In 1978 he played in the cover band Beri Beri, together with Bart Peeters and Jan Leyers.
In 1984 he appeared frequently in Bart Peeters’s program Villa Tempo, together with Bart Peeters and Marcel Vanthilt, as “De Hermannen”. De Hermannen were three men with sunglasses, blond wigs, black coats and white sweaters. They played absurd sketches.
Matthysen started writing for Humo, a Belgian weekly magazine. He started the humoristic rock band “Hugo Matthysen & De Bomen” (Hugo Matthysen and the trees). In 1989 he worked together with Kamagurka and Herr Seele with their weekly, absurd program “Lava”.
Later that year, together with Bart Peeters, he created the radio program “Het Leugenpaleis” (the palace of lies). Later on it got a version for television “Het Peulengaleis” (an anagram of its radio version’s name). Furthermore he also created the well known children series “Kulderzipken” and “Dag Sinterklaas”, the play “Frankenstein of Smrntwsk” (1989) and the lyrics for the Belgian group “De Nieuwe Snaar”.
In 1990 he presented, together with Guy Mortier the main acts at the festival Torhout-Werchter (now known as Werchter).
His alter ego Clement Peerens and his band The Clement Peerens Explosition (CPeX) became very popular and known amongst everyone. The trial from the woman of the fair (“Foorwijven”) because of his song “Foorwijf” only made him more known.
Furthermore he created the girl band Hormonia, which mocks the many girl bands nowadays.
c'est la vie
Hugo Matthysen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ik tastte naar mijn hoofd
Toe dacht ik arme stakker, uw verstand is leeggeroofd
Het was zo leeg in mijn schedel
Het was er leeg en desolaat
En ik trachtte nog normaal te functioneren
Maar u weet toch hoe dat gaat
Ik strompelde de trap af
Ik dacht nu ga ik sterven, maar ik was al lang kapot
Het was zo leeg in mijn schedel
Het was er leeg en desolaat
En die spiegel naast de kapstok sleur ik ooit
Nog voor de rechter wegens smaad
Maar dames en heren, als zoiets la vie is
Awel merci dan! ... Chorus
Ik belandde in de keuken
De muur staarde mij aan
'k Wou mijn kop er tegen beuken
Maar ik heb het niet gedaan
Het was zo leeg in mijn schedel, en desolaat
Ik heb wel nog uren zitten staren
Naar de klok, de boiler en de vuile vaat
Nu zal u zeggen: "c'est la vie"
Ik hoor u al zeggen: "c'est la vie"
Maar dames en heren, als zoiets la vie is
Awel merci dan! Merci
In Hugo Matthysen's song "C'est La Vie," he talks about waking up with a empty feeling in his head. He says that his mind had been robbed which made him feel as if he was functioning abnormally. He goes down the stairs feeling rotten and thinking that he is going to die when he is already broken inside. In the kitchen, he contemplates banging his head against the wall but chooses not to. All he could do was stare at the clock, boiler, and the dirty dishes. In the end, he reflects on his situation and says "c'est la vie" which means "that's life" in French.
The lyrics of the song reveal the feeling of emptiness that the song's protagonist experiences. The singer realizes that life may not always be what we expect it to be, and we can't control everything that happens to us. Sometimes, we just have to accept things as they are and move on, which is what the singer does at the end.
Line by Line Meaning
Ik werd vanochtend wakker
I woke up this morning
Ik tastte naar mijn hoofd
I reached for my head
Toe dacht ik arme stakker, uw verstand is leeggeroofd
Then I thought poor fool, your mind has been robbed
Het was zo leeg in mijn schedel
My head was so empty
Het was er leeg en desolaat
It was empty and desolate
En ik trachtte nog normaal te functioneren
And I tried to function normally
Maar u weet toch hoe dat gaat
But you know how it goes
Ik strompelde de trap af
I stumbled down the stairs
Wat voelde ik mij rot
How miserable I felt
Ik dacht nu ga ik sterven, maar ik was al lang kapot
I thought I was going to die, but I was already broken
En die spiegel naast de kapstok sleur ik ooit
And someday I'll drag that mirror next to the coat rack
Nog voor de rechter wegens smaad
To court for defamation
Maar dames en heren, als zoiets la vie is
But ladies and gentlemen, if that's life
Awel merci dan!
Well then thank you!
...Chorus
Ik belandde in de keuken
I ended up in the kitchen
De muur staarde mij aan
The wall stared at me
'k Wou mijn kop er tegen beuken
I wanted to bang my head against it
Maar ik heb het niet gedaan
But I didn't
Ik heb wel nog uren zitten staren
I did sit and stare for hours
Naar de klok, de boiler en de vuile vaat
At the clock, the boiler, and the dirty dishes
Nu zal u zeggen: "c'est la vie"
Now you'll say, "that's life"
Ik hoor u al zeggen: "c'est la vie"
I already hear you saying, "that's life"
Maar dames en heren, als zoiets la vie is
But ladies and gentlemen, if that's life
Awel merci dan! Merci
Well then thank you! Thank you
Contributed by Brooklyn Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.