Michel Jonasz, born January 21, 1947 in Drancy, France, is a French compose… Read Full Bio ↴Michel Jonasz, born January 21, 1947 in Drancy, France, is a French composer-songwriter, singer and actor. He has among others composed: La boîte de jazz, Joueurs de blues and Les vacances au bord de la mer. Born in France to Hungarian immigrant parents, Michel Jonasz left the school at 15 and sought his way as an artist. Painting, theatre and music interested him, but he first found recognition as a pianist.

After having worked with the group of Vigon, Lemons, he created the group King Set in 1966 with his friend and guitarist Alain Goldstein. Two radio successes make known his voice and his talent for the rhythm: an original composition, Apesanteur (Weightlessness), in 1967, and Jezebel in 1968. His solo career began slowly with a 45t at the end of 1968 under the name of Michel Kingset, the following in 1970 under his own name. He has to wait until 1974 to find a large audience with two simultaneous "tubes": Say to me and Super Nana.

Dites-moi
Michel Jonasz Lyrics

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Elle avait toujours
Dans son porte-monnaie
L'île au trésor
Et des pièces de un franc usées
Un pinceau de poil de martre
Pour mettre des rideaux bleus
Aux fenêtres de ses yeux
Aux fenêtres de ses yeux

Un livre à la main sur le balcon
Elle s'endormait dans un vieux fauteuil de Manille
Je cherchais des prénoms Mathieu, Cécile
En regardant courir vers dix heures
Dans l'école des filles et des garçons

Dites-moi
Dites-moi même qu'elle est partie pour un autre que moi
Mais pas à cause de moi
Dites-moi ça
Dites-moi ça
Dites-moi
Dites-moi même qu'elle est partie pour un autre que moi
Mais pas à cause de moi
Dites moi ça
Dites moi ça

Dans mon cœur vaudou
Il y a quatre épingles
Qu'elle a pris soin d'abandonner pour que je pleure
J'ai cloué ma porte qu'est-ce-qui m'a pris
J'ai brisé le miroir où elle faisait ses tresses
Mis du papier journal sous les fenêtres
J'entendais de l'école trop de cris
Il n'est rien né de notre lit

Dites-moi
Dites-moi même qu'elle est partie pour un autre que moi
Mais pas à cause de moi
Dites-moi ça
Dites-moi ça
Dites-moi
Dites-moi même qu'elle est partie pour un autre que moi
Mais pas à cause de moi

Dites moi ça
Dites moi ça

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Michel Jonasz’s “Dites moi” tell a story about a woman who had a particular set of objects and traits, and the regretful narrator who misses her. The woman had a treasure island and old one-franc coins in her purse. She also had a paintbrush made of marten hair, which she used to paint blue curtains on the windows of her eyes. She would often fall asleep on her balcony while reading a book on an old Manille armchair, while the singer searched for names for their potential children, Mathieu and Cécile. However, the woman left, leaving behind four pins in the singer’s voodoo heart so that he would mourn. The heartbroken narrator lost himself in despair, probably breaking things and shutting himself off from the world, while all he could hear was the noise of children in a school nearby. He wonders if the woman left because of someone else, but not because of him.

The song can be interpreted in different ways. The treasure island and coins could symbolize the woman's childishness and innocence, or they could represent a longing for a different life, one full of adventure and treasures to discover. The singer, on the other hand, is left to cope with the remnants of their relationship, longing for closure or explanation. He has closed his doors, literally and metaphorically, and cannot escape from the noise of the world that reminds him of his loss.

Line by Line Meaning

Elle avait toujours
She always had

Dans son porte-monnaie
In her purse

L'île au trésor
The treasure island

Et des pièces de un franc usées
And worn one franc coins

Un pinceau de poil de martre
A marten hair brush

Pour mettre des rideaux bleus
To paint blue curtains

Aux fenêtres de ses yeux
On the windows of her eyes

Un livre à la main sur le balcon
A book in hand on the balcony

Elle s'endormait dans un vieux fauteuil de Manille
She fell asleep in an old Manilla chair

Je cherchais des prénoms Mathieu, Cécile
I was looking for names, Mathieu, Cécile

En regardant courir vers dix heures
Watching them run towards ten o'clock