Extremely versatile and respected French singer-songwriter. His music is a … Read Full Bio ↴Extremely versatile and respected French singer-songwriter. His music is a crossover of folk, rock, blues and punk. Active since the 70s, Renaud has written some very controversial songs during his musical career, the most famous one (to British readers at least) praising all women as being better than men except Margaret Thatcher, saying that if he comes back as a dog in his next life, he will use her as a lampost... He is famously recovering from alcoholism with some degree of success.

The most iconic song to many French people, and possibly the song that put him on the map, was the huge 70's French hit "Laisse Béton" (the story - told with a great deal of humour - of someone who enters a bar and gets mugged for everything he owns, from his leather jacket, to his jeans, his boots, and ends up in an alley without any clothes on).

Renaud 'came back' in 2002 with a huge hit 'Manhattan-Kaboul' (featuring Belgian singer Axelle Red), comparing the lives of a Puerto Rican in NYC to an Afghan girl in Kabul in 2001. This song catapulted his latest album to the top of the charts and earned him various awards in France. His latest album was published in october 2006 and was called "Rouge sang".

Je Reviendrai
Renaud Lyrics

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Je suis un enfant de la liberté
Je ne peux pas vivre dans les chaînes
Mais je maudis toujours les années passées
Séparé de mon île lointaine

Oh oui, j'ai bourlingué
De pays en pays
Traversé les océans déchaînés

Puis j'ai réalisé
Que j'avais laissé ici
Les plus beaux printemps de ma vie

Je reviendrai à Dublin City
Et ma belle m'attendra sur la jetée
Je reviendrai pour toi, ma chérie
Et ne te quitterai plus jamais

J'ai chassé la baleine au large des Açores
J'ai coupé du bois à Vancouver
Traîné mes godillots de port en port
Supporté des éternels hivers

Mais le sol irlandais
Mais ma terre sacrée
N'ont jamais cessé de me hanter
Et même sous la pluie
Les eaux de la Liffey
Me manqueront toute ma vie

Je reviendrai à Dublin City
Et ma belle m'attendra sur la jetée
Je reviendrai pour toi, ma chérie
Et ne te quitterai plus jamais

Je reviendrai à Dublin City
Et ma belle m'attendra sur la jetée

Je reviendrai pour toi, ma chérie
Et ne te quitterai plus jamais

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Renaud's song "Je reviendrai" express the longing of a man who has travelled around the world but still feels separated from his home, specifically his home island in Ireland. He is a "child of freedom" who cannot bear to live in chains, but he laments the years he spent away from his loved ones and the most beautiful years of his life. He has travelled far and wide, braving rough oceans to hunt whales off the coast of the Azores, chopping wood in Vancouver, and walking from port to port through eternal winters. However, none of these experiences can compare to the pull of his homeland and the missing piece he carries inside.

Throughout the song, Renaud conveys a profound sense of homesickness that permeates every aspect of the lyrics. The singer can still see his unchanging homeland in his mind, and he envisions returning to Dublin City to find his beloved waiting for him on the pier. He promises not to leave her side ever again, knowing that his true home lies in her embrace. The song paints a vivid picture of the powerful bond that ties us to the places we come from and the people we love, even as we wander far away in search of adventure.

Je ReviendraiRenaud Lyrics

Je Reviendrai
Renaud Lyrics