After the very famous song Mon amant de Saint-Jean (my lover from Saint-Jean), in 1942, Lucienne Delyle became the most popular French female singer of 1950s.
Born in Paris, she was a fully educated pharmacist. First she sung as an amateur singer, until 1939, when she was heard and immediately engaged by Jacques Canetti, the artistic director of Radio Cité. In 1940 she married the jazzman Aimé Barelli (1917-1995), who guided her career ever since. With him she had a daughter, Minouche Barelli (1947-2004). After the immense success of the song "Mon amant de Saint-Jean" (My Lover From Saint-Jean), in 1942, Lucienne Delyle became the most popular French female singer in France. She was most popular during the 1950s. In 1953, Bruno Coquatrix invited her and young Gilbert Bécaud to be the stars for the gala opening concert at the „Olympia". Delyle's career declined rapidly in the end of the 1950s, due to the progress of the leukemia she suffered from. In 1960 she gave the last series of concerts on the stage of „Bobino". She died in Monte Carlo, in 1962.
Ruby
Lucienne Delyle Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Que t'a donc fait la vie ?
Que t'a donc fait l'amour
Pour te moquer toujours
De ceux qui croient
Du fond du cœur
Que le bonheur
Est dans tes bras ?
Ruby,
Ce n'est pas très joli
De t'amuser ainsi
Joues-tu comme une enfant
Qui se défend
Ou bien plutôt
As-tu souffert un peu trop tôt ?
Quel est celui
Qui n'a pas su t'aimer ?
Quel est celui
Qui t'a fait pleurer ?
Ruby,
Tu n'as jamais rien dit
Mais j'ai compris pourquoi
Quand tu ris aux éclats
Tes yeux sont tristes
Et malgré toi
Ton rire est faux
Comme un sanglot
Ruby,
Les chagrins de la vie
Les chagrins de l'amour
Ne durent pas toujours
Ouvre ton cœur
Et le bonheur
S'y blottira
Comme autrefois
The song "Ruby" by Lucienne Delyle is a poignant and introspective ballad about a woman named Ruby who appears to be constantly mocked by love and life. The lyrics question what life and love have done to Ruby to cause her to always pretend happiness and to deceive those who believe her to be happy. The lyrics suggest that Ruby puts on a front for everyone, laughing and smiling while in reality, she is suffering from some deep scars that have come from previous romantic relationships.
The singer asks Ruby if she is playing like a child to protect herself or if she has suffered too much too soon. The singer even tries to console Ruby, telling her that the pains of life and love do not last forever and that true happiness can be found if she opens her heart. In essence, the lyrics of the song reveal the difficulty of being a woman in a world that constantly judges women based on their ability to find and maintain a romantic relationship, and the harm that can come to someone when they feel the burden of conforming to societal expectations.
Line by Line Meaning
Ruby
The subject of the song, possibly a person or an abstract concept.
Que t'a donc fait la vie ?
What did life do to you to make you this way?
Que t'a donc fait l'amour
What did love do to you to make you this way?
Pour te moquer toujours De ceux qui croient Du fond du cœur Que le bonheur Est dans tes bras ?
Why do you constantly mock those who wholeheartedly believe that happiness lies in your embrace?
Ce n'est pas très joli De t'amuser ainsi
It's not very pretty of you to amuse yourself this way.
Joues-tu comme une enfant Qui se défend Ou bien plutôt As-tu souffert un peu trop tôt ?
Are you playing like a child who is defending themselves, or have you suffered too early in life?
Quel est celui Qui n'a pas su t'aimer ?
Who is the one who didn't know how to love you?
Quel est celui Qui t'a fait pleurer ?
Who made you cry?
Tu n'as jamais rien dit Mais j'ai compris pourquoi
You never said anything, but I understood why.
Quand tu ris aux éclats Tes yeux sont tristes Et malgré toi Ton rire est faux Comme un sanglot
When you burst out laughing, your eyes are sad, and despite yourself, your laughter is fake, like a sob.
Les chagrins de la vie Les chagrins de l'amour Ne durent pas toujours
The sorrows of life and love don't last forever.
Ouvre ton cœur Et le bonheur S'y blottira Comme autrefois
Open your heart, and happiness will nestle inside like it used to.
Contributed by Samantha H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.