Marie-Jo is French Canadian of Acadian origin, born in Moncton, New Brunswi… Read Full Bio ↴Marie-Jo is French Canadian of Acadian origin, born in Moncton, New Brunswick. Her three brothers are musicians. At ten years old, she started studying the piano and at 13 she was writing her own songs. At 17, she left for Montreal to study literature. She used to spend her whole nights sitting at her piano, in cafés, in small theatres. She then featured three years long in a very popular Canadian series, “Chambres en ville”. After that, she left the TV sets behind to concentrate on music. In 1995, her first album “Comme de la Musique” was released. “La Maline”, her second opus, was born in 1999, and the musical named “Arbre à fruits, arbre à fruits” was created the same year. The audience and the critics were unanimous, dazzled by Marie-Jo’s originality and authenticity. The album even reached gold status. Thereon, she moved on from stage to stage around the world, and also made several movies. In 2005, Marie-Jo Thério releases at last her new album, eponymous this time, co-realized by Olivier Bloch Lainé (Zachary Richard, Eddie Louiss, etc) in his studio in La Frette. Like so many others, he obviously fell in love with Marie-Jo. He perfectly understood her universe. Some excellent musicians came and gave a hand, such as Bernard Falaise, Marie-Jo’s guitarist in Canada, or Bill Dillon, who performed with Joni Mitchell and Daniel Lanois. Marie-Jeanne Séréro had just finished working on Jean-Louis Murat’s album. She sublimated with her sensitive strings a part of Marie-Jo’s record. It regroups a majority of new tracks as well as three beautiful songs Marie-Jo had previously recorded, now in sparkling new versions: “Café Robinson”, “Arbre à fruits, arbre à fruits”, “Moncton”. Marie-Jo wrote and composed all the tracks, except four texts and two scores. The text of “Chant d’Hélium” was written by her brother who spent years travelling around the world. “Bodily deltas” is a very personal remake of an Acadian punk band. The text on “Les matins habitables” was presented to her by Gérald Leblanc, one of Acadia’s greatest poets and a close friend of Marie-Jo’s. “Evangéline”, already interpreted by many Acadian singers, was created by a Frenchman, Michel Conte. However, Marie-Jo’s version of it shatters all the others. Now it has become her song, the hymn of Acadia, probably the most popular track in the country. The songs are breath-taking, totally original thanks to their writing and their interpretation. Their influences take their origin on the other side of the Atlantic. Musically speaking, it can remind you of Joni Mitchell, Daniel Lanois or Suzanne Vega. The voice evokes the liberty and absolute mastering of Rickie Lee Jones. We are very proud to introduce Marie-Jo Thério.

Café Robinson
Marie-Jo Thério Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Aujourd'hui, tu m'as dit au café Robinson
Tu m'as dit
"Une fille
C'est comme un livre que tu sais que tu finiras pas" (i-yeah)
Moi, j'ai dit
"Holy shit!
Ça, c'est tellement stérile
Qu'est-ce que tu veux dire que tu sais que tu finiras pas?"(yeah)

"Une fille, c'est comme un livre
Rendu à la moitié
Quand tu le comprends pas
Rendu à la moitié
Ben tu laisses faire pis tu t'en vas là-bas (han-han mmm)

Aujourd'hui, j'ai fait semblant de sourire
J'ai vu tes yeux à moitié clairs
J'ai vu toutes les filles, toutes les livres
Que tu refermes pas
Aujourd'hui, j'ai fait semblant de sourire
J'voulais juste m'en aller, me sauver de toi
Du café Robinson

J'ai dit
"T'es tellement cool quand t'allumes ta smoke
Mais t'as tellement peur du feu que ça se peut même pas (hey, hey)
T'es tellement cool quand t'allumes ta smoke
Mais t'as tellement perdu que ça se peut même pas (hey, hey)

Tu m'as dit
Tu comprends pas, toi, t'aimes trop la lune
Toi, t'as peur du diable
Toi, tu sais même pas
Qu'y a des trous dans tes bas!

(Yah na-né, ah na-né, ah na-né, ah na-né)
Tu veux pas perdre au jeu, tu veux pas perdre au change
Moi, j'veux dessiner des oiseaux
Qui viennent d'un pays que tu connais même pas

J'voudrais être large comme le désert
J'voudrais couler comme une rivière
Mais peux-tu m'expliquer ça pourquoi j'fais la même chose que toi
Lorsque j'ai peur du froid?

J'veux pas rester au café Robinson
À faire des bulles dans ton café (oh non non non non non non non non non, pas moi!
J'veux pas rester au café Robinson
Moi, j'veux dessiner des oiseaux
Qui viennent d'un pays que tu connais même pas

J'voudrais être large comme le désert
J'voudrais couler, j'voudrais couler, j'voudrais couler comme une rivière
J'voudrais être large comme le désert
J'voudrais couler, j'voudrais couler, j'voudrais couler comme une rivière
J'voudrais être large comme le désert
J'voudrais couler, j'voudrais couler, j'voudrais couler, j'voudrais couler, j'voudrais couler comme une rivière

Tu peux rester au café Robinson
Moi, j'm'en vais dessiner

Des oiseaux oh-ouh-oh oh-ouh-oh
Pis faire des trous dans mes bas!

Overall Meaning

In Marie-Jo Thério's song "Café Robinson," the singer recalls a conversation they had with someone at the titular café. The other person compares women to books, saying that they are like books that you know you'll never finish. The singer is taken aback by this comparison and thinks it is sterile. The other person clarifies, saying that women are like books that you might not understand when you're halfway through, but you can't put them down and must keep going until the end. The singer's inner monologue reveals their feelings of wanting to escape the other person's presence and desperation to break free from the mundane, repetitive routine of the café.

Later in the song, the singer comments on the other person's inability to take risks and live their life to the fullest. The other person is "cool" when they light their cigarette but is also very cautious, even fearful. The singer realizes that they are engaging in similar behaviors out of fear. However, they don't want to stay stuck in the same patterns and instead, they want to explore and discover new things. They express their desire to draw pictures of birds from a country that the other person has never heard of and to feel as vast as a desert, as free-flowing as a river.

Line by Line Meaning

Aujourd'hui, tu m'as dit au café Robinson
Today, you told me at Café Robinson

Tu m'as dit
You told me

"Une fille C'est comme un livre que tu sais que tu finiras pas" (i-yeah)
"A girl is like a book that you know you won't finish", (i-yeah)

Moi, j'ai dit
I said

"Holy shit! Ça, c'est tellement stérile Qu'est-ce que tu veux dire que tu sais que tu finiras pas?"(yeah)
"Holy shit! That's so sterile. What do you mean you won't finish her?"(yeah)

"Une fille, c'est comme un livre Rendu à la moitié Quand tu le comprends pas Rendu à la moitié Ben tu laisses faire pis tu t'en vas là-bas (han-han mmm)
"A girl is like a book Halfway through When you don't understand it anymore Halfway through Well you let it be and you go somewhere else. (han-han mmm)"

Aujourd'hui, j'ai fait semblant de sourire
Today, I pretended to smile

J'ai vu tes yeux à moitié clairs J'ai vu toutes les filles, toutes les livres
I saw your eyes half-clear I saw all the girls, all the books

Que tu refermes pas
That you don't close

J'voulais juste m'en aller, me sauver de toi Du café Robinson
I just wanted to go away, escape from you From Café Robinson

J'ai dit "T'es tellement cool quand t'allumes ta smoke Mais t'as tellement peur du feu que ça se peut même pas (hey, hey) T'es tellement cool quand t'allumes ta smoke Mais t'as tellement perdu que ça se peut même pas (hey, hey)
I said "You're so cool when you light up your smoke, But you're so afraid of the fire that it's impossible (hey, hey) You're so cool when you light up your smoke, But you've lost so much that it's impossible (hey, hey)"

Tu m'as dit Tu comprends pas, toi, t'aimes trop la lune Toi, t'as peur du diable Toi, tu sais même pas Qu'y a des trous dans tes bas!
You told me You don't understand, you love the moon too much You're afraid of the devil You don't even know That there are holes in your socks!

(Yah na-né, ah na-né, ah na-né, ah na-né) Tu veux pas perdre au jeu, tu veux pas perdre au change Moi, j'veux dessiner des oiseaux Qui viennent d'un pays que tu connais même pas
(Yah na-né, ah na-né, ah na-né, ah na-né) You don't want to lose the game, you don't want to lose the exchange I want to draw birds That come from a country you don't even know

J'voudrais être large comme le désert J'voudrais couler comme une rivière Mais peux-tu m'expliquer ça pourquoi j'fais la même chose que toi Lorsque j'ai peur du froid?
I would like to be as vast as the desert I would like to flow like a river But can you explain why I'm doing the same thing as you When I'm afraid of the cold?

J'veux pas rester au café Robinson À faire des bulles dans ton café (oh non non non non non non non non non, pas moi! J'veux pas rester au café Robinson
I don't want to stay at Café Robinson Making bubbles in your coffee (oh no no no no no no no no, not me!) I don't want to stay at Café Robinson

Moi, j'veux dessiner des oiseaux Qui viennent d'un pays que tu connais même pas
I want to draw birds That come from a country you don't even know

J'voudrais être large comme le désert J'voudrais couler, j'voudrais couler, j'voudrais couler comme une rivière J'voudrais être large comme le désert J'voudrais couler, j'voudrais couler, j'voudrais couler comme une rivière J'voudrais être large comme le désert J'voudrais couler, j'voudrais couler, j'voudrais couler, j'voudrais couler, j'voudrais couler comme une rivière
I would like to be as vast as the desert I would like to flow, I would like to flow, I would like to flow like a river I would like to be as vast as the desert I would like to flow, I would like to flow, I would like to flow like a river I would like to be as vast as the desert I would like to flow, I would like to flow, I would like to flow, I would like to flow, I would like to flow like a river

Tu peux rester au café Robinson Moi, j'm'en vais dessiner Des oiseaux oh-ouh-oh oh-ouh-oh Pis faire des trous dans mes bas!
You can stay at Café Robinson I'm gonna go and draw Some birds oh-ouh-oh oh-ouh-oh And make holes in my socks!

Lyrics © Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN)
Written by: Marie Josee Theriault

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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