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.
Les Métamorphoses
Jacques Dutronc Lyrics
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Tout mon être frissonne
Mes lèvres s'enfièvrent
Mes pieds deviennent chèvre
Je suis le loulou, le lou-lou le lou loup-garou
Quand à l'horloge deux heures sonnent
Ça devient de pire en pire
Je me sens devenir vampire
Je suis le van van le van-van le van vampire
Quand à l'horloge quatre heures sonnent
Dans ma raison tout résonne
Que voulez-vous c'est mon destin
Je me sens devenir Frankenstein
Je suis le Fran Fran, le Fran-Fran le Fran Frankenstein
Quand à l'horloge six heures sonnent
Que les voitures déjà klaxonnent
C'est vraiment plus habile
D'être le docteur Jekyll
Je suis le do do, le do-do, le docteur Jekyll
Quand à l'orient le soleil se lève
C'est enfin pour moi la trêve
Dans un demi sommeil je rêve
Que ces petits malaises s'achèvent
J'aimerais mieux avoir moins de dons
Et être comme tous mes amis
Dès qu'au firmament le lune luit
Ils se transforment en cupidon
Je suis le cu cu le cu-cu le cupidon
Je suis le cu cu le cu-cu le cupidon
The Jacques Dutronc's song Les Metamorphoses, explores the idea of transformation, through the metaphor of various fantastical creatures. The song is particularly interesting in the way it portrays this metamorphosis as being involuntary, something that happens to the singer, rather than something he wishes for. The lyrics detail how, at different times of the night, the singer takes on the traits of different creatures, such as the Loup-Garou, the Vampire, Fran Frankenstein, or Doctor Jekyll. However, each transformation is tinged with anxiety or fear, and the singer expresses a longing to be like "all his friends," to not have these strange abilities. The final lines of the song, where the singer becomes Cupid, indicate that perhaps what he longs for is the more mundane, human experience of love.
The lyrics' interpretation could be that the song is a metaphor for the changes and transformations that people go through in their lives, which can be both exciting and terrifying. Each transformation represents a different phase, with its own set of challenges and struggles. The singer's longing for normalcy and to be like his friends is a testament to the fear we all feel when faced with change and the unknown. The final lines of the song suggest that love and relationships are the ultimate goal, something that gives meaning and stability to life amidst all the chaos of transformation.
Line by Line Meaning
Quand à l'horloge minuit sonne
When the clock strikes midnight
Tout mon être frissonne
My entire being shivers
Mes lèvres s'enfièvrent
My lips feverishly burn
Mes pieds deviennent chèvre
My feet turn into goat hooves
Je suis le loulou, le lou-lou le lou loup-garou
I am the loulou, the wolf-man
Quand à l'horloge deux heures sonnent
When the clock strikes two
Et que je n'entends plus personne
And I cannot hear anyone
Ça devient de pire en pire
It becomes increasingly worse
Je me sens devenir vampire
I feel myself turning into a vampire
Je suis le van van le van-van le van vampire
I am the van van, the vampire-van
Quand à l'horloge quatre heures sonnent
When the clock strikes four
Dans ma raison tout résonne
My mind is filled with echoes
Que voulez-vous c'est mon destin
What can I do? It's my fate
Je me sens devenir Frankenstein
I feel myself turning into Frankenstein
Je suis le Fran Fran, le Fran-Fran le Fran Frankenstein
I am the Fran Fran, the Frankenstein-Fran
Quand à l'horloge six heures sonnent
When the clock strikes six
Que les voitures déjà klaxonnent
As cars honk in the background
C'est vraiment plus habile
It's really more skillful
D'être le docteur Jekyll
To become Doctor Jekyll
Je suis le do do, le do-do, le docteur Jekyll
I am the do do, the Doctor Jekyll
Quand à l'orient le soleil se lève
As the sun rises in the East
C'est enfin pour moi la trêve
It's finally a truce for me
Dans un demi sommeil je rêve
In a half-sleep, I dream
Que ces petits malaises s'achèvent
That these little discomforts would end
J'aimerais mieux avoir moins de dons
I would rather have fewer abilities
Et être comme tous mes amis
And be like all my friends
Dès qu'au firmament le lune luit
As soon as the moon shines in the sky
Ils se transforment en cupidon
They transform into Cupid
Je suis le cu cu le cu-cu le cupidon
I am the cu cu, the Cupid-cu
Je suis le cu cu le cu-cu le cupidon
I am the cu cu, the Cupid-cu
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Anne Anne France Yvonne Segalen, Jacques Dutronc, Jacques Lanzmann
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind