque Mescal y Tequila" by Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine tells the story of a man who travels to Mexico and immerses himself in the local culture, particularly its alcohol and music. The opening lines describe his arrival at a deserted airport and his encounter with a mysterious gnome who carries a revolver. He then follows the path to the cantinas, where the music is both seductive and melancholic. The chorus, which repeats several times throughout the song, lists the various alcoholic beverages the singer consumes, culminating in his declaration that he will be drunk: "Ce soir je serai borracho."
The second verse describes the singer's journey to Cuernavaca, where he revisits memories of volcanoes and stays at a hotel-casino. He drinks with an "imbibed specter of strychnine" and references the writer Malcolm Lowry, who is known for his novel "Under the Volcano," which is set in Mexico. The third verse takes place on the Day of the Dead in Oaxaca, where the singer walks with a "cavalera," or decorated skull, in a procession to the bathroom. He reflects on his current state of being drunk and alone, contrasting it with the Mexican saying "No se puede vivir sin amar" ("One cannot live without love"). The final verse takes place in Mexico City, primarily at the Chapultepec Park where the singer is teased by monkeys and feels a sense of sadness and disconnection.
Overall, Thiéfaine's lyrics paint a vivid picture of the cultural experience of Mexico, but also suggest a sense of displacement and alienation that the singer feels.
Line by Line Meaning
Tombé d'un D.C. 10 fantôme
I fell from a phantom DC-10 onto a deserted airport.
Sur un aéroport désert
It was a desolate and abandoned airport.
J'ai confié mon âme à un gnome
I entrusted my soul to a gnome who was juggling a revolver.
Qui jonglait sous un revolver
The gnome was juggling a revolver in a dangerous and eerie fashion.
Puis j'ai pris la première tangente
I then took the first turn that led to the cantinas.
Qui conduit vers les cantinas
I found a path that took me to the cantinas.
Où la musique se fait bandante
Where the music is such a turn on.
Pour la piéta dolorosa
For a sorrowful lament.
Pulque, mescal y tequila
Pulque, mescal, and tequila.
Cuba libre y cerveza
Cuba Libre and beer.
Ce soir je serai borracho
Tonight I will be drunk.
Hombre ! Que viva Mejico
Man! Long live Mexico!
Borracho ! Como no ?
Drunk! Of course!
Dans le bus pour Cuernavaca
On the bus to Cuernavaca.
J'révise ma tendresse des volcans
I recall my love for the volcanoes.
Hôtel-casino d'la Selva
At the Jungle Casino Hotel.
Le soleil se perd au ponant
The sun sets in the west.
& je picole en compagnie!
And I drink with company!
D'un spectre imbibé de strychnine
With a phantom who is full of strychnine.
Welcome señor Malcolm Lowry
Welcome, Mr. Malcolm Lowry.
Sous la Lune caustique & sanguine
Under the caustic and blood-red moon.
Jour des morts à Oaxaca
Day of the Dead in Oaxaca.
Près de la tombe n°7
Near grave number 7.
Je promène ma cavalera
I parade around my skull mask.
En procession jusqu'aux toilettes
In a procession toward the restrooms.
& dans la douceur des latrines
And in the tranquility of the latrines.
Loin des clameurs de la calle
Far from the clamors of the street.
Je respire l'odeur alcaline
I breathe in the alkaline odor.
Des relents d'amour périmé
The stench of expired love.
« No se puede vivir sin amar »
You can't live without love.
« No se puede vivir sin amar »
You can't live without love.
Chinga de su madre
Fuck his mom.
Otro Cuba libre
Another Cuba Libre.
Borracho ! Como no ?
Drunk! Of course!
De retour à Ténochtitlan
Back in Tenochtitlan.
Du parc de Chapultepec
From Chapultepec Park.
Les singes me balancent des bananes
The monkeys throw bananas at me.
Sur des slogans de fièvre aztèque
Amid the slogans of Aztec fever.
& dans ma tristesse animale
And in my animalistic sadness.
D'Indien qu'on soûle & qu'on oublie
Of an Indian who is drunk and forgotten.
Je m'écroule devant le terminal
I collapse in front of the bus terminal.
Des bus à Mexico-City
Buses in Mexico City.
Ce soir je suis « el borracho »
Tonight, I am 'the drunk.'
Hombre ! Un ‘perdido de Mejico
Man! A lost soul of Mexico.
Borracho ! Como no ?
Drunk! Of course!
Lyrics © LILITH EROTICA
Written by: Claude MAIRET, Hubert-Félix THIEFAINE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind