Born in a Parisian suburb in a wealthy family, he had a happy childhood. His father owned a small business. In high school, influenced by the great chansonniers of his time Luis Mariano, Charles Aznavour and Gilbert Bécaud, he formed with classmates a band.
Studying at the Petit Conservatoire de Mireille, where Yves Duteil and Françoise Hardy had been discovered, he made his first single, Anatole in 1963. He meets Roland Vincent who becomes his regular composer. Michels first hit Chez Laurette the following year is from the musical he plays in 'Copains-Clopant' . In 1966 appears his album Inventaire 66, while he is opening act for Leny Escudero. As Jacques Brel, in 1967, provides a series of farewell performances in the Parisian music theater Olympia, Delpech is the support act. Johnny Stark, the impresario of Mireille Mathieu, decides to accompany him. Michel is touring as a supporting act along with Mireille, to the US and the USSR.
In 1968 he won the French Grand Prix du Disque with "Il ya des jours où on ferait mieux de rester au lit".
In 1969 he composed the song hippie Wight is Wight in French about the British Isle of Wight Festival that summer. It became a huge hit in France, Sandie Shaw covered it the following year. In 1970 he regrets the break-up of The Beatles in the song Et Paul chantait Yesterday, brings the album Un coup de pied dans la montagne and he breaks up with Johnny Stark.
In 1971 Delpech scored a European hit with Pour un flirt; even in Britain it reached the charts. Further chansons by him were Que Marianne était jolie (1972) and Les divorcés (1974), Le Chasseur (1974) and Le Loir-et-Cher (1977).
The following years Delpech devoted primarily to composing and writing lyrics. He had a comeback in 1983 with the single Animaux, animaux and his successful album Loin d'ici in 1985, followed in 1989 by J'étais un ange. In 1992 with Roland Vincent he made the album Les Voix du Brésil. Delpech then took a five year sabbatical.
From 1997 Delpech was particularly productive. J'étais un ange is the title of an album in 2000 that heralds a tour with musician friends such as Alain Chamfort, Charlélie Couture, Claude Nougaro, Marc Lavoine and Pierre Richard providing inspiration for the album Comme vous (2004) and Live -album Ce lundi-là au Bataclan (2004).
In 2006 he even released an album consisting of five CDs Delpech inventaires followed by Michel Delpech & ... Delpech with repertoire old and new and of musical contemporaries like Bénabar, Francis Cabrel, Alain Souchon, Cali, Laurent Voulzy, Julien Clerc and Clarika. In 2008 appeared a live DVD, Live au Grand Rex, which is widely acclaimed as an excellent live recording.
Delpech fought three years against throat cancer. On January 2, 2016 Delpech died in Paris
Ce Lundi-La
Michel Delpech Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Jean-pierre savait déjà qu'il ne reviendrait plus jamais
Il a pensé encore à toute sa vie avec Michelle
Et puis il a tourné enfin le coin d'la rue
Michelle aurait voulu le voir grandir dans l'entreprise
Mais lui n'se voyait pas finir ses jours au marketing
Avec dans son café les cours de la livre sterling
Et des enfants qui lui ressembleraient de plus en plus
Il s'en allait
Voilà pourquoi ce lundi-là
Il s'en allait
Il savait qu'à huit heures la table serait mise
À côté de son assiette il y aurait ses tranquillisants
S'il fallait toutes ces saloperies pour arriver à s'endormir
Ce n'était pas la peine d'avoir trente ans
Et puis il verrait bien ce qu'il allait devenir
Mais il n'en pouvait plus de vivre déjà comme un vieux
Le but de sa vie n'était pas d'avoir un jour un compte en Suisse
Ce n'était pas l'argent qui lui manquait pour être heureux
Voilà pourquoi ce lundi-là
Il s'en allait
Voilà pourquoi ce lundi-là
Il s'en allait
Il revoyait encore la brasserie des "Trois dauphins"
Où ses amis l'attendraient demain de midi à deux heures
La crise entraînerait encore des conversations sans fin
Mais demain à deux heures il serait loin
Il revoyait aussi la Michelle amoureuse
Celle qui lui téléphonait trois fois par jour à son travail
C'était la vraie complicité, le vie n'était jamais sérieuse
Une de ces périodes heureuses qui ne se retrouve pas
Voilà pourquoi ce lundi-là
Il s'en allait
Voilà pourquoi ce lundi-là
Il s'en allait
The song "Ce Lundi-Là" by Michel Delpech tells the story of a man named Jean-Pierre who decides to leave his life behind and start anew. Jean-Pierre leaves to buy cigarettes, but he knows deep down that he will not return. As he walks, he thinks about his life with Michelle, his partner. Michelle wanted him to grow in the company he was working for, but Jean-Pierre did not see himself working for the rest of his days in marketing. He did not want children to become replicas of himself either. These factors are the reasons why he decided to leave his life behind that fateful Monday.
Jean-Pierre was aware that upon his departure, a table would be set up with his anti-anxiety pills. He decides that he does not need all those pills to sleep since he is only thirty years old. He is unsure about what he is going to do next, but he did not wish to live his life as a drag, and the most important goal of his life was not to have a bank account in Switzerland. As he walked away from his old life, he remembered his friends, the conversations that had no end, and the Michelle that telephoned him at work three times daily. The latter was the love of his life and the only one who understood everything he was going through.
Line by Line Meaning
Quand il est descendu pour acheter des cigarettes
When he went down to buy cigarettes
Jean-pierre savait déjà qu'il ne reviendrait plus jamais
Jean-Pierre already knew he would never come back
Il a pensé encore à toute sa vie avec Michelle
He thought again about his whole life with Michelle
Et puis il a tourné enfin le coin d'la rue
Then he finally turned the corner
Michelle aurait voulu le voir grandir dans l'entreprise
Michelle would have wanted to see him grow in the company
Mais lui n'se voyait pas finir ses jours au marketing
But he didn't see himself ending his days in marketing
Avec dans son café les cours de la livre sterling
With the exchange rate of the pound in his coffee
Et des enfants qui lui ressembleraient de plus en plus
And children who would increasingly resemble him
Voilà pourquoi ce lundi-là
That's why on that Monday
Il s'en allait
He was leaving
Il savait qu'à huit heures la table serait mise
He knew that at eight o'clock the table would be set
À côté de son assiette il y aurait ses tranquillisants
Next to his plate there would be his tranquilizers
S'il fallait toutes ces saloperies pour arriver à s'endormir
If he needed all these drugs to fall asleep
Ce n'était pas la peine d'avoir trente ans
It was not worth being thirty
Et puis il verrait bien ce qu'il allait devenir
And then he would see what he would become
Mais il n'en pouvait plus de vivre déjà comme un vieux
But he couldn't stand living like an old man already
Le but de sa vie n'était pas d'avoir un jour un compte en Suisse
The goal of his life was not to one day have a Swiss bank account
Ce n'était pas l'argent qui lui manquait pour être heureux
Money was not what he lacked to be happy
Il revoyait encore la brasserie des "Trois dauphins"
He still remembered the Brasserie des Trois Dauphins
Où ses amis l'attendraient demain de midi à deux heures
Where his friends would wait for him tomorrow from noon to two o'clock
La crise entraînerait encore des conversations sans fin
The crisis would still lead to endless conversations
Mais demain à deux heures il serait loin
But tomorrow at two o'clock he would be far away
Il revoyait aussi la Michelle amoureuse
He also remembered the loving Michelle
Celle qui lui téléphonait trois fois par jour à son travail
The one who called him three times a day at work
C'était la vraie complicité, le vie n'était jamais sérieuse
It was real complicity, life was never serious
Une de ces périodes heureuses qui ne se retrouve pas
One of those happy times that can't be found again
Voilà pourquoi ce lundi-là
That's why on that Monday
Il s'en allait
He was leaving
Voilà pourquoi ce lundi-là
That's why on that Monday
Il s'en allait
He was leaving
Lyrics © WARNER CHAPPELL MUSIC FRANCE
Written by: Michel Delpech, Jean-Michel Franck Rivat, Roland Vincent
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind