Dassin was born in New York City to Jules Dassin (Yiddish actor and film noir director) and Béatrice Launer. He began his childhood first in New York and Los Angeles, California. However after his father became a victim of the anti-communist policies of Senator Joseph McCarthy, he and his family moved from place to place across Europe.
After studying at Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland, Dassin moved back to the United States to go to college at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan after doing very well on his bachelor's exam. After college, he moved back again to France where, while working at a radio station, a record label convinced him to begin to record his songs.
By the early 1970s, Dassin's songs topped the charts in France and he became well known. Probably as a recognition of his parents' left leanings, Dassin's records were officially released in the USSR. However, the political views of his parents were not well known to the general public in the USSR, and Dassin's popularity in the USSR should be connected to his talent only. He was also a talented polyglot, recording songs in German, Spanish, Italian and Greek, as well as French and English.
He died of a heart attack during a vacation to Tahiti on August 20, 1980. He is buried at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.
Songs:Les Champs-Élysées ,L'été indien ,Ça va pas changer le Monde ,Et si tu n'existais pas, Salut ....
Le Grand Parking
Joe Dassin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pour faire le grand parking
On peut se garer
Des quais de Quimper jusqu'en Chine
C'est toujours la même histoire
On ne sait ce qu'on a que quand il est trop tard
Ils ont tout pavé
Pour faire le grand parking
Ils ont pris tous les arbres
Ils les ont mis dans un musée
Pour te mettre au vert
Fais la queue et achète ton billet
C'est toujours la même histoire
On ne sait ce qu'on a que quand il est trop tard
Ils ont tout pavé
Pour faire le grand parking
Fermier, mon ami, il faut ranger ton DBT, oui
Laisse voler les oiseaux
Et tant pis si mes pommes sont piquées
C'est toujours la même histoire
On ne sait ce qu'on a que quand il est trop tard
Ils ont tout pavé
Pour faire le grand parking
J'étais dans mes rêves
Quand j'ai entendu la porte claquer
Dans un vieux taxi
J'ai vu ma p'tite bonne femme s'en aller
C'est toujours la même histoire
On ne sait ce qu'on a que quand il est trop tard
Ils ont tout pavé
Pour faire le grand parking
C'est toujours la même histoire
On ne sait ce qu'on a que quand il est trop tard
Ils ont tout pavé
Pour faire le grand parking
Ils ont tout pavé
Pour faire le grand parking
Ils ont tout pavé
Pour faire le grand parking
The song "Le Grand Parking" by Joe Dassin criticizes modern society's focus on progress and development at the cost of sacrificing the natural world, human relationships, and cultural heritage. The "grand parking" refers to the extensive parking lots that have replaced forests and fields, highlighting the contrast between concrete and wildlife. The lyrics lament the loss of beauty and freedom in exchange for convenience and efficiency.
The first verse describes how the entire space has been paved, from the Quimper docks to China, indicating the global extent of the environmental destruction. The second verse highlights the irony of paying to experience nature in museums and parks, emphasizing how people have become disconnected from nature. The third verse reflects on the plight of farmers who are forced to give up their land and their traditional way of life for industrialization. The final verse is a personal story of a man who realizes too late the value of his partner and his relationships, likening it to the realization that society had destroyed the environment.
Overall, "Le Grand Parking" is a poignant critique of the modern world's priorities, urging people to consider the true cost of progress and to value the natural world, human connections, and cultural heritage before it's too late.
Line by Line Meaning
Ils ont tout pavé pour faire le grand parking
They paved everything to create the big parking lot
On peut se garer, des quais de Quimper jusqu'en Chine
You can park from the docks of Quimper to China
C'est toujours la même histoire
It's always the same story
On ne sait ce qu'on a que quand il est trop tard
We only know what we have when it's too late
Ils ont pris tous les arbres, ils les ont mis dans un musée
They took all the trees and put them in a museum
Pour te mettre au vert, fais la queue et achète ton billet
To be in nature, stand in line and buy your ticket
Fermier mon ami, il faut ranger ton DBT
Farmer my friend, you must put away your DBT
Laisse voler les oiseaux et tant pis si mes pommes sont piquées
Let the birds fly and too bad if my apples are poked
J'étais dans mes rêves quand j'ai entendu la porte claquer
I was in my dreams when I heard the door slam
Dans un grand taxi j'ai vu ma p'tite bonne femme s'en aller
In a big taxi, I saw my little good woman go away
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Claude Lemesle, Joni Mitchell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind