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.
ZEN
Zazie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
J'ai du mal à digérer, parfois
Tous les papiers mâchés
Qui se prennent à mon filet
De voix, pauvre pêcheur
Ah, fallait lire entre mes lignes
Ne pas mordre à mes sautes d'humeur
Même si je n'en suis pas digne
Fallait rester Zen, soyons Zen
Du sang froid dans les veines, soyons Zen
Plus de choc à la chaîne
Zen, restons Zen
Du calme à la vie comme à la scène
Sans amour et sans haine
Je suis pas dans le vent des guignols
De ces joueurs en fond de court
De ceux qui, pour un petit bout d'atoll
Sont prêts à larguer les amours
Tous ces maîtres-chanteurs
Ah, qui manquent de coffre et de hauteur
C'est facile de compter les erreurs
Quand on ne joue pas la scène
L'erreur est humaine, soyons Zen
Du sang froid dans les veines, soyons Zen
Plus de choc à la chaîne
Zen, restons Zen
Du calme à la vie comme à la scène
Sans amour et sans haine
Zen, Zen
Zen, Zen
Zen, restons Zen
Du sang froid dans les veines, Zen
Plus de scoop à la chaîne, Zen
Il t'aime à la vie comme à la scène
Sans amour et sans haine
Zen
Oh, sans amour et sans haine
Zen
Oh, sans amour et sans haine (soyons Zen)
Zen
The song Zen by Zazie expresses the need to remain calm and composed in the face of difficult situations. The lyrics start with the line, "Un canard dans le café," which translates to "a duck in the coffee." This metaphorical line represents the hard-to-digest situations that life throws at us. The next line talks about having difficulty in digesting those situations, and how sometimes we end up getting entangled in the mess. The phrase "Tous les papiers mâchés qui se prennent à mon filet de voix" talks about the tangled mess of emotions that we go through.
Zazie then sings that we should learn to read between the lines and not take her moments of mood swings too seriously. She sings "Fallait rester Zen, soyons Zen" which means that one should try to stay calm and composed in difficult situations. The chorus of the song emphasizes this message, with the phrase "Du sang froid dans les veines, soyons Zen" that means to have cold blood and remain calm. Zazie urges us to lead a life that is calm and composed, without any hatred or anger. She even talks about the need to take it easy on ourselves when we make mistakes, as "L'erreur est humaine, soyons Zen" which means, to err is human, let's be Zen.
Overall, Zazie's song Zen is about remaining calm and composed in difficult situations, and living a life that is free from anger and hatred.
Line by Line Meaning
Un canard dans le café
Feeling uncomfortable in certain situations
J'ai du mal à digérer, parfois
Sometimes, I have a hard time processing things
Tous les papiers mâchés
All the difficulties and challenges faced
Qui se prennent à mon filet
That get in the way of progress
De voix, pauvre pêcheur
For a singer like myself, it's a struggle
Ah, fallait lire entre mes lignes
One should have paid attention to my subtle hints
Ne pas mordre à mes sautes d'humeur
Not to get too affected by my mood swings
Même si je n'en suis pas digne
Even if I don't deserve it
Fallait rester Zen, soyons Zen
One needed to remain calm and composed
Du sang froid dans les veines, soyons Zen
Keeping cool and collected in tough times
Plus de choc à la chaîne
No more shocks or surprises
Zen, restons Zen
Let's maintain our composure
Du calme à la vie comme à la scène
Remaining calm in both personal and professional life
Sans amour et sans haine
Without love or hate
Je suis pas dans le vent des guignols
I'm not following the crowd
De ces joueurs en fond de court
Those who are not really involved
De ceux qui, pour un petit bout d'atoll
Those who would abandon true love for something insignificant
Sont prêts à larguer les amours
They would leave their love interest behind
Tous ces maîtres-chanteurs
All these manipulative people
Ah, qui manquent de coffre et de hauteur
They lack courage and a sense of morality
C'est facile de compter les erreurs
It's easy to point fingers at mistakes
Quand on ne joue pas la scène
When one is not truly involved
L'erreur est humaine, soyons Zen
Making mistakes is human, let's remain calm
Du sang froid dans les veines, soyons Zen
Maintaining composure even after making mistakes
Plus de choc à la chaîne
No more sudden shocks or surprises
Il t'aime à la vie comme à la scène
He loves you both on and off stage
Zen
Staying calm and composed
Oh, sans amour et sans haine
Without any negative emotions
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, EMI MUSIC PUBLISHING FRANCE
Written by: Isabelle Anne De Truchis De Varenne, Pascal Michel Obispo
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
annie bailly
j'adore.merci Zazie
TheCanto007
Que de souvenirs :)
Merci du partage !
Christèle
Ma voix française préférée !
Joselyne bourguignon pialoux
superbe en live !!!
Laurent perez
Zen beaucoup Zen et Zen Zazie à la folie aussi !
Lonely
j'ai 15 ans et je suis hyper fan de cette magnifique artiste Zazie 😍
Cristina Zaniboni
Grandissima
Sidolupo65
Très bon Version
Audrey Thibaud
J'avais 14 ans fan depuis l'album made in live.
Lola Lala
Je suis pas grand fan de zazie mais j'aime son énergie naturelle