In… Read Full Bio ↴Thomas Fersen is a French singer-composer born in 1963 in Paris.
In his youth, he joined a punk band, before playing the piano in cafés-théatre. His first album in 1993 brought him an immediate success.
Fersen is a poet, who enjoys playing with language -he writes his lyrics exclusively in french-, using words, rhymes, symbols and images of vegetal or animal world. He tells strange and funny stories, impressions and dreams of casual life. His smoker's deep voice gives a particular tone to his songs. His musical style varies from one album to another (rock, folk, jazz and blues..).
He is one of the first who joined the Tot Ou tard/WM France label.
L'Histoire d'une heure
Thomas Fersen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Perdue quai aux Fleurs
Une heure rever
Aux objets trouvs
Une heure t'attendre
regarder vendre
Quelques fleurs coupes
Quelques fleurs de mai.
Perdue sans humeur
Une heure rever
ton arrive
Une heure dans la rue
faire le pied de grue
faire les cent pas
Et quelques entrechats.
Quel drole de ballet.
Mon petit mange
Intrigue les poulets
Du quai des Orfvres.
Un coup de sifflet
Une paire de bracelets
Et sous les verrous
Une histoire de fou:
"C'est l'histoire d'une heure, messieurs
vous expliquer.
C'est l'histoire d'une heure
Perdue sur le quai."
C'est l'histoire d'une nuit
Perdue dans un puits
faire des aveux
Les violettes aux yeux.
On cherche un assassin
Et moi, le petit saint
Ma faute est sublime:
J'ai perdu l'heure du crime.
Qui retrouvera
Une heure devant soi
Une heure attendre
Voudra bien me la rendre.
C'est l'histoire d'une heure
Perdue quai aux Fleurs
Une heure rever
Aux objets trouvs
Et, dans ma prison
Je chante ma chanson
mes heures perdues.
(Je ne les compte plus.)
The song "L'Histoire d'une heure" by Thomas Fersen tells the story of a lost hour spent at the "quai aux Fleurs". The hour is described as one of dreamy anticipation, of watching the vendors sell their wares, of waiting for someone to arrive. The singer describes pacing back and forth, doing little dances and even amusing a child. Suddenly, the police arrive and arrest him. The hour that he lost is now the key to a crime investigation. The singer laments that he struggled to explain what he was doing, as he didn't have a particular purpose or destination, but was simply waiting for someone or something to happen.
On a deeper level, the song can be interpreted as a commentary on the fleeting nature of time and the consequences of our choices or lack thereof. Each hour that passes is an opportunity that we may never get back, and if we don't use it wisely, it could potentially have disastrous consequences. The singer's lost hour may have seemed inconsequential at the time, but it ended up changing the course of his life.
The lyrics are accompanied by a light and whimsical melody, which further emphasises the dreamlike quality of the hour that is described. The use of repetition in the song ("C'est l'histoire d'une heure perdue", "quelques fleurs coupées", "une heure attendre") creates a sense of circularity and monotony, adding to the surreal and somewhat absurdist atmosphere of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
C'est l'histoire d'une heure
A tale of a lost hour
Perdue quai aux Fleurs
Lost on the Quai aux Fleurs
Une heure rever
An hour spent daydreaming
Aux objets trouvs
Thinking about lost and found objects
Une heure t'attendre
An hour spent waiting for you
regarder vendre
Watching the flower sellers
Quelques fleurs coupes
Some cut flowers
Quelques fleurs de mai.
Some May flowers
C'est l'histoire d'une heure
A tale of a lost hour
Perdue sans humeur
Lost without a care
Une heure rever
An hour spent daydreaming
ton arrive
Waiting for your arrival
Une heure dans la rue
An hour spent in the street
faire le pied de grue
Standing around, waiting impatiently
faire les cent pas
Walking back and forth
Et quelques entrechats.
And a few dance steps.
Quel drole de ballet.
What a strange ballet.
Mon petit mange
My little cat eats
Intrigue les poulets
Attracting the attention of the police
Du quai des Orfvres.
From the Quai des Orfvres
Un coup de sifflet
A whistle blow
Une paire de bracelets
A pair of handcuffs
Et sous les verrous
And behind bars
Une histoire de fou:
A crazy story:
"C'est l'histoire d'une heure, messieurs
"It's a tale of a lost hour, gentlemen
vous expliquer.
I'll explain it to you."
C'est l'histoire d'une heure
A tale of a lost hour
Perdue sur le quai."
Lost on the quayside."
C'est l'histoire d'une nuit
A tale of a lost night
Perdue dans un puits
Lost in a well
faire des aveux
Confessing
Les violettes aux yeux.
With violets in my eyes.
On cherche un assassin
They're looking for a murderer
Et moi, le petit saint
And me, the little saint
Ma faute est sublime:
My crime is sublime:
J'ai perdu l'heure du crime.
I lost the hour of the crime.
Qui retrouvera
Who will find
Une heure devant soi
An hour ahead
Une heure attendre
An hour to wait
Voudra bien me la rendre.
And give it back to me."
C'est l'histoire d'une heure
A tale of a lost hour
Perdue quai aux Fleurs
Lost on the Quai aux Fleurs
Une heure rever
An hour spent daydreaming
Aux objets trouvs
Thinking about lost and found objects
Et, dans ma prison
And, in my prison
Je chante ma chanson
I sing my song
mes heures perdues.
My lost hours. (I don't count them anymore.)"
Contributed by Riley O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.