Michel Fugain is a French singer-songwriter who began his songwriting caree… Read Full Bio ↴Michel Fugain is a French singer-songwriter who began his songwriting career for others (like Hugues Aufray or Dalida) in the early 1960s and released his first record in 1966. He reached the peak of his popularity with his musical troupe "Big Bazar" in the early 1970s, with a string of major hits including "Une Belle Histoire" and "Fais Comme l'Oiseau", and had never ceased to record since then.

Mes précieux souvenirs
Michel Fugain Lyrics

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Voilà le retour de l'automne
Des images endormies
La grand rue qui frissonne
Sous le vent qui a fraîchi
Maman qui me reboutonne
Et qui me sourit
Je vois le chemin de l'école
La cour sous les marronniers

Rien n'est oublié
Comment pourrais-je effacer
Mes amours éperdues
Mes amis disparus
Mes grands moments
Et les méfaits du temps
Rien n'est oublié
Mais sont gravés quelque part
Plus loin que ma mémoire
Le meilleur et le pire
Mes précieux souvenirs

Boulevard du lycée
En octobre
Ces platanes mordorés
La pluie sur l fenêtre
Pendant le cours de français
Quelques mots dans une lettre
A un amour d'été
Je revois mes potes
Et ma bande
Des gosses en train de grandir

Rien n'est oublié
Comment pourrais-je effacer
Mes amours éperdues
Mes amis disparus
Mes grands moments
Et les méfaits du temps
Rien n'est oublié
Mais sont gravés quelque part
Plus loin que ma mémoire

Le meilleur et le pire
Mes précieux souvenirs

Overall Meaning

In "Mes précieux souvenirs," Michel Fugain reminisces about his memories of autumn, particularly from his school days. The beginning of autumn brings back images that have been asleep in his mind, such as the grand street that shivers in the chilled wind. He remembers his mother buttoning up his jacket and smiling at him as he makes his way to school. He recalls the path to school and the courtyard rich with chestnut trees. He also remembers the memories he shared with his friends, the platanes mordorés (golden plane trees) on the Boulevard du lycée, the rain on the windowpane during a French class - all the moments he cherished with his true loves, closest friends, and even the mistakes he made along the way.

The chorus of the song repeatedly interjects that nothing is forgotten, how can he erase his memories, whether they are euphoric or traumatic. Michel Fugain concludes that while nothing is forgotten, his memories are engraved somewhere deeper than his consciousness - a place where the best and the worst co-exist, as his precious memories.

Line by Line Meaning

Voilà le retour de l'automne
Here comes the autumn again

Des images endormies
of sleeping images

La grand rue qui frissonne
The street shivers

Sous le vent qui a fraîchi
under the fresh wind

Maman qui me reboutonne
Mom who buttons me up

Et qui me sourit
and smiles at me

Je vois le chemin de l'école
I see the way to school

La cour sous les marronniers
The courtyard under the chestnut trees

Rien n'est oublié
Nothing is forgotten

Comment pourrais-je effacer
How could I erase

Mes amours éperdues
my lost loves