Les Enfoirés (French for "The Tossers"), is the name given to the singers a… Read Full Bio ↴Les Enfoirés (French for "The Tossers"), is the name given to the singers and performers in the yearly charity concert for the Restaurants du Cœur (Les Restos du Cœur).

On January 26, 1986, French humorist Coluche, who had set up Les Restos du Cœur a few months earlier, invited a number of artists and public figures to appear on television as a promotional move. The band, whose line-up was never the same, was dubbed "Les Enfoirés" in reference to one of Coluche's catchwords. After Coluche died in a motorbike accident (June 19, 1986) his widow, Véronique Colucci, called on those who had participated to continue his actions, and the band was revived for a further television show. The concept has since evolved into an annual concert, bringing together up to forty artists and celebrities from various backgrounds. The funds raised by the concerts and derived records under the name "Enfoirés" are donated to Les Restos du Cœur.

One of the key features of Les Enfoirés is "La Chanson des Enfoirés", a song which became a sort of hymn to the charity, written by Jean-Jacques Goldman, a long-time supporter of the organisation.

Le Sud
Les Enfoirés Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

C'est un endroit qui ressemble à la Louisiane,
à l'Italie.
Il y a du linge étendu sur la terrasse
Et c'est joli.

On dirait le Sud,
Le temps dure longtemps,
Et la vie sûrement,

Plus d'un million d'années
Et toujours en été.

Il y a plein d'enfants qui se roulent sur la pelouse,
Il y a plein de chiens.
Il y a même un chat, une tortue, des poissons rouges,
Il ne manque rien.

On dirait le Sud,
Le temps dure longtemps,
Et la vie sûrement,
Plus d'un million d'années
Et toujours en été.

Un jour ou l'autre, il faudra qu'il y ait la guerre,
On le sait bien.
On n'aime pas ça, mais on ne sait pas quoi faire,
On dit: " c'est le destin ".

Tant pis pour le Sud,
C'était pourtant bien,
On aurait pu vivre,

Plus d'un million d'années
Et toujours en été.

Overall Meaning

The song starts by describing a place that reminds the singer of Louisiana or Italy. There's laundry hanging on the terrace, and everything looks pretty. The chorus proclaims that it feels like the South, where time lasts forever, and life goes on for more than a million years and always in summer. The next verse describes children playing on the lawn and dogs, cats, turtles, and goldfishes living together. The singer suggests one day there might be war, which they don't like, but can't do anything about, and it's destiny. The final chorus laments that it's a pity for the South, where we could have lived for over a million years and always in summer.

Line by Line Meaning

C'est un endroit qui ressemble à la Louisiane, à l'Italie.
This is a place that resembles Louisiana and Italy.

Il y a du linge étendu sur la terrasse Et c'est joli.
There is laundry hanging on the terrace and it looks beautiful.

On dirait le Sud, Le temps dure longtemps, Et la vie sûrement, Plus d'un million d'années Et toujours en été.
It feels like the South, where time seems to last forever, and the life is likely to have lasted for millions of years and still feel like summer.

Il y a plein d'enfants qui se roulent sur la pelouse, Il y a plein de chiens. Il y a même un chat, une tortue, des poissons rouges, Il ne manque rien.
There are many children rolling on the lawn, many dogs, even a cat, a turtle and some goldfish, nothing is missing here.

Un jour ou l'autre, il faudra qu'il y ait la guerre, On le sait bien. On n'aime pas ça, mais on ne sait pas quoi faire, On dit: " c'est le destin ".
One day or another, there will be war, we know it well. We don't like it, but we don't know what to do, we just say it's destiny.

Tant pis pour le Sud, C'était pourtant bien, On aurait pu vivre, Plus d'un million d'années Et toujours en été.
Too bad for the South, it was so good here, we could have lived here for millions of years and still feel like it's summer.

Writer(s): FERRER NINO (AGOSTINO FERRARI), NINO FERRER (AGOSTINO FERRARI)

Contributed by Lucas B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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