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
Foule Sentimentale
Michel Delpech Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Le rose qu'on nous propose
D'avoir les quantités des choses
Qui donnent envie d'autre chose
Aïe, on nous fait croire
Que le bonheur c'est d'avoir
De l'avoir plein nos armoires
Dérisions de nous dérisoires car
Foule sentimentale
On a soif d'idéal
Attirée par les étoiles, les voiles
Que des choses pas commerciales
Foule sentimentale
Il faut voir comme on nous parle
Comme on nous parle
Il se dégage
De ces cartons d'emballage
Des gens lavés, hors d'usage
Et tristes et sans aucun avantage
On nous inflige
Des désirs qui nous affligent
On nous prend faut pas déconner dès qu'on est né
Pour des cons alors qu'on est
Des
Foules sentimentales
Avec soif d'idéal
Attirées par les étoiles, les voiles
Que des choses pas commerciales
Foule sentimentale
Il faut voir comme on nous parle
Comme on nous parle
On nous Claudia Schieffer
On nous Paul-Loup Sulitzer
Oh le mal qu'on peut nous faire
Et qui ravagea la moukère
Du ciel dévale
Un désir qui nous emballe
Pour demain nos enfants pâles
Un mieux, un rêve, un cheval
Foule sentimentale
On a soif d'idéal
Attirée par les étoiles, les voiles
Que des choses pas commerciales
Foule sentimentale
Il faut voir comme on nous parle
Comme on nous parle
The lyrics of Michel Delpech's song, Foule Sentimentale, talk about people's desire for an ideal life, something that's not based on possessions or commercial things. The song advocates against the current consumer culture and how it's being imposed on people. Delpech notes how society is trying to convince us that the key to happiness is in having materialistic things, which have no real value, and that make us feel small and insignificant. Instead, the song poses the question, "is happiness truly about having things we can show off to others, or is it about something deeper and more meaningful?"
In the second verse, Delpech is criticizing the mass consumption of materialistic things, the pressure of having everything that the culture favors, and the weight of expectations. All of this is represented by the term, "Foule Sentimentale," or sentimental crowd, which is being carried away by the idea that they must have certain things to be happy. The lyrics imply that we are a society that's transformed to a place where people's values are defined by their possessions, and happiness is tied to acquiring useless things that we think will make us feel better.
Overall, Foule Sentimentale is a profound critique of our contemporary society, where we pursue materialism at the cost of genuine happiness. It encourages us to evaluate what truly matters and to aspire to something that's beyond the temporary pleasure of commercial things. It suggests that we should seek an ideal of living that's about love, kindness, and empathy towards ourselves and others.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh la la la vie en rose
Life is so amazing
Le rose qu'on nous propose
But society makes us settle for the fake 'rose,' the superficial things
D'avoir les quantités des choses
We're told to accumulate possessions and quantity over quality
Qui donnent envie d'autre chose
Which only make us crave for more
Aïe, on nous fait croire
Ouch, we're made to believe
Que le bonheur c'est d'avoir
That happiness comes from having material things
De l'avoir plein nos armoires
And stuffing our closets with them
Dérisions de nous dérisoires car
But they're ridiculous and make us ridiculous
Foule sentimentale
The emotional crowd
On a soif d'idéal
Is thirsty for ideals
Attirée par les étoiles, les voiles
Drawn towards stars and sails, things that are not commercial
Que des choses pas commerciales
Only things that are not commercial attract them
Il faut voir comme on nous parle
We must see how we're being talked to
Il se dégage
From these packaging boxes emerges
De ces cartons d'emballage
People who are washed-out, out of use, sad, and have no advantage
Des gens lavés, hors d'usage
We're inflicted with desires that afflict us
On nous inflige
We're subjected to
Des désirs qui nous affligent
Desires that afflict us
On nous prend faut pas déconner dès qu'on est né
They take us for fools as soon as we're born
Pour des cons alors qu'on est
Treating us like idiots when we're not
Des foules sentimentales
The emotional crowds
Avec soif d'idéal
Thirsty for ideals
On nous Claudia Schieffer
They show us Claudia Schiffer
On nous Paul-Loup Sulitzer
They show us Paul-Loup Sulitzer
Oh le mal qu'on peut nous faire
Oh, the harm that can be done to us
Et qui ravagea la moukère
And which ravaged the Moukère (a region in Africa)
Du ciel dévale
From the sky comes down
Un désir qui nous emballe
A desire that excites us
Pour demain nos enfants pâles
For tomorrow our pale children
Un mieux, un rêve, un cheval
A better life, a dream, a horse
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ALAIN SOUCHON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind