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.
La veuve de Joe Stan Murray
Julien Clerc Lyrics
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Qui se souvient d'anciens palais
Mon coeur coquille vide
Résonne encore d'anciens regrets
Un saxophone bizarre
Pris dans de gluants lichens mous
Raconte sur la plage
J'écoute monotone
Le bruit de l'acier et du fer
Les vagues d'assaut résonnent
Entre le village et la mer
Le casino en ruines
Frappe de stupeur l'environ
Des canons dans les ruines
Fument l'opium des moissons, des moissons
Ma patience prolifère
De la province à l'horizon
Reviens dans ton repaire
Mon vieux mollusque ma déraison
Comme une fleur petite
Qui jamais ne se fanerait
Ta petite veuve annamite
T'attend encore Joe Stan Murray
J'écoute monotone
Le bruit de l'acier et du fer
Les vagues d'assaut résonnent
Entre le village et la mer
Le casino en ruines
Frappe de stupeur l'environ
Les canons dans les ruines
Fument l'opium des moissons, des moissons
Deux croupiers agonisent
Frappés à mort par deux harpons
Des mouettes vocalisent
Le programme de l'Opéra de Saigon
The song "La veuve de Joe Stan Murray" by Julien Clerc tells the story of a man who is reminiscing about his past and the regrets he has. He compares his heart to an empty shell, like that of a hermit crab who remembers past palaces. As he listens to the sound of the saxophone on the beach, he is transported back in time to the story of a "G.I. fou" (crazy soldier) whose tale is part of the history of the area. He is surrounded by the sounds of war and destruction, like the ruins of the casino that shock and stun him, and the cannons in the ruins that breathe in the opium of the harvest.
The man's patience grows as he waits for the return of his "vieux mollusque" (old shell), a reference to Joe Stan Murray whose "petite veuve annamite" (little Vietnamese widow) is still waiting for him. The man's monotony and the sounds of war continue as he listens to the waves, the steel and iron, and the seagulls singing the program of the Opera of Saigon. The song is a tribute to the legacy of war and destruction, and how it continues to affect people's lives and relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
Comme un Bernard l'ermite
Qui se souvient d'anciens palais
Mon coeur coquille vide
Résonne encore d'anciens regrets
Like a hermit crab who remembers former palaces, my empty shell of a heart still echoes with past regrets.
Un saxophone bizarre
Pris dans de gluants lichens mous
Raconte sur la plage
L'histoire vieille du G.I. fou
A strange saxophone, tangled in slimy moss, tells on the beach the old tale of the crazy GI.
J'écoute monotone
Le bruit de l'acier et du fer
Les vagues d'assaut résonnent
Entre le village et la mer
I listen in monotony to the noise of steel and iron, while the waves of assault resonate between the village and the sea.
Le casino en ruines
Frappe de stupeur l'environ
Des canons dans les ruines
Fument l'opium des moissons, des moissons
The ruined casino strikes the surrounding area with shock, while cannons in the ruins smoke the opium of the harvests, of the harvests.
Ma patience prolifère
De la province à l'horizon
Reviens dans ton repaire
Mon vieux mollusque ma déraison
My patience proliferates from the province to the horizon. Come back to your lair, my old shellfish, my madness.
Comme une fleur petite
Qui jamais ne se fanerait
Ta petite veuve annamite
T'attend encore Joe Stan Murray
Like a small flower that would never wither, your little Annamite widow still waits for you, Joe Stan Murray.
Deux croupiers agonisent
Frappés à mort par deux harpons
Des mouettes vocalisent
Le programme de l'Opéra de Saigon
Two croupiers agonize, struck to death by two harpoons, while seagulls vocalize the program of the Saigon Opera.
Contributed by Liliana J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.