He spent a long part of his childhood in the café which his parents owned, where he learned work jargon and slang. At the age of 14 he signed up to the conservatoire de musique de Toulouse and to a dramatic arts institute. In the mean time, he set up his first band of 4 musicians in his own name, with whom he played at events throughout the region. In 1957, he was snapped up by Eddie Barclay who signed him on. It was in the studio of Barclay where he met his future wife, Simone Mazaltarim.
In 1958 Perret carried on touring round Parisian cabaret bars and crossed France and Africa as a part of the American group, The Platters. In Novemeber that year, a pleurisy forced him to take two years off in a sanatorium.
A master of the subtleties of the French language and French slang (he even rewrote some of Jean de La Fontaine's fables), his songs are often cheeky (for example Le zizi (The willy)) , asking questions in a seemingly naive child's tone, but has written more serious political songs, such as La bête est revenue, La petite kurde, Vert de Colère ou Lily.
Sauvage
Pierre Perret Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Je n'aime que ce qui est resté sauvage,
Je préfère l'enfant dans les nuages
Rebelle sauvage
Sauvage
J'aime la mer et les oiseaux sauvages
Pas quand le pétrolier dans son sillage
Que reste-t-il de frais
Que reste-t-il de beau
Moi la seule que je connais
Guérit mes bobos
Que reste-t-il de frais
Que reste-t-il de beau
C'est mon amour à la crème
La petite Marie Jo
Sauvage
J'adore le fracas du vent sauvage
Qui traverse la soie des corsages
Des filles pas sages
Sauvage
J'aime la nature aux odeurs sauvages
Pas celle que les promoteurs saccagent
Le long des rivages
Pauvres lions en cages
Pauvres éléphants dressés
Et qui grossit vos pelages
Qui disparaissez
Pauvres gorilles en otage
Pauvres ours qui dansez
Y a pour détruire un sauvage
Qu'un civilisé
Sauvage
J'aime l'éclair qui traverse l'orage
Le crocodile dans son marécage
Plutôt qu'en bagage
Sauvage
L'Amérique massacra les sauvages
Qui avaient hélas le désavantage
D'être nés sauvages
Que reste-t-il de frais
Que reste-t-il de beau
Moi la seule que je connais
Une fée qui me fait mon café
Que reste-t-il de frais
Que reste-t-il de beau
C'est mon amour à la crème
La petite Marie Jo
Sauvage
Moi j'aime la petite Marie Jo
Sauvage
In Pierre Perret's song Sauvage, the singer expresses his preference for things that are wild and untamed. He appreciates the child's imagination and dreams, the rebel's defiance and resistance, and the natural world that is free and unspoiled. He finds beauty and freshness in the unbridled power of the wind and storm, the crocodile in its swampy habitat, and the elusive magic of love.
On the other hand, he deplores the damage and pollution caused by human activity, especially when it encroaches on nature and destroys its fragile balance. He is critical of the corporate greed and commercialism that seek to exploit and abuse the natural resources and creatures of the earth. He mourns the loss of innocence and freedom that comes with the forced confinement and control of wild animals, such as lions, elephants, gorillas, and bears.
The singer's message is one of respect and admiration for the natural world and its inhabitants, and a call for people to preserve and protect it. He sees the beauty and wonder of life in its raw and unspoiled form, and urges listeners to embrace that spirit of adventure and spontaneity that makes us fully human.
Line by Line Meaning
Je n'aime que ce qui est resté sauvage,
I only love what has remained wild,
Je préfère l'enfant dans les nuages
I prefer the child in the clouds,
Rebelle sauvage
Wild rebel
J'aime la mer et les oiseaux sauvages
I love the sea and wild birds,
Pas quand le pétrolier dans son sillage
But not when the oil tanker in its wake,
Goudronne plumages
Tars feathers
Que reste-t-il de frais
What freshness remains
Que reste-t-il de beau
What beauty remains
Moi la seule que je connais
Me, the only one I know
Guérit mes bobos
Heals my hurts
C'est mon amour à la crème
It's my love of cream
La petite Marie Jo
Little Marie Jo
J'adore le fracas du vent sauvage
I love the roar of the wild wind,
Qui traverse la soie des corsages
That cuts through the silk of bodices
Des filles pas sages
Of the not-so-good girls
J'aime la nature aux odeurs sauvages
I love nature with its wild scents,
Pas celle que les promoteurs saccagent
But not the one that developers ravage
Le long des rivages
Along the shores
Pauvres lions en cages
Poor lions in cages
Pauvres éléphants dressés
Poor trained elephants
Et qui grossit vos pelages
And who swells your furs
Qui disparaissez
Who disappear
Pauvres gorilles en otage
Poor gorillas in captivity
Pauvres ours qui dansez
Poor bears who dance
Y a pour détruire un sauvage
There's only one way to destroy the wild
Qu'un civilisé
And that's through a civilized man
J'aime l'éclair qui traverse l'orage
I love the lightning that cuts through the storm,
Le crocodile dans son marécage
The crocodile in its swamp
Plutôt qu'en bagage
Rather than as luggage
L'Amérique massacra les sauvages
America massacred the natives,
Qui avaient hélas le désavantage
Who sadly had the disadvantage
D'être nés sauvages
Of being born wild
Moi j'aime la petite Marie Jo
Me, I love little Marie Jo
Sauvage
Wild
Contributed by Parker D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
bracelli100
bravo Pierrot !