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.
J'oublie
Julien Clerc Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Celle qui était mon passé
Cet amour mort à tout jamais
J'ai oublié de l'oublier
Car ce rêve inachevé
Était beau
Et bête à pleurer
Il ne faut pas que je sache
Rester encore amoureux
Me rendrait si malheureux
Ne plus rêver
Ne plus penser
À tous les deux
J'ai oublié de l'oublier
Moi qui ne voulais plus l'aimer
Cet amour que l'orgueil a tué
J'ai oublié de l'oublier
Mais j'ai voulu me prouver
Qu'il m'était impossible d'aimer
Toi mon cœur, reste à ta place
Il ne faut pas que je sache
Rester encore amoureux
Me rendrait si malheureux
Ne plus rêver
Ne plus penser
À tous les deux
The song "J'oublie" by Julien Clerc is a melancholic reflection on the struggle of forgetting a past love. The singer confesses that he has forgotten to forget the person who was once his entire world, even though the relationship ended badly and he knows that he can never go back to the way things were. He describes the love as "mort à tout jamais" or dead forever, yet at the same time, he admits that it was a "rêve inachevé" or unfinished dream that was both beautiful and foolish.
Line by Line Meaning
J'ai oublié de l'oublier
I forgot to forget her
Celle qui était mon passé
The one who was my past
Cet amour mort à tout jamais
This love dead forever
J'ai oublié de l'oublier
I forgot to forget her
Car ce rêve inachevé
For this unfinished dream
Était beau
Was beautiful
Et bête à pleurer
And stupid enough to cry over
Toi mon cœur, reste à ta place
You, my heart, stay in your place
Il ne faut pas que je sache
I shouldn't know
Rester encore amoureux
To stay in love again
Me rendrait si malheureux
Would make me so unhappy
Ne plus rêver
Not to dream anymore
Ne plus penser
Not to think anymore
À tous les deux
Of the two of us
J'ai oublié de l'oublier
I forgot to forget her
Moi qui ne voulais plus l'aimer
Me who didn't want to love her anymore
Cet amour que l'orgueil a tué
This love that pride killed
J'ai oublié de l'oublier
I forgot to forget her
Mais j'ai voulu me prouver
But I wanted to prove to myself
Qu'il m'était impossible d'aimer
That it was impossible for me to love
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Claude Lucien Moine, Pierre Papadiamandis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind