After spending her younger years in Erbray near Châteaubriant, Cherhal studied philosophy before moving to Paris. She started her singing career playing piano - solo, or accompanied by her guitarist Éric Löhrer in small concert venues. At the time she sported long, plaîtted hair. After a six-title CD (edited by Madame Suzie), she released an album entitled "Jeanne Cherhal" with the independent label Tôt ou tard.
Little by little, her renown increased. At the beginning she sang Georges Moustaki, Jacques Higelin, Thomas Fersen and Emir Kusturica; she was invited on by the group les Têtes Raides, sang as a double act with Vincent Delerm and sometimes as a trio with d'Albin de La Simone. She also performed in a series of concerts with Matthieu Bouchet, which culminated in the production of the CD-booklet [en même temps...] (produced in a limited edition of 1500 copies).
Cherhal's second album Douze fois par an (Twelve times a year), released in 2004; was a huge success. Along with this she received not only recognition from the music world, but also from a large and ever-increasing fan base.
Towards the end of 2005, she performed in the French version of "The Vagina Monologues"
In 2006 her third album, L'eau (Water), produced by Albin de la Simone. Musically speaking, it was much more polished and the themes contained at the same time more personal and more involved. This album would enable her once more to tour in France and abroad, performing in Belgium and Switzerland; in Berlin, London, Dublin and Beirut; in Canada, Congo, Central African Republic, in Gabon and in Angola.
La Famille
Jeanne Cherhal Lyrics
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Déjà au bord du berceau ça piaffait à tout-va
Ce gosse ne ressemble à rien
A personne d'entre nous qui peut dire d'où il vient
Ah que n'ai-je donc pas glissé
Des mains du chirurgien
Qui m'a sorti comme un chien
Comme le dernier d'une portée
C'est comme ça que j'ai eu dix ans
Je me suis tu en rêvant mais les rêves d'un gosse
Chez nous c'était mal venu
Soit t'es un dur et c'est bien soit le frangin te rosse
Ah que n'ai-je donc pas brûlé
Le cocon familial
Son plafond aux poutres sales
Qu' j'ai tant voulu voir tomber
Mais y a la famille, et la famille, ça anéantit
D' la gnôle au p'tit déjeuner
Alors vint la puberté qui n' me fit pas de cadeau
J'ai voulu être poète
Mais les seuls vers de chez nous se récitaient cul sec
Ah que n'ai-je donc pas pillé
La cave de mes vieux
Le pinard de leurs aïeux
Bien plus que moi adoré
Mais y a la famille, et la famille, ça vous crucifie
Après-demain je vais crever
D'une mort programmée d'un beau suicide en sorte
Et quand mon glas va sonner
Je m'en irai les regarder de l'autre côté de la porte
Ah que n'ai-je donc pas crié
Du temps où bien vivant
J'aurais pu à bout portant
Leur gueuler que la famille
C'est elle qui m'a tué
In Jeanne Cherhal's song La famille, the singer reflects on their life within their family, and ultimately concludes that their family has been the cause of their demise. In the first verse, the singer describes how even as a newborn, there was already something different about them, something that set them apart from the rest of their family. Despite this, they were unable to escape the grip of their family, which seemed to envelop and suffocate them. The second verse sees the singer maturing into a 10-year-old who is unable to express themselves through their imagination and creativity without facing punishment or violence from their siblings. The same inability to separate themselves from their family continues into their teenage years when they struggle to make their dream of becoming a poet a reality while being expected to conform to their family's standards. In the bridge, the singer looks back on their life with regret, wishing they had been able to break free of their family's influence and speak out against the damage it had caused them.
Line by Line Meaning
Je suis né j'étais marmot
I was born as a little kid
Déjà au bord du berceau ça piaffait à tout-va
Already at the edge of the crib, everything was in turmoil
Ce gosse ne ressemble à rien
This child doesn't resemble anyone
A personne d'entre nous qui peut dire d'où il vient
None of us can say where he comes from
Ah que n'ai-je donc pas glissé
If only I hadn't slipped
Des mains du chirurgien
From the hands of the surgeon
Qui m'a sorti comme un chien
Who pulled me out like a dog
Comme le dernier d'une portée
Like the last one in a litter
Mais y a la famille, et la famille, ça vous envahit
But there's the family, and family, it overwhelms you
C'est comme ça que j'ai eu dix ans
That's how I turned ten
Je me suis tu en rêvant mais les rêves d'un gosse
I stayed silent while dreaming, but a child's dreams
Chez nous c'était mal venu
Were not welcome in our home
Soit t'es un dur et c'est bien soit le frangin te rosse
Either you're tough and that's good, or your brother beats you up
Ah que n'ai-je donc pas brûlé
If only I hadn't burned
Le cocon familial
The family cocoon
Son plafond aux poutres sales
Its dirty beamed ceiling
Qu' j'ai tant voulu voir tomber
That I wanted to see fall so much
Mais y a la famille, et la famille, ça anéantit
But there's the family, and family, it annihilates you
D' la gnôle au p'tit déjeuner
Moonshine for breakfast
Alors vint la puberté qui n' me fit pas de cadeau
Then puberty came and didn't give me any presents
J'ai voulu être poète
I wanted to be a poet
Mais les seuls vers de chez nous se récitaient cul sec
But the only verses in our home were recited bottoms up
Ah que n'ai-je donc pas pillé
If only I hadn't looted
La cave de mes vieux
My parents' wine cellar
Le pinard de leurs aïeux
Their ancestors' wine
Bien plus que moi adoré
Adored by them more than me
Mais y a la famille, et la famille, ça vous crucifie
But there's the family, and family, it crucifies you
Après-demain je vais crever
The day after tomorrow, I'm going to die
D'une mort programmée d'un beau suicide en sorte
From a planned death, a beautiful suicide of sorts
Et quand mon glas va sonner
And when my bell tolls
Je m'en irai les regarder de l'autre côté de la porte
I'll leave to watch them from the other side of the door
Ah que n'ai-je donc pas crié
If only I hadn't shouted
Du temps où bien vivant
When I was still alive
J'aurais pu à bout portant
I could have up close
Leur gueuler que la famille
Scream at them that family
C'est elle qui m'a tué
Is the one that killed me
Contributed by Callie G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.