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".
Vagabonds
Renaud Lyrics
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À pied ou en train
Sur des wagons ouverts
Que nous prenions, clandestins
On a suivi les rails
Pourvu qu'ils aillent loin
Vers une vie meilleure
Un boulot et du pain
Vagabonds, nous étions
Sans un rond
Et aux quatre vents
Nous bourlinguions
Nous avions laissé derrière nous l'Ulster
Pour une vie de routard, de misère
Les villes industrielles
Du Nord-Ouest, on connaît
Ils nous l'ont jouée belle
Quand les usines ont fermé
L'acier, le charbon
On a tout essayé
Toujours en rêvant
D'aller vers l'océan
Vagabonds, nous étions
Sans un rond
Et aux quatre vents
Nous bourlinguions
Nous avions laissé derrière nous l'Ulster
Pour une vie de routard, de misère
Vagabonds, nous étions
Sans un rond
Et aux quatre vents
Nous bourlinguions
Nous avions laissé derrière nous l'Ulster
Pour une vie de routard, de misère
J'ai croisé des hommes
Aussi démunis que moi
Des bêtes de somme
Qui se demandaient pourquoi
Pourquoi ce système
Qui s'écroule aujourd'hui
Fait s'écrouler les rêves
De toute une vie
Vagabonds, nous étions
Sans un rond
Et aux quatre vents
Nous bourlinguions
Nous avions laissé derrière nous l'Ulster
Pour une vie de routard, de misère
Vagabonds, nous étions
Sans un rond
Et aux quatre vents
Nous bourlinguions
Nous avions laissé derrière nous l'Ulster
Pour une vie de routard, de misère
The lyrics to Renaud's song Vagabonds describe the experience of being a homeless traveler, constantly on the move in search of work, food, and a better life. The singer has walked for miles and taken clandestine train rides, always following the rails in the hopes of finding something better at the end. They have left their home in Ulster behind to embrace the life of a vagabond, traveling from town to town, taking odd jobs and scratching out a living wherever they can.
The song paints a picture of a hardscrabble existence, where every day is a struggle for survival. The singer and their fellow vagabonds have seen the industrial cities of the Northwest and watched as factories shut down, leaving them with no work and no hope. They have encountered other homeless men who are just as desperate and puzzled by a system that seems to have abandoned them. Through it all, the singer and their companions continue to persevere, clinging to the dream of a better life even as they continue to wander.
At its heart, Vagabonds is a song about the enduring power of hope in the face of overwhelming hardship. The singer and their fellow travelers may be poor and hungry, but they refuse to let go of the belief that things can get better. Their journey is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of solidarity in times of struggle.
Line by Line Meaning
On en a fait des miles
We have traveled many miles
À pied ou en train
By foot or by train
Sur des wagons ouverts
On open wagons
Que nous prenions, clandestins
That we take clandestinely
On a suivi les rails
We followed the rails
Pourvu qu'ils aillent loin
As long as they go far
Vers une vie meilleure
Towards a better life
Un boulot et du pain
A job and some bread
Vagabonds, nous étions
We were vagabonds
Sans un rond
Without a penny
Et aux quatre vents
And in all directions
Nous bourlinguions
We roamed around
Nous avions laissé derrière nous l'Ulster
We had left Ulster behind
Pour une vie de routard, de misère
For a life of vagrancy and misery
Les villes industrielles
The industrial cities
Du Nord-Ouest, on connaît
In the Northwest, we know
Ils nous l'ont jouée belle
They played us well
Quand les usines ont fermé
When the factories closed down
L'acier, le charbon
Steel, coal
On a tout essayé
We tried everything
Toujours en rêvant
Always dreaming
D'aller vers l'océan
To go towards the ocean
J'ai croisé des hommes
I have met men
Aussi démunis que moi
Just as destitute as me
Des bêtes de somme
Beasts of burden
Qui se demandaient pourquoi
Wondering why
Pourquoi ce système
Why this system
Qui s'écroule aujourd'hui
That is collapsing today
Fait s'écrouler les rêves
Causes dreams to collapse
De toute une vie
Of an entire life
Lyrics © THE BICYCLE MUSIC COMPANY
Written by: JOHN O'CONNOR, RENAUD SECHEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind