Born in Montreal, Quebec, amongst his best known songs are Lindberg and Je reviendrai à Montréal. His lyrics, often written in joual, are funny with plays on words.
He is also well-known in France since the '70s.
In 1999, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Urgence
Robert Charlebois Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Qui distillent la complaisance
Hantent les nuits de mes vacances
Se répètent avec insistance
Me tuent par leur insignifiance
Moi qui suis en état d'urgence
Toutes ces chansons préfabriquées
Radotent les mêmes clichés
Pour flatter la majorité
En faussant son identité
Moi je veux jouer aux idées
J'en ai besoin, j'en ai envie
C'est une question de survie
Dire que je suis passé par ici
J'ai aimé, j'ai rêvé, j'ai ri
Ma chanson est comme ma vie
Mieux je la chante moins elle finit
C'est un tremplin vers l'avenir
Un air pour ne pas en finir
Une sorte d'appel au secours
En forme de chanson d'amour
Comme une bouteille à la mer
Un S.O.S. à l'univers
The lyrics of Robert Charlebois's song Urgence express his need for creativity and individuality in a world filled with manufactured music. Charlebois despises the meaningless pop songs that dominate the airwaves, which he describes as "chansonnettes sans importance" or insignificant little songs. He feels trapped by their lack of substance and their ability to capture the masses without actually saying anything important. They haunt his nights and torment him with their insistent repetition, driving him to a state of "urgence" or urgency.
Charlebois contrasts these prefab songs with his own music, which he sees as a reflection of his life. He wants to play with ideas and express himself freely, using his songs as a sort of personalized diary. He believes that his songs are like his life, and the better he sings them, the less they will ever truly end. Urgence is a song that captures his desperation to be remembered, to create something that will matter beyond the fleeting moment of a song's popularity.
This urgency is not just a matter of vanity or ego. Charlebois sees his music as a way to reach out to others, as a sort of SOS to the universe. His song is a call for help, a plea for others to recognize the emptiness of mass-produced music and seek out more authentic forms of expression. It is a cry for connection, a desire to be heard and understood. Urgence is a powerful anthem for anyone who feels lost in a world of mediocrity, a rallying cry for those who long to break free and create something real.
Line by Line Meaning
Vos chansonnettes sans importance
Your unimportant little songs
Qui distillent la complaisance
That spread complacency
Hantent les nuits de mes vacances
Haunt my holiday nights
Se répètent avec insistance
Repeatedly played insistently
Me tuent par leur insignifiance
Kills me with their insignificance
Moi qui suis en état d'urgence
Me, who is in a state of emergency
Toutes ces chansons préfabriquées
All those prefabricated songs
Que personne n'a habitées
That nobody has ever inhabited
Radotent les mêmes clichés
Repeats the same clichés
Pour flatter la majorité
To flatter the majority
En faussant son identité
Falsifying their identity
Moi je veux jouer aux idées
I want to play with ideas
J'en ai besoin, j'en ai envie
I need and want it
C'est une question de survie
It's a matter of survival
Dire que je suis passé par ici
To say that I was here
J'ai aimé, j'ai rêvé, j'ai ri
I loved, I dreamed, I laughed
Ma chanson est comme ma vie
My song is like my life
Mieux je la chante moins elle finit
The more I sing it, the less it ends
C'est un tremplin vers l'avenir
It's a stepping-stone towards the future
Un air pour ne pas en finir
A tune that seems endless
Une sorte d'appel au secours
A sort of cry for help
En forme de chanson d'amour
In the form of a love song
Comme une bouteille à la mer
Like a message in a bottle
Un S.O.S. à l'univers
An SOS to the universe
Contributed by Molly L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.