Between 1963 and 1964, Dutronc was the guitarist for a group called El Toro et les Cyclones who recorded several EPs. During this time he could frequently be seen on stage at the Golf Drouot as backing guitarist for stars like Eddy Mitchell. He then went and did his obligatory military service. After his return he landed a job as assistant at Vogue Records to Artistic Director Jacques Wolfsohn. In this capacity he arranged songs (there is no indication that he wrote the lyrics for any of these songs) for several lesser known artists like Zou Zou and CLeo. In 1966 (or maybe the end of 1965), he was teamed with writer Jacques Lanzmann, then director at Lui magazine, to create songs for artists who were arranged to be the next big thing. Benjamin was the first of these singers. But his first EP did horribly and he was unceremoniously booted from Vogue. One day after hearing the demos that Dutronc had made of a song, Wolfsohn declared that Jacques should do the record for release. "Et moi, et moi, et moi" was unleashed on the world in 1966 and overnight one of France's biggest stars was born.
With Lanzmann in charge of the lyrics and Dutronc taking care of the music, the two created some of the most lasting songs in French pop history. There is almost no French person alive who does not know "Et moi, et moi, et moi", "Les Playboys", and "Le cactus". Other great songs include "Mini, mini, mini", "Le responsable", "J'ai un tigre dans ma guitare", and "L'opportuniste". The music on most of these songs is a British garage sound and Dutronc has often been compared to Ray Davies of The Kinks, and that comparison works musically as well. What really set Dutronc apart from the other singers of the time was his parody. His songs are not celebrating the "youth generation" but mocking it. Dutronc's biggest hit was the beautiful "Il est cinq heures, Paris s'eveille", with the classical flute player Roger Bourdin (not as some had thought Jean-Pierre Rampal) performing an essential part. In this song, Dutronc manages to paint a remarkably correct picture of the French capital in the early morning hours in the late 1960's.
Dutronc's "La fille du père Noël" and David Bowie's "Jean Genie" share a riff likely derived from the Yardbirds' accelerated version of Bo Diddley's "I'm a Man." The Belgian singer Arno recorded a medley of the Dutronc and Bowie songs ("Jean Baltazaarr") with the American singer Beverly Jo Scott that makes clear their similarities.
In 1973, Dutronc began a second career as an actor in the film Antoine et Sébastien, directed by Jean-Marie Périer, a career that would afterward occupy the greater share of his attention. Directors for whom he has worked include Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Lelouch and Maurice Pialat. He has also returned to recording in recent years.
Also in 1973, "Et moi, et moi, et moi" was adapted with English lyrics by Ray Dorset, leader of Mungo Jerry. "Alright Alright Alright" became a UK No. 3 hit for the group.
Interestingly, the early Dutronc songs usually had a classic late-sixties freakbeat backing (provided by session musicians) that has managed to win Jacques Dutronc a new audience in the hip retro clubs of the UK and USA in the late 1990s, and this continues today. (Ironically, most of the people who will be dancing to the likes of "Le Cactus" will have no idea what the words actually mean). Because of this, he is celebrated in the 1997 Cornershop song "Brimful of Asha" thus: "Jacques Dutronc and the Bolan Boogie/The Heavy Hitters and the Chichi music."
He currently lives in the town of Monticello on the island of Corsica.
Il est cinq heures Paris s'éveille
Jacques Dutronc Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Et La Place Blanche a mauvaise mine
Les camions sont pleins de lait
Les balayeurs sont pleins d'balais
Il est cinq heures
Paris
S'éveille
S'éveille
Les travestis vont se raser
Les stripteaseuses sont rhabillées
Les traversins sont écrasés
Les amoureux sont fatigués
Il est cinq heures
Paris
S'éveille
Paris
S'éveille
Le café est dans les tasses
Les cafés nettoient leurs glaces
Et sur le Boulevard Montparnasse
La gare n'est plus qu'une carcasse
Il est cinq heures
Paris
S'éveille
Paris
S'éveille
Les banlieusards sont dans les gares
À la Villette, on tranche le lard
Paris by night, regagne les cars
Les boulangers font des bâtards
Il est cinq heures
Paris
S'éveille
Paris
S'éveille
La Tour Eiffel a froid aux pieds
L'arc de Triomphe est ranimé
Et l'Obélisque est bien dressé
Entre la nuit et la journée
Il est cinq heures
Paris
S'éveille
Paris
S'éveille
Les journaux sont imprimés
Les ouvriers sont déprimés
Les gens se lèvent, ils sont brimés
C'est l'heure où je vais me coucher
Il est cinq heures
Paris se lève
Il est cinq heures
Je n'ai pas sommeil
The lyrics of Jacques Dutronc's song "Il Est Cinq Heures Paris S'Eveille" describe the waking of Paris city at five in the morning through a series of vignettes of different locations and characters in the city. The song refers to different places such as the Place Dauphine and the Place Blanche, which appear tired and empty at this early hour. The trucks are full of milk, while the street sweepers are armed with their brooms ready to clean the city. The song portrays the striking contrast between the nightlong activity of cabarets and clubs and the quietness that reigns over a city that is just waking up.
The song's second verse reveals the theatrical element of Paris's nightlife through the image of transvestites who are getting ready for another day on the job, and striptease artists who are busily getting dressed after their night's work. At the same time, lovers have grown tired and fallen asleep with their "traversins" crushed, referring to the typical long and narrow pillows that are traditionally used in France. The third verse depicts the early morning activity of cafeterias and restaurants, with the staff preparing for another full day of service. Meanwhile, the Gare Montparnasse appears abandoned, the only trace of life being the one represented by the trains that will soon take passengers towards far-off suburban and countryside destinations.
Overall, the lyrics of "Il Est Cinq Heures Paris S'Eveille" paint a vivid picture of a city that is slowly coming to life, revealing its different faces, from the vibrant and dazzling nightlife to the quietness and solitude of the early hours of the morning.
Line by Line Meaning
Je suis l'dauphin d'la place Dauphine
I am the dolphin of the Place Dauphine
Et la place Blanche a mauvaise mine
And the Place Blanche looks tired
Les camions sont pleins de lait
The trucks are full of milk
Les balayeurs sont pleins d'balais
The street sweepers are loaded with brooms
Il est cinq heures
It's five o'clock
Paris s'éveille
Paris wakes up
Paris s'éveille
Paris wakes up
Les travestis vont se raser
The cross-dressers are going to shave
Les stripteaseuses sont rhabillées
The strippers are getting dressed
Les traversins sont écrasés
The pillows are flattened
Les amoureux sont fatigués
The lovers are tired
Le café est dans les tasses
The coffee is in the cups
Les cafés nettoient leurs glaces
The cafes clean their windows
Et sur le boulevard Montparnasse
And on the Boulevard Montparnasse
La gare n'est plus qu'une carcasse
The station is nothing but a carcass
Les banlieusards sont dans les gares
The suburbanites are in the stations
A la Villette on tranche le lard
At La Villette they slice the bacon
Paris by night, regagne les cars
Paris by night, goes back to the buses
Les boulangers font des bâtards
The bakers make baguettes
La tour Eiffel a froid aux pieds
The Eiffel Tower has cold feet
L'Arc de Triomphe est ranimé
The Arc de Triomphe is coming to life
Et l'Obélisque est bien dressé
And the Obelisk is standing tall
Entre la nuit et la journée
Between night and day
Il est cinq heures
It's five o'clock
Paris s'éveille
Paris wakes up
Paris s'éveille
Paris wakes up
Les journaux sont imprimés
The newspapers are printed
Les ouvriers sont déprimés
The workers are depressed
Les gens se lèvent, ils sont brimés
People get up, they are oppressed
C'est l'heure où je vais me coucher
It's the time I go to bed
Il est cinq heures
It's five o'clock
Paris se lève
Paris rises
Il est cinq heures
It's five o'clock
Je n'ai pas sommeil
I'm not sleepy
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Anne Segalen, Jacques Dutronc, Jacques Lanzmann
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@eitanmest
C'etait il ya 45 ans,je venais de terminer ma these de doctorat. A 5 heures je regardais Paris du haut de l'immeuble ou j'habitais et la radio emettait cette chanson.............il y a des souvenirs qui ne s'effacent jamais.
@tinou70
+איתן בורשטיין ... Ne l'oubliez surtout pas, c'est VOUS !
@yoanndubois2972
Excellent! Ce genre de détail est si important.
@florianallard9069
C'est vrai que malgré le temps qui passe cette chanson reste au top ! Belle chanson pour les parisiens !
@mubarak3457
Moi aussi du haut de mes 5 ans contemplant Paris un dimanche matin ..... quelle époque
@michellemaire2121
@@tinou70 “”
@ghezalabouzid6657
Quel talent! J'arrivais sur Paris en 1991, il faisait très froid, j'allume la radio et j'entends cette voix et cette chanson qui m'ont réchauffée. Merci Jacques!!
@mubarak3457
Ce mec pour moi c’est l’essence de l’autenthique Parisien .... un régal de le voir chanter
@davidlenormand2428
I
@stephg1413
I was 15 when I first went to Paris - this song had just been released. I fell in love with France (and with Jacques Dutronc!). Live in Australia now, but this song always brings back memories of that amazing era ❤