I don’t know why I decided to quit drinking. I must’ve been drunk at the time.—Jacques Dutronc
Jacques Dutronc rocks.
He’s this French singer from the 60’s and 70’s who shrugged off his teen idol image to sing cherry pop songs.
A case in point, my second favorite Dutronc song. From the juiced-box: Jacques Dutronc – Il est 5 heures, Paris s’éveille
Here’s my (admittedly lame—i’m kinda buzzed right now) translation of the lyrics, followed by the original lyrics for those of you who are fluent French speakers and sober:
I’m the dauphin of Place DauphineThe Place Blanche is sight unseenThe milk trucks are full of roomStreet sweepers are full of brooms
It’s 5 A.M.Paris awakesParis awakes
The transvestites are going to shaveThe strip-teasers will now behavePartiers will get run overAnd the lovers just run down
It’s 5 A.M.Paris awakesParis awakes
The coffee is in its cupsThe cafés are starting upOn the Boulevard MontparnasseThe station is a carcass
It’s 5 A.M.Paris awakesParis awakes
Suburbanites are at the stationThe butchers, cutting and patientTourists try to find their carsWhile the bakers make bastards (*)
It’s 5 A.M.Paris awakesParis awakes
The Eiffel Tower has cold feetThe Arc de Tripmophe agrees to greetThe Oblisque, erect and hard‘Tween the night and ‘tween the dawn
It’s 5 A.M.Paris awakesParis awakes
Newspapers are impressedBut the workers are depressedPeople have foggy headsIt’s time that I go to bed
It’s 5 A.M.Paris is wakingIt’s 5 A.M.And I’m not sleepy
Je suis l’dauphin d’la place DauphineEt la place Blanche a mauvaise mineLes camions sont pleins de laitLes balayeurs sont pleins d’balaisIl est cinq heuresParis s’éveilleParis s’éveilleLes travestis vont se raserLes stripteaseuses sont rhabilléesLes traversins sont écrasésLes amoureux sont fatiguésIl est cinq heuresParis s’éveilleParis s’éveilleLe café est dans les tassesLes cafés nettoient leurs glacesEt sur le boulevard MontparnasseLa gare n’est plus qu’une carcasseIl est cinq heuresParis s’éveilleParis s’éveilleLa tour Eiffel a froid aux piedsL’Arc de Triomphe est raniméEt l’Obélisque est bien dresséEntre la nuit et la journéeIl est cinq heuresParis s’éveilleParis s’éveilleLes banlieusards sont dans les garesA la Villette on tranche le lardParis by night, regagne les carsLes boulangers font des bâtardsIl est cinq heuresParis s’éveilleParis s’éveilleLes journaux sont imprimésLes ouvriers sont déprimésLes gens se lèvent, ils sont brimésC’est l’heure où je vais me coucherIl est cinq heuresParis se lèveIl est cinq heuresJe n’ai pas sommeil
Here’s a collage of him in his boy-toy heyday:
In addition to being a rebel with a clause, he partied ‘hardy’. Speaking of, here’s a shot of him with his companion, 60’s idol Françoise Hardy (and their son, Thomas):
Notice what he’s drinking? Yep, Perrier. Because he quit drinking and is now sober. That’s where the quote that spurned this post comes from. My point? Like Tom Waits and Robert Downey Jr, being on the wagon doesn’t mean you have to stop being killer cool.
BTW, here’s my favorite Dutronc song—Fais pas çi, fais pas ça. No, i can’t be bothered to translate it: did you not read about how buzzed i am?
“being on the wagon doesn’t mean you have to stop being killer cool.”
Ah, the danger of having long time patrons who knew you when is that they might also remember what you said back then(well, the jist of it, if not exact words. after a few hours in this place, everything gets a little fuzzy). If this beast I’m typing on wouldn’t freeze up three times in the process, I might even cut and paste your words from an old blog of mine where you were of the opinion that sober talent often found religion and lost said talent (I believe one of your examples was Rod Stewart, but I’m not familiar with him finding religion so it could have been someone else). I believe that I argued with the example of Rickie Lee Jones as one who is still billiant sans spirits.
Hi Brother,
i’m not saying i didn’t say it, i can be quite unequivocal when i get high on my horse, but it doesn’t sound familiar. There was one post, back in the day, when i ragged on Valentine’s Day and i said the best thing that could happen to Billy Joel was getting dumped but even after he got dumped his music never got back to where it was before he got together with Christie Brinkley.
Regardless, life is about living and learning, right? Realizing a guy can be sober and cool is one of the things i’ve been learning with Miss Demeanor. See? There’s hope for this old dog yet, and there’s room in The Bar None for drinkers and nondrinkers alike.
Thanks for patronizing me,
Al K Hall
“My point? Like Tom Waits and Robert Downey Jr, being on the wagon doesn’t mean you have to stop being killer cool.”
I guess this is the quotable quote of the post, and it is a good one.
My, wasn’t Monsieur Jacques a hottie back in the day! I. Love. The. Lyrics. To. This. Song! “Il est 5 heures, Paris s’éveille” You did a bang up translation of that one. Very cool.
I need to listen to the other one later. 🙂
Sounds like you are having plenty of fun without me there. I’m doing well myself just having finished a lunch of mussels. I have never had those before! They were…….. interesting. Good, but interesting. They were very, ummmm, “vaginal” is the adjective I kept thinking of while eating them, hahahaha.
Okay — take care and TTYL.
XOXO
Your Miss Demeanor
Thanks for the props on the translation, Goldilocks. Rereading it tonight, i’m not super satisfied with the rhythm, but it communicates the basic idea and i liked a couple of the lines/puns i was able to find. Anyway, not bad for someone who was buzzed, huh?
Plenty of fun without you here? Not hardly. Our place is an apartment when you’re not near, but becomes a home when you are here. 😉
Missing you,
Al K Hall
“Our place is an apartment when you’re not near, but becomes a home when you are here.”
Awwwww! That is sweet!
You did a very good buzzed job on the lyrics, I thought.
Miss Demeanor means really “Miss(es) Al K Hall.” Heehee!
We’re having lunch now, but I shall call you in just a bit.
XOXO
Miss D