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.
L'Homme Et L'Enfant
Jacques Dutronc Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Est-ce que la terre est ronde?
Si c'est vrai, l'oiseau bleu
Où est-il dans le monde?
Tous les jours je suis là
Et pleure en l'attendant
Pleurais-tu comme moi quand tu étais enfant
Que devient le soleil quand il tombe à la mer
Pourquoi donc, je ne peux m'envoler dans le vent
Et pourquoi, dis Monsieur, tu pleures en m'écoutant?
Mon enfant, mon enfant, c'est vrai la terre est ronde
Et longtemps, j'ai cherché, l'oiseau bleu dans le monde
Comme toi, j'ai pleuré en tendant mes deux bras
Mais pour toi, j'en suis sûr, un beau jour, il viendra
N'aie pas peur, le soleil ne meurt pas sous les dunes
Il s'en va pour t'offrir un beau clair de lune
Et pourquoi voudrais-tu t'envoler dans le vent?
J'ai voulu, moi aussi et j'ai des cheveux blancs
Ne pleure plus, beau Monsieur, puisque la tere est ronde
Pour t'offrir l'oiseau bleu, je vais courir le monde
Mon enfant, ne pars pas, ne pars pas pour ailleurs
L'oiseau bleu, il est là, cherche bien dans ton coeur
Si c'est vrai, dis Monsieur, j'irai dans le soleil
Pour cueillir avec lui un morceau de ciel
Mon enfant, tu iras, bien plus loin que le jour
L'oiseau bleu, c'est l'amour, l'amour
The lyrics of Jacques Dutronc's song "L'Homme Et L'Enfant" are a conversation between a curious child and a kind adult who reassures him and tries to provide answers to the many questions he has. The child is trying to make sense of the world and understand the mysteries of nature. He asks the Beau Monsieur if the earth is round and wonders where the blue bird is in the world. He also asks why the morning sky is clear and the sky is dark at night. He is puzzled by the falling of the sun into the sea and why he can't fly in the wind. Through his questioning, the child reveals his innocence, curiosity, and longing for answers from someone wiser.
The Beau Monsieur, in response, tries to comfort the child and show him the beauty and wonder of the world. He tells him that the earth is round and that he too had once searched for the blue bird. He assures him that the sun does not die but goes away to give us a beautiful moon. He reminds the child that he too had once wanted to fly in the wind but could not. He comforts the child by telling him that one day, he too will find the answers he seeks and that the blue bird is a symbol of love. The lyrics of the song are a beautiful conversation between the innocence of a child and the wisdom of an adult.
Line by Line Meaning
Dis Monsieur, Beau Monsieur, Est-ce que la terre est ronde?
The child asks the man if the Earth is round.
Si c'est vrai, l'oiseau bleu Où est-il dans le monde?
The child wonders where the blue bird is located in the world if the Earth is round.
Tous les jours je suis là Et pleure en l'attendant Pleurais-tu comme moi quand tu étais enfant
The child spends all days waiting for the blue bird, crying. He asks the man if he also cried when he was a child.
Que devient le soleil quand il tombe à la mer Et pourquoi le matin, le ciel est si clair
The child asks what happens to the sun when it falls into the sea and why the sky is clear in the morning.
Pourquoi donc, je ne peux m'envoler dans le vent Et pourquoi, dis Monsieur, tu pleures en m'écoutant?
The child asks why he can't fly with the wind and why the man is crying while listening to him.
Mon enfant, mon enfant, c'est vrai la terre est ronde Et longtemps, j'ai cherché, l'oiseau bleu dans le monde
The man confirms that the Earth is round and he has also searched for the blue bird for a long time.
Comme toi, j'ai pleuré en tendant mes deux bras Mais pour toi, j'en suis sûr, un beau jour, il viendra
The man empathizes with the child and assures him that the blue bird will come for him one day.
N'aie pas peur, le soleil ne meurt pas sous les dunes Il s'en va pour t'offrir un beau clair de lune
The man tells the child not to fear, as the sun doesn't die under the dunes. It goes away to offer a beautiful moonlight.
Et pourquoi voudrais-tu t'envoler dans le vent? J'ai voulu, moi aussi et j'ai des cheveux blancs
The man questions why the child wants to fly with the wind and reveals that he also wanted to do so when he was younger.
Ne pleure plus, beau Monsieur, puisque la terre est ronde Pour t'offrir l'oiseau bleu, je vais courir le monde
The child is encouraged to stop crying now that he knows the Earth is round, and the man promises to search the world to find the blue bird for him.
Mon enfant, ne pars pas, ne pars pas pour ailleurs L'oiseau bleu, il est là, cherche bien dans ton coeur
The man urges the child not to go away, as the blue bird is within himself. He encourages him to look within and find it.
Si c'est vrai, dis Monsieur, j'irai dans le soleil Pour cueillir avec lui un morceau de ciel
The child says that he will go to the sun if it's true, to pick a piece of sky with it.
Mon enfant, tu iras, bien plus loin que le jour L'oiseau bleu, c'est l'amour, l'amour
The man encourages the child to go farther than the day, as the blue bird is love itself.
Contributed by John N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.