Jean-Louis Aubert wrote both the music and lyrics for the song "Alter Ego." He released the song in 2001 on the solo album “Comme un accord” and an acoustic version was re-issued in 2009 on Aubert’s album “Première Prises.”
"Alter Ego" is a term that we know indicates an alternative personality or second identity that can assume different roles depending on the context. At a basic level, it can mean a close friend who knows you as well as you do yourself. It can also mean a secondary identity with entirely different characteristics that compensate for one’s own deficiencies.
Aubert wrote the song in tribute to his childhood relationship with childhood chum Olivier (“Olive”) Caudron (1955-2006). They attended the Lycée Pasteur in Neuilly and bonded in scouting and a shared love of music. The latter was accelerated by attendance in 1970 at a concert held by “The WHO” on their “Tommy Tour” at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris. Not coincidentally, the French rock group Téléphone ended up with a personnel/instrumental lineup and energetic style that resembled “The Who” (vocalist, guitars, bass, drums).
In 1974, Aubert and Caudron spent a formative 5 months together hitchhiking and busking across the US. In this capacity, they were among the throng of young French people that Maxime Le Forestier attracted to the US by his 1972 musical tribute to “La Maison Bleu” in his hit song “San Francisco.”
Despite their early camaraderie, there were differences in musical style, leadership ambitions, drug addiction and geographic separation that led eventually to a parting of ways. Their lives diverged when Aubert joined Louis Bertignac in 1976 to form the band Téléphone. Caudron founded an ephemeral 3-person group “Lili Drop” in 1978 that had a respected but short shelf-life. In 1996, Caudron left Paris to establish himself, his wife and child in France’s southwest Basque country. Over the years, Olivier fell victim to drugs and HIV and died of tuberculosis in 2006. His biography by Jean-François Jacq carries the suggestive title “Le Soleil noir du rock français” (“The Black Sun of French rock”). Caudron learned only shortly before his death that he was the “alter ego” in Aubert’s song.
“Alter Ego” is a moving ballad about profound connection and debilitating loss. It focuses on an unbreakable mutual bond, a slice of “missing time” from life, and a search to re-connect. The song became a signature anthem at live concerts for both Aubert and audiences that joined in to sing along. There are several versions online, including studio recordings and live performances at venues like Bercy, the Bataclan, and Zénith de Paris.
The song is structured with 2 stanzas in Verse 1, one stanza in Verse 2, and 3 iterations of the Refrain followed by an Outro. The guitar riff in the song is an enduring, signature theme of Aubert’s “oeuvre.” In it, Aubert uses a repeating “ascending arpeggio,” a “broken chord” technique where the notes of a chord are played sequentially in a rising order instead of all together. It precedes Verse 1 and then serves as an instrumental interlude tying the stanzas together. That 6-note riff tiptoes between the two stanzas of Verse 1, again between Refrain 1 and Verse 2, and then between Refrain 3 and the Outro.
An acoustic version of “Alter ego” (featured below) was re-recorded for the 2008 film by Philippe Claudel titled “Il y a longtemps que Je t’aime” (“I’ve loved you so long”). This film borrows its title from the refrain of the traditional French song “À la claire fontaine” (“By the clear fountain”). Claudel, a respected French novelist and professor, wrote the screenplay for his directorial debut and engaged Jean-Louis Aubert to write the music. Kristin Scott Thomas starred in the leading role. Aubert blended the traditional tune and others into his musical score.
The song “Alter ego” was written several years before the film and arose from Aubert’s relationship with “Olive” Caudron, but it fit Claudel’s thematic structure like a bespoke suit. The major themes of the film include a prolonged period (15 years) of absence between two sisters (“il manque un temps a ma vie…”), one of whom was in jail, followed by a painful quest (“Où tu es, j'irai te chercher…”) to restore their close relationship (“Dans mon cœur rien ne change…”). It represents a felicitous mating of musical context with cinematic narrativer. Aubert was nominated for the César Award for Best Music Written for a Film (although it was written well before the film) and the film itself won several awards.
Aubert commented about the song: “C’est un hymne à l’amitié, donc à l’amour.”
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FRENCH LYRICS Verse 1 Il manque un temps, à ma vie Il manque un temps, j'ai compris Il me manque toi Mon alter ego Ascending arpeggio Tu es parti, mon ami Tu m'as laisse, seul ici Mais partout, tu me suis Mon alter ego Refrain 1 Où tu es J'irai te chercher Où tu vis Je saurai te trouver Où tu te caches Laisse-moi deviner Dans mon cœur rien ne change T'es toujours là, mon ange Ascending arpeggio Verse 2 Il manque ton rire, à l'ennui Il manque ta flamme, à ma nuit C'est pas du jeu Mon alter ego Refrain 2 Où tu es J'irai te chercher Où tu vis Je saurai te trouver Où tu te caches Laisse-moi deviner T'es sûrement baie des anges Sûrement là-bas, mon ange Sûrement là-bas Ascending arpeggio Sûrement là-bas Refrain 3 Où tu es J'irai te chercher Où tu vis Je saurai te trouver Où que tu sois Je voudrais que tu saches Dans mon cœur rien ne change T'es toujours là, mon ange Ascending arpeggio Outro Il manque un temps, à ma vie Il manque ton rire, je m'ennuie Il me manque toi, mon ami |
TRANSLATION (Pendergast) Verse 1 A slice of time is missing, from my life A missing slice of time, I understand now It is you that is missing My other self Ascending arpeggio You left, my friend You left me, here alone But everywhere you follow me, My other self Refrain 1 Wherever you are, I'll find you Wherever you live I will know how to find you Wherever you hide Let me guess In my heart nothing changes You're still there, my angel Ascending arpeggio Verse 2 Your laughter is missing, in boredom Your light is missing, in my night It's not a game, My other self Refrain 2 Where you are, I'll go get you Where you live I will know how to find you Where you hide, Let me guess You're certainly at bay of angels Surely over there my angel Surely over there Ascending arpeggio Surely over there Refrain 3 Whereever you are, I'll go get you Whereever you live, I’ll know how to find you Wherever you are, I want you to know Nothing changes in my heart You're always there, my angel Ascending arpeggio Outro A slice of time is missing, from my life Your laughter is missed, I’m bored I miss you, my friend |
NB:
Il manque un temps à ma vie translates to "A piece of time is missing from my life." In view of its inclusion in a song, this phrase may also have a subtle second meaning of a musical beat of time.
à l'ennui: this phrase translates literally as “to the point of boredom” but serves here mainly as an intensifier of the preceding phrase “Il manque ton rire.”
baie des anges (Bay of Angels) is a large bay of water in the Mediterranean Sea between Nice and Antibes. Aubert’s reference carries a metaphorical allusion to a calm, peaceful resting place, which was at least premature in the case of Caudron. Aubert’s friend “Olive” eventually died early at 50 of tuberculosis in 2006, five years after the song appeared.
Il manque un temps à ma vie translates to "A piece of time is missing from my life." In view of its inclusion in a song, this phrase may also have a subtle second meaning of a musical beat of time.
à l'ennui: this phrase translates literally as “to the point of boredom” but serves here mainly as an intensifier of the preceding phrase “Il manque ton rire.”
baie des anges (Bay of Angels) is a large bay of water in the Mediterranean Sea between Nice and Antibes. Aubert’s reference carries a metaphorical allusion to a calm, peaceful resting place, which was at least premature in the case of Caudron. Aubert’s friend “Olive” eventually died early at 50 of tuberculosis in 2006, five years after the song appeared.
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