His father was a UNESCO employee and his mother is from Guadeloupe. Many of the chansons he sings were written by Étienne Roda-Gil, a long time collaborator. His brother, Gérard Leclerc, is a political commentator on France 2.
For a time he was involved with French actress Miou-Miou, who in 1978 bore him a daughter, Jeanne Herry. Like her father, Jeanne has pursued a career in show business, albeit as an actress and comedian rather than as a singer.
Julien Clerc owes his fame in France to his leading role in the 1969 French language adaptation of the musical Hair. Since then he has sung a great many popular songs, and is generally considered one of the greatest francophone musicians of his generation. In 2003, he was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees after transferring the rights to his hugely popular song, Partir, to the UN.
Blues Indigo
Julien Clerc Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Si la nuit tous les chats sont gris,
Les hommes aussi sont tous égaux
Quand tombe cette chappe indigo.
Ciment de poussière et d'ennui
Qui descend autour de minuit
Sur les pavés, les quais de gare,
Les arrivées, les cases-départ
Quand les dés roulent sans qu'on les lance...
Sans quand les lance...
On fouille aussi dans les poubelles
Des souvenirs, on se rappelle
Des princesses et des cendrillons,
Des éphémères, des papillons
Qui tournaient dans les abat-jours
De nos palais de rois d'un jour.
On se bat dans les terrains vagues.
Eux font leurs griffes, on fait des tags
Et des marelles, mais pas de chance,
La boîte tombe pas où on la lance,
Où on la lance,
Où on la lance...
Chat des palaces, voleurs, voyous,
Des favelas ou du bayou,
Qu'on soit Mozart ou John Coltrane,
C'est toujours le même blues qu'on traîne.
Faudrait, sur la carte du Tendre,
Des Touaregs pour nous attendre,
Quelques repères et des sherpas,
Des guides, des boussoles, des compas
Ou des Livingstone dans nos jungles,
Moins de foin, un peu plus d'épingles,
Des camions entiers d'amoureuses,
De mygales, de mante-religieuses,
Que nos appels aux ambulances,
Elles les entendent quand on les lance,
Quand on les lance,
Quand on les lance...
In Julien Clerc's song Blues Indigo, the lyrics are a powerful commentary on the universal human experience of being weighed down by the heavy burden of life's struggles. The opening verse reminds listeners that no matter their background, everyone is equal when they are shrouded in the dark and heavy cloak of indigo. The chorus speaks of how everyone carries the same blues, whether they are a cat from any street, human from any background, Mozart or John Coltrane. In the second verse, the singer talks about how we all search through the trash of our memories, recalling times of happiness or hardship, like the butterflies that fluttered about the lampshades in our imaginary palaces. We fight our battles, like scratching our names onto territorial lands and trying to land a trick in a game of dice. The song closes with a wish that we could have guides, signposts, and compasses to help us navigate our way through life's jungles, and more love in the world to help us through the tough times.
One possible interpretation of these lyrics is that they implore us to look at the ways we are all alike and to empathize with each other's struggles. In the same way that a cat from any background is no different when covered in the same indigo hue, we are all human, with the same capacity for joy and suffering. At the same time, the song suggests that we must each navigate these struggles on our own, with only our memories and our courage to guide us. This message is likely to resonate with anyone who has ever felt weighed down by life's challenges.
Line by Line Meaning
Persans, gouttières ou mistigris,
Whether they're pedigreed Persians, alley cats, or strays,
Si la nuit tous les chats sont gris,
In the dark of night, all cats are basically the same,
Les hommes aussi sont tous égaux
Humans are the same in the same way, too,
Quand tombe cette chappe indigo.
When this indigo blanket falls.
Ciment de poussière et d'ennui
Cement made from dust and boredom
Qui descend autour de minuit
That descends around midnight
Sur les pavés, les quais de gare,
On the cobblestones, on the train station platforms,
Les arrivées, les cases-départ
The arrivals and the departures,
Des jeux de l'oie perdus d'avance
Games of goose that were lost from the beginning,
Quand les dés roulent sans qu'on les lance...
When the dice roll without even throwing them...
On fouille aussi dans les poubelles
One also rummages through the trash cans
Des souvenirs, on se rappelle
Remembering memories
Des princesses et des cendrillons,
Of princesses and Cinderella,
Des éphémères, des papillons
Ephemerals, butterflies
Qui tournaient dans les abat-jours
That turned around the lampshades
De nos palais de rois d'un jour.
Of our palaces, where we were kings for a day.
On se bat dans les terrains vagues.
We fight in the wastelands.
Eux font leurs griffes, on fait des tags
They sharpen their claws, we make graffiti
Et des marelles, mais pas de chance,
And we play hopscotch, but have no luck,
La boîte tombe pas où on la lance,
As the box doesn't land where we throw it.
Chat des palaces, voleurs, voyous,
Cats of the palaces, thieves, ruffians,
Des favelas ou du bayou,
From the shantytowns or the bayous,
Qu'on soit Mozart ou John Coltrane,
Whether you're Mozart or John Coltrane,
C'est toujours le même blues qu'on traîne.
You're always dragging the same blues.
Faudrait, sur la carte du Tendre,
On the map of love,
Des Touaregs pour nous attendre,
Some Tuareg to wait for us,
Quelques repères et des sherpas,
Some landmarks and some Sherpas,
Des guides, des boussoles, des compas
Guides, compasses, and direction-finders
Ou des Livingstone dans nos jungles,
Or some Livingstones in our jungles,
Moins de foin, un peu plus d'épingles,
Less chaff, a bit more pins,
Des camions entiers d'amoureuses,
Truckloads of lovers,
De mygales, de mante-religieuses,
Tarantulas and praying mantises,
Que nos appels aux ambulances,
That our ambulance calls,
Elles les entendent quand on les lance,
They will hear them when we launch them.
Quand on les lance,
When we launch them,
Quand on les lance...
When we launch them...
Contributed by Evan H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.