Le Vieux Est De Retour
Michel Sardou Lyrics


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Tu rentres chez toi,
Il est quatre heures du matin,
Et tu trouves ta fille
Dans son lit avec un copain.

Tu les entends se faire l'amour.
Ils ne savent pas que tu es là,
Ton pardessus autour du bras.
Ça y est : le vieux est de retour.

Comment pourrais-tu la comprendre,
Toi qui depuis plusieurs années
N'oses plus entrer dans sa chambre,
Ne l'a pas vue déshabillée ?
Tu restes là devant sa porte
Avec une idée dans la tête,
Une envie de tuer ce blanc-bec,
Ce chevelu qui te l'emporte.

Tu les entends se faire l'amour.
Ils ne savent pas que tu es là,
Ton pardessus autour du bras.
Ça y est : le vieux est de retour.

Elle a entendu les prophètes
Qu'on laisse parler librement
Et qui ont refait dans sa tête
Un monde avec des mots d'enfant.
Tu n'es qu'un pauvre militaire
Rigide et pur, un justicier
Fier d'avoir eu ta croix de guerre
En enterrant la croix gammée.

Tu les entends se faire l'amour.
Ils ne savent pas que tu es là,




Ton pardessus autour du bras.
Ça y est : le vieux est de retour.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Michel Sardou's song Le Vieux Est De Retour tell the story of a father who comes home at four in the morning to find his daughter in bed with a boy. He overhears them making love and is filled with rage and jealousy. The father realizes that he cannot understand his daughter's world, having been away for years, and feels powerless against the new generation. His military background and strict moral code clash with his daughter's liberal and carefree attitude towards sex, and he struggles to come to terms with the fact that his daughter is no longer a child, but a grown woman with her own desires and experiences.


The lyrics portray a generational gap between the father and daughter in terms of their attitudes towards sex and relationships. The father's worldview is shaped by his experiences as a soldier and his traditional upbringing, while his daughter is part of a generation that rejects traditional norms and seeks greater freedom and self-expression. The father's reaction to his daughter's sexual activity highlights this divide and underscores the challenges of communication and understanding between parents and children.


Le Vieux Est De Retour is a poignant and nuanced commentary on the changing social attitudes and values of the time. It captures the tension between tradition and modernity, authority and individualism, and the generational divide that has marked many societies throughout history.


Line by Line Meaning

Tu rentres chez toi,
You come home,


Il est quatre heures du matin,
It's four o'clock in the morning,


Et tu trouves ta fille
And you find your daughter


Dans son lit avec un copain.
In bed with a guy.


Tu les entends se faire l'amour.
You hear them making love.


Ils ne savent pas que tu es là,
They don't know you're there,


Ton pardessus autour du bras.
Your coat around your arm.


Ça y est : le vieux est de retour.
That's it: the old man is back.


Comment pourrais-tu la comprendre,
How could you understand her,


Toi qui depuis plusieurs années
You, who for several years


N'oses plus entrer dans sa chambre,
Haven't dared to enter her room anymore,


Ne l'a pas vue déshabillée ?
Haven't seen her undressed?


Tu restes là devant sa porte
You stand there in front of her door


Avec une idée dans la tête,
With an idea in your head,


Une envie de tuer ce blanc-bec,
A desire to kill this youngster,


Ce chevelu qui te l'emporte.
This long-haired guy who takes her away from you.


Elle a entendu les prophètes
She heard the prophets


Qu'on laisse parler librement
Who are allowed to speak freely


Et qui ont refait dans sa tête
And who remade in her head


Un monde avec des mots d'enfant.
A world with childish words.


Tu n'es qu'un pauvre militaire
You're just a poor soldier


Rigide et pur, un justicier
Strict and pure, a stickler for justice


Fier d'avoir eu ta croix de guerre
Proud of having earned your war cross


En enterrant la croix gammée.
By burying the swastika.


Tu les entends se faire l'amour.
You hear them making love.


Ils ne savent pas que tu es là,
They don't know you're there,


Ton pardessus autour du bras.
Your coat around your arm.


Ça y est : le vieux est de retour.
That's it: the old man is back.




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JACQUES ABEL JULES REVAUD, MICHEL CHARLES SARDOU

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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