He and his friends formed the country rock ensemble Abbittibbi in the 1970s. Desjardins played piano, guitar, and sang. When the group disbanded in 1982, Desjardins pursued a solo career.
He also found work scoring films, especially documentaries. This involvement in the Quebec film industry even led him to co-direct a number of feature length documentaries. As well as his singing career, he is well known for his environmental activism.
L'effet Lisa
Richard Desjardins Lyrics
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je ne vois que des lèvres
qui bougent
vainement, vainement.
Sa nébuleuse est venue me happy.
Elle fait sauter mon échelle Richter.
fatal de l'amour.
Foule en moi, full beauté.
Para Lisa.
En prison dans l'frisson,
en Boeing dans l'armoire.
C'est quoi çà, l'univers?
Roger, Roger, 10-4.
C'pas des yeux, c'est des lacs.
C'est toi qui est là.
Je me terre
et toi tu soleilles.
Non mais, non mais,
l'effet que tu me fais.
Si t'es mariée, moi j'suis next,
si t'es gaie, j'change de sexe.
Oui vraiment,
oui vraiment.
T'es un rayon et moi j'suis une craque.
Maint'nant j'vois clair dans mon pauvre shack.
Ma pourvoirie est ruinée, mon coeur clenché
au piège d'amour.
You are so beauté folle.
Gare au cougar.
Oui, j'avoue l'obsession
à'confesse, flambant nu.
On me donne l'absolu.
Où ont-ils mis le port?
Ma rivière, elle déborde.
Niagara.
Que c'est doux
l'endos d'un nuage.
J'mouille pour le vrai.
L'effet que tu me fais.
The lyrics of Richard Desjardins's song L'effet Lisa talk about the overwhelming effect that someone has on the singer. The opening lines describe how the singer only sees moving lips when someone talks to them, which suggests a lack of interest in anything other than the person who has captured their attention. The singer describes the power this person has over them, using the metaphor of a nebula that has come to make them happy and has the power to make their Richter scale jump. The image of a kamikaze butterfly in the fatal light of love alludes to the danger and intensity of the feelings that this person ignites within the singer.
The lyrics continue to describe the singer's state of being, feeling both imprisoned and soaring, confused by the universe and lost in their love. The wordplay of "full foule" emphasizes the overwhelming beauty that this person embodies. The singer admits to being obsessed with this person, willing to change their sexual orientation or wait for them to become single. The imagery of a ray of light and a crack in the singer's shack convey the transformative power this person has on the singer's life. The lyrics end on a note of vulnerability and honesty with the singer declaring their deep desire for this person and acknowledging the effect they have on them.
Line by Line Meaning
Quand on me parle
je ne vois que des lèvres
qui bougent
vainement, vainement.
When someone talks to me, I can only see their lips moving and it's futile, utterly futile.
Sa nébuleuse est venue me happy.
Elle fait sauter mon échelle Richter.
Her nebula made me ecstatic; it's so powerful that it broke my entire world apart.
Kamikaze-papillon dans l'fanal
fatal de l'amour.
Foule en moi, full beauté.
Para Lisa.
Kamikaze butterfly caught in the fatal headlight of love. Beauty overwhelms me completely, I'm paralyzed.
En prison dans l'frisson,
en Boeing dans l'armoire.
C'est quoi çà, l'univers?
Trapped in shivers, confined in a Boeing plane inside a cupboard. What on earth is this universe?
Roger, Roger, 10-4.
C'pas des yeux, c'est des lacs.
C'est toi qui est là.
Je me terre
et toi tu soleilles.
Roger, Roger, 10-4. These aren't eyes, they're lakes - it's you who's here. I'm hiding and you're shining.
Non mais, non mais,
l'effet que tu me fais.
No really, no really, you're having such an effect on me.
Si t'es mariée, moi j'suis next,
si t'es gaie, j'change de sexe.
Oui vraiment,
oui vraiment.
If you're married, I'm up next. If you're gay, I'll change my gender. Yes really, yes really.
T'es un rayon et moi j'suis une craque.
Maint'nant j'vois clair dans mon pauvre shack.
You're a ray of light and I'm just a crack. Now I see clearly in my poor shack.
Ma pourvoirie est ruinée, mon coeur clenché
au piège d'amour.
You are so beauté folle.
Gare au cougar.
My territory is ruined and my heart is crushed in the trap of love. You're so crazy beautiful, beware of the cougar.
Oui, j'avoue l'obsession
à'confesse, flambant nu.
On me donne l'absolu.
Yes, I confess my obsession - I'm absolutely naked. I'm given the absolute.
Où ont-ils mis le port?
Ma rivière, elle déborde.
Niagara.
Que c'est doux
l'endos d'un nuage.
Where did they put the port? My river is overflowing. Niagara. How sweet it is to backstroke on top of a cloud.
J'mouille pour le vrai.
L'effet que tu me fais.
I'm getting wet for the truth. You're having such an effect on me.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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