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.
Vingt-six ans à nous deux
Pierre Perret Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
J'aime un garçon du Capricorne
Moi je suis Balance on est heureux
Sa bouche a le goût du pop-corn'
On a vingt-six ans à nous deux
On est fan's des Stones et des Pink Floyd de Brel qui chante Mathilde
De Donna Summer Woody Allen et W.C.Fields
Du prix du chou-fleur des radicaux moi je m'en bats les couettes
{au Refrain}
A l'école j'ai un prof' de français un p'tit pépère tranquille
Qui file des devoirs sur des sujets un tantinet débiles
Décrivez votre veillée de Noël je peux pas lui raconter
Que ce beau soir-là toute ma famille est complètement pétée
{au Refrain}
Apprendre le calcul c'est inutile les p'tites machines le font
La géo non plus ça sert à rien les pays changent de nom
On sait que les croisés ces phallocrates maniaient le passe-partout
Et que trois cents ans plus tard la môme Jeanne d'arc inventait le barbecue
{au Refrain}
Tous les mercredis on a l'angoisse pour se trouver un endroit
On se roule des gommes au Père-Lachaise ou y a jamais un rat
On va voir des films d'épouvante qui nous les filent à gla-gla
Et on sort de là plus délabrés qu'la brosse à dents de Dracula
{au Refrain}
On pique les bouquins de bandes dessinées de Gotlib et Reiser
On essaie de faire des éconocroques pour jouer la fille de l'air
A dix-huit balais on leur dit merde et on se tire en vitesse
Roméo Juliette connaissaient pas l'American Express
{au Refrain}
In Pierre Perret's song "Vingt-six ans à nous deux" (which translates to "Twenty-six years between the two of us"), the singer describes their life with their Capricorn partner as they both turn 26 years old. The couple is happy together despite their astrological differences (the singer is a Libra), and they love listening to music from The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, and Jacques Brel. The lyrics mention several cultural references, including Hollywood actress Donna Summer, comedian and filmmaker Woody Allen, and early 20th-century actor W.C. Fields.
The singer also mentions their frustrations with school, particularly their French teacher who gives them silly assignments to complete. They can't tell their teacher about their wild Christmas Eve celebrations, where their whole family gets drunk. The lyrics poke fun at traditional education, suggesting that subjects like math and geography are useless because technology and politics change too quickly.
The song's final verse describes the couple's weekly search for something to do. They wander around the Père-Lachaise Cemetery (known for its famous graves), watch horror movies that leave them feeling "cold," and try to replicate the drawings of French comic artists like Gotlib and Reiser. The singer proudly declares their independence from outdated societal norms, referencing Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and the credit card company American Express.
Overall, "Vingt-six ans à nous deux" presents a romanticized view of youth culture in 1970s France. The lyrics celebrate the couple's love, freedom, and rejection of mainstream values.
Line by Line Meaning
J'aime un garçon du Capricorne
I am in love with a boy who was born under the Capricorn zodiac sign.
Moi je suis Balance on est heureux
I was born under the zodiac sign of Libra, but we are still happy together.
Sa bouche a le goût du pop-corn'
His mouth tastes like popcorn to me.
On a vingt-six ans à nous deux
Together, we are twenty-six years old.
On est fan's des Stones et des Pink Floyd de Brel qui chante Mathilde
We are fans of The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and Jacques Brel, who sings about Mathilde.
De Donna Summer Woody Allen et W.C.Fields
We also like Donna Summer, Woody Allen and W.C. Fields.
Mes parents vissés à leur télé font une sacré trompette
My parents are glued to their television and make a lot of noise.
Du prix du chou-fleur des radicaux moi je m'en bats les couettes
I couldn't care less about the price of cauliflower or what the radicals think about it.
A l'école j'ai un prof' de français un p'tit pépère tranquille
At school, I have a French teacher who is a calm old man.
Qui file des devoirs sur des sujets un tantinet débiles
He gives us assignments on topics that are a bit silly.
Décrivez votre veillée de Noël je peux pas lui raconter
He asked us to write about our Christmas Eve, but I can't tell him the truth.
Que ce beau soir-là toute ma famille est complètement pétée
Because, that beautiful night, my whole family was completely drunk.
Apprendre le calcul c'est inutile les p'tites machines le font
Learning math is useless because small machines can do it for us.
La géo non plus ça sert à rien les pays changent de nom
Geography is also useless because countries change their names.
On sait que les croisés ces phallocrates maniaient le passe-partout
We know that the Crusaders, who were male chauvinists, could handle anything.
Et que trois cents ans plus tard la môme Jeanne d'arc inventait le barbecue
And, three hundred years later, Joan of Arc invented the barbecue.
Tous les mercredis on a l'angoisse pour se trouver un endroit
Every Wednesday, we feel anxious trying to find a place to go.
On se roule des gommes au Père-Lachaise ou y a jamais un rat
We roll erasers at each other in Père Lachaise Cemetery, where there is never a rat.
On va voir des films d'épouvante qui nous les filent à gla-gla
We watch horror movies that give us chills.
Et on sort de là plus délabrés qu'la brosse à dents de Dracula
And, we come out of there more run down than Dracula's toothbrush.
On pique les bouquins de bandes dessinées de Gotlib et Reiser
We steal comic books by Gotlib and Reiser.
On essaie de faire des éconocroques pour jouer la fille de l'air
We try to make paper airplanes to play with.
A dix-huit balais on leur dit merde et on se tire en vitesse
At eighteen, we tell them to go to hell and we leave quickly.
Roméo Juliette connaissaient pas l'American Express
Romeo and Juliet didn't know about American Express.
{au Refrain}
Refrain
Contributed by Alexandra W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
roselyne arab
j,aime cette chanson surtout pour la musique ... cela reflète bien les années 70/80
mickael louis
super beau texte
Michel Henrot
sur une musique country c'est rare chez Pierrot, agréable écoute
Coco L'asticot
Du coup c'est quoi vos âges respectifs ?
passionmusic93
Vous d'abord, paraîtrait-il que d'après le roi Arthur vous auriez hérité de ce surnom après l'avoir appelé "Le sanglier de cornouaille". Et que vous refusiez de dire votre âge par ce que vous n'aimez pas fêter votre anniversaire" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 😛😛😛😛