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.
Un trou perdu
Richard Desjardins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
l’accordéon s’envole
comme un dernier jour d’école
en feu, les lucioles.
C’est un trou perdu
genre paradis
où y a pas beaucoup d’ennuis
Et à la brunante
sur le nénuphar,
les clés de l’hôtel
mille étoiles.
Tu réjouis l’été
tu sens bon l’hiver
dis-moi ousse que t'étais
sans moi terrestre extra?
J’allonge l’éternité
j’agrandis l’univers,
le soleil à tes pieds
et ma vie en travers.
J’aime oh oh
comme un trou perdu.
This song, Un trou perdu, by Richard Desjardins, depicts a place that is geographically isolated and quiet, and therefore comparable to a paradise. The first stanza refers to the singer opening up a map, and upon doing so, the accordion in the background begins to play, as if to suggest that finding such a place is like discovering music. The line, "en feu, les lucioles" is perhaps the most picturesque of the song, as it describes the fireflies that are present in this utopia.
The second stanza sets up the scene more directly, calling it a "hole in the wall" which is, ironically, a French colloquialism for a remote area. At this place which is sometimes compared to heaven or paradise, there are no problems, and even one's own shadow smiles. The third stanza describes the keys to the hotel resting on a lily pad at dusk. The lyrics discuss how one can feel both uplifted and grounded in this distant place.
The fourth stanza asks about the singer's existence without this "extra" terrestrial companion. The song concludes with a repetition of the phrase "j'aime comme un trou perdu" which can be interpreted in several ways, perhaps as a statement of unrequited love or an admiration for some kind of idealized isolation. Overall, the song is a meditation on a place of refuge, where life is somehow simpler and more meaningful.
Line by Line Meaning
Tu déplies la carte
You unfold the map
l’accordéon s’envole
the accordion flies away
comme un dernier jour d’école
like the last day of school
en feu, les lucioles.
with fire, the fireflies.
C’est un trou perdu
It's a lost hole
genre paradis
kinda like paradise
où y a pas beaucoup d’ennuis
where there aren't many troubles
même que ton ombre te sourit.
even your shadow smiles at you.
Et à la brunante
And at dusk
sur le nénuphar,
on the water lily,
les clés de l’hôtel
the keys to the hotel
mille étoiles.
a thousand stars.
Tu réjouis l’été
you delight in summer
tu sens bon l’hiver
you smell good in winter
dis-moi ousse que t'étais
tell me where you were
sans moi terrestre extra?
without me, terrestrial extra?
J’allonge l’éternité
I lengthen eternity
j’agrandis l’univers,
I enlarge the universe,
le soleil à tes pieds
the sun at your feet
et ma vie en travers.
and my life crosswise.
J’aime oh oh
I love, oh oh
comme un trou perdu.
like a lost hole.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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