Zazie (born Isabelle de Truchis de Varennes on 18 April 1964 in Boulogne-Bi… Read Full Bio ↴Zazie (born Isabelle de Truchis de Varennes on 18 April 1964 in Boulogne-Billancourt) is a French singer and songwriter who also co-produces her own albums.

Zazie's mother was an architect and her father a music teacher. Her songs range from upbeat rock or pop songs to languid downtempo tunes and are characterised by the wit of their lyrics based on puns, alliterations, homophones and double-entendres.

Zazie debuted in 1992 with the album "Je Tu Ils" and the single "Sucré salé".

In 1995, she released her sophomore album Zen, which was co-written and co-produced with Vincent-Marie Bouvot. It included the singles "Zen" and "Homme Sweet Homme". Her 1996 single "Un point c'est toi" from the same album was discussed on Canada's MuchMusic TV program Too Much 4 Much due to its controversial content. Ultimately, the discussion panel deemed the video okay for audiences. In the video, a group of four smitten women, including Zazie, follow a pair of men down to a lake. There, the two men strip off their clothes and swim in the water. Zazie fantasizes about undressing one of the men and kissing him. To shock of the women, however, the two men kiss each other.
In 1997, Pascal Obispo and Zazie released the single "Les Meilleurs Ennemis".

Her 1998 album Made in Love was co-produced by Ali Staton, Pierre Jaconelli, and herself. The album photos were taken by fashion designer Jean-Baptiste Mondino. The songs "Ça Fait Mal Et Ça Fait Rien", "Tous des anges", and "Tout Le Monde" were released as singles. This album was followed by a live album, Made in Live, the next year. In 1999 she also wrote a song for Jane Birkin in Jane Birkin's album .
In 2001, Zazie dueted with Axel Bauer on the single "A Ma Place". It was her most successful single in France, reaching number four on the French charts.

Zazie once again addressed gay content on her 2002 single "Adam et Yves" from her 2001 album La Zizanie. This album was produced solely by Pierre Jaconelli. Other singles included "Rue de la paix" and "Danse avec les loops". In 2003, she released another live album, Ze Live.

Her 2004 album Rodéo was co-produced and co-written with Jean-Pierre Pilot and Philippe Paradis. A short film "Rodéo indien" was made using songs from the album as a soundtrack. Zazie played the role of an Indian woman who leaves her cheating husband. She followed this album up with a live album, Rodéo Tour in 2006.

In 2007 her sixth studio album "Totem" was released and debuted at number 1. The second single (but first commercially released) was "Je Suis Un Homme" which became Zazie's first solo top ten hit in France. In Winter 2008 a best of album "Zest of Zazie" was released which as well as past hits contained two new songs "Fm Air" and "Un peu beaucoup" and live recordings.

Des Rails
Zazie Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Je suis partie bien à l'heure
J'ai pris le train
En direction du cœur
Pas vu le train
Qui mène à grande vitesse
Tu me délaisses
Une fille de seconde classe
A pris ma place

Chaque fois mon train qui déraille
Je ne suis pas de taille
Chaque fois mon cœur qui déraille
Et ma tête, alouette, ma vie n'a ni queue ni tête
Chaque fois mon train qui déraille
S'engouffre dans la faille
Chaque fois mon cœur qui déraille
Et la tête, alouette, ma vie n'a ni queue ni tête

Et qu'est-ce qu'on fait?
On prendra le prochain
Sur l'autre quai
Nos corps, ces grands voyageurs
Roulent oui mais
Oui mais les sautes d'humeurs
C'est sans arrêt

Et chaque fois nos trains qui déraillent
Nous ne sommes pas de taille
Chaque fois nos cœurs qui déraillent
Et nos têtes, alouette, la vie n'a ni queue ni tête
Chaque fois nos trains qui déraillent
S'engouffrent dans la faille
Chaque fois nos cœurs qui déraillent
Et la tête, alouette, la vie n'a ni queue ni tête

Chaque fois les hommes déraillent
Et se livrent bataille
Chaque fois les hommes déraillent
Et se livrent bataille

Et pourquoi?
Oui pourquoi?
Et ça cogne, et ça saigne
Et ça sent la fin de règne

Mais pourquoi les hommes déraillent? (On prend le train)
Et se livrent bataille? (Et qu'est-ce qu'on fait?)
Dis pourquoi les hommes déraillent?
C'est un fait, alouette, la vie n'a ni queue ni tête
C'est pourquoi le monde déraille (un autre train)
Et meurt à la bataille (on reste sur le quai)

C'est pourquoi le monde déraille
Et ça cogne, et ça saigne

Et ça sent la fin de règne
C'est un fait, alouette, la vie n'a ni queue ni tête

Overall Meaning

The song Des Rails by Zazie talks about the different trains that one might take in life, and how sometimes they can derail unexpectedly. The singer says that she took a train early in the morning towards her heart but did not see the train that goes at great speeds and leads to abandonment. Instead, a girl of a lower class took her place. She uses the metaphor of trains to emphasize the unpredictable nature of life, the twists and turns that happen, and how one can lose control.

Zazie then moves on to talk about how our bodies, which are like great travelers, also have mood swings, and nothing seems to be stable. Every time a new train comes, it seems to derail and go off track, leading to confusion and chaos. When the singer asks what to do in such a situation, they suggest taking another train on the other platform, but this only leads to a new set of problems.

As the song progresses, the metaphor becomes more potent, as Zazie talks about how men also derail and engage in battles with each other, leading to conflict and bloodshed. She questions why this happens and asks why the world derails and why it feels like the end of an era. The singing of "Alouette" after each verse is often used in French children's songs to signify a sense of lightness and simplicity juxtaposed with the darker subject matter of the song.

Line by Line Meaning

Je suis partie bien à l'heure
I left on time

J'ai pris le train
I took the train

En direction du coeur
Towards the heart

Pas vu le train
Didn't see the train

Qui mène à grande vitesse
That leads with great speed

Tu me délaisses
You leave me behind

Une fille de seconde classe
A second-class girl

A pris ma place
Took my place

Chaque fois mon train qui déraille
Every time my train derails

Je ne suis pas de taille
I am not up to it

Chaque fois mon cœur qui déraille
Every time my heart derails

Et ma tête, alouette, ma vie n'a ni queue ni tête
And my head, lark, my life has no rhyme or reason

S'engouffre dans la faille
Plunges into the abyss

Et la tête, alouette, ma vie n'a ni queue ni tête
And my head, lark, my life has no rhyme or reason

Et qu'est-ce qu'on fait?
And what do we do?

On prendra le prochain
We'll take the next one

Sur l'autre quai
On the other platform

Nos corps, ces grands voyageurs
Our bodies, these great travelers

Roulent oui mais
Roll, yes, but

Oui mais les sautes d'humeurs
But the mood swings

C'est sans arrêt
It's non-stop

Chaque fois nos trains qui déraillent
Every time our trains derail

Nous ne sommes pas de taille
We are not up to it

Et nos têtes, alouette, la vie n'a ni queue ni tête
And our heads, lark, life has no rhyme or reason

C'est un fait, alouette, la vie n'a ni queue ni tête
It is a fact, lark, life has no rhyme or reason

Et ça cogne, et ça saigne
And it hits, and it bleeds

Et ça sent la fin de règne
And it smells like the end of an era

Mais pourquoi les hommes déraillent?
But why do men derail?

C'est pourquoi le monde déraille
That's why the world derails

Et meurt à la bataille
And dies in battle

On reste sur le quai
We stay on the platform

Lyrics © LA ZIZANIE, SCHERZO CONCERTS, PABM PRODUCTION, WARNER CHAPPELL MUSIC FRANCE, BALANDRAS EDITIONS
Written by: Philippe Paradis, Zazie De Truchis, Jean-Pierre Pilot

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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