"Le Premier Jour (du reste de ta vie)" (The First Day of the Rest of Your Life), 1998 (Album: “Singles”)
The title of this song telegraphs its message. The “first day of the rest of your life” conveys a motivational message of fresh starts, renewal, discarding the baggage of the past and the constraints of the present. The widely-used expression became associated with Charles Dederich’s controversial self-help rehabilitation programs for drug abusers (Synanon) from 1958 to 1991, when they were disbanded following criminal prosecutions. We can be grateful to Étienne Daho for giving a second wind to an iconic expression for an optimistic vision of individual capacities for change, choice and new beginnings.
For its part, the song espouses the possibility of renewal and re-invention (“seeking a little magic”) in the face of what it terms “gloomy inertia,” cumbersome “instincts and desires,” senseless impulses to go “further and higher,” and “wanting to do the impossible.” While it became a hit (“tube”) for Etienne Daho, the song’s history curiously illustrates the very meanings it expresses. It could easily have been discarded and never recorded at all instead of becoming a signature tune.
For its part, the song espouses the possibility of renewal and re-invention (“seeking a little magic”) in the face of what it terms “gloomy inertia,” cumbersome “instincts and desires,” senseless impulses to go “further and higher,” and “wanting to do the impossible.” While it became a hit (“tube”) for Etienne Daho, the song’s history curiously illustrates the very meanings it expresses. It could easily have been discarded and never recorded at all instead of becoming a signature tune.
Étienne Daho
Since a young age, Étienne Daho had been immersed in British music and claimed The Velvet Underground and Pink Floyd as earlyinfluences. By 1995, he was collaborating with the English alternative dance band Saint Etienne on several projects that involved re-working songs in English and French. Saint Etienne members included lead singer Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs. Saint Etienne’s 1995 song “He’s on the Phone” was an adaptation of Daho’s 1984 hit song “Weekend à Rome.” Under the collective name “St. Etienne Daho,” they released a 1995 EP (Extended Play) mini-album called “Résérection.” Saint Etienne members also contributed to an album that Daho ultimately released in 1996 as “Etienne Daho- Eden.” This was his sixth studio album and represented a turning point in his career. During the writing process for the “Eden” album, however, some confusion arose between Daho and Saint Etienne in communications about song texts.
Saint Étienne's Bob Stanley, Sarah Cracknell, Pete Wiggs
As a result of the confusion, the song that eventually became “Le premier jour…” altogether missed appearing on Daho’s 1996 “Eden” album. Instead, Sarah Cracknell included the song "Ready or not" on her own debut solo album “Lipslide” in 1997. Cracknell’s version was a lament by a woman whose lover was detached, inattentive, and “kissing dreams away, ready or not.” Daho subsequently used Cracknell’s melody for “Le premier jour…” but he framed very different lyrics with more universal appeal. His lyrics celebrated a message of personal emancipation and new beginnings. As such, “Le premier jour…” appeared in 1998 on Daho's 20-song album titled “Singles” that was a compilation of hits, attesting that by that date he was already a star. It allotted credits to Etienne Daho, Sarah Cracknell, Johnny Male, and Guy David Batson. The release earned Daho a “Victoires de la musique” nomination the following year for best male artist and song of the year. The song re-appeared ten years later in 2008 in the finale of a French comedy-drama film of the same name directed by Rémi Bezançon.
Ultimately, then, Sarah Cracknell's melody appeared in two songs, her own "Ready or not" and a year later in Daho's "Le premier jour..." with substantially different lyrics. It was subsequently included in several albums, featured in a movie, adapted into other languages and secured a permanent slot in Etienne Daho’s concert setlist. Renewal and re-invention indeed.
But the renewal did not end there. Both the song “Le premier jour…” and the Eden album accelerated Daho’s career, some 15 years after his first album (“Mythomane”) in 1981. In fact, Daho viewed the “Eden” album as such a cornerstone that 20 years later (in 2019) it was re-issued and re-mastered with ancillary materials. The re-launch was embellished by a 17-concert “EdenDahoTour” featuring the “Eden” and “Résérection” setlists as well as “Le premier jour…” This tour concluded just prior to Covid-19 lockdown measures that eviscerated many cultural activities.
"Le premier jour..." is a well-crafted song, with bespoke lyrics tailored to a pre-existing melody. The melody is catchy but simple, drawing on only 4 chords: A, Em, D, G. Daho’s voice is mellow and smooth.
In a demonstration of French language versatility, the lyrics use verb infinitives as subject nouns at the beginning of several sentences. These are translated in English like gerunds (the “ing” form of a verb) to indicate an ongoing activity. It is a reminder that French infinitives have a wider utilization in language than simply as “to” words.
The stanzas range in length from the four 4-line Verses to the seven 3-line segments in the Refrains. The rhyme scheme is variable. Melodically, Verses and Stanzas are of a piece, with the verses sharing an A, Em, A, Em, D chord sequence and the Refrains D, A, G, D, A. For the first time on this website, to encourage the musically-inclined, all stanza headings include the chord progressions used therein.
The video below is from the 2009 live album "Daho Pleyel Paris," Parlophone Warner.
|
Verse (A, Em, A, Em, D) Un matin comme tous les autres Un nouveau pari Rechercher un peu de magie Dans cette inertie morose Verse (A, Em, A, Em, D) Clopin clopan sous la pluie Jouer le rôle de sa vie Puis un soir le rideau tombe C'est pareil pour tout l'monde Refrain (D, A, G, D, A) Rester debout mais à quel prix Sacrifier son instinct et ses envies Les plus essentielles Refrain (D, A, G, D, A) Mais tout peut changer aujourd'hui Est le premier jour du reste de ta vie Plus confidential Verse (A, Em, A, Em, D) Pourquoi vouloir toujours plus beau Plus loin plus haut Et vouloir décrocher la lune Quand on a les étoiles Verse (A, Em, A, Em, D) Quand les certitudes s'effondrent En quelques seconds Sache que du berceau à la tombe C'est dur pour tout l'monde Refrain (D, A, G, D, A) Rester debout mais à quel prix Sacrifier son instinct et ses envies Les plus confidentielles Refrain (D, A, G, D, A) Mais tout peut changer aujourd'hui Est le premier jour du reste de ta vie C'est providential Instrumental Pont (D, A, G, D, A) Refrain (D, A, G, D, A) Debout peu importe le prix Suivre son instinct et ses envies Les plus essentielles Refrain (D, A, G, D, A) Tu peux exploser aujourd'hui Est le premier jour du reste de ta vie Non accidentel Refrain (D, A, G, D, A) Oui tout peut changer aujourd'hui Est le premier jour du reste de ta vie Plus confidential Instrumental Confidentiel Confidentiel |
Verse A morning like all the others A new bet Seeking a little magic In this gloomy inertia Verse Hobbling in the rain Playing the role of your life Then one evening the curtain falls It's the same for everyone Refrain Staying upright but at what cost Sacrificing one’s instincts and desires The most essential Refrain But everything can change today It’s the first day of the rest of your life More confidential Verse Why always wanting more beauty Further, higher And wanting to do the impossible When we have the stars Verse When certainties collapse In several seconds Know that from cradle to grave It's hard for everyone Refrain Staying upright but at what cost Sacrificing one’s instincts and desires The most confidential Refrain But everything can change today It’s the first day of the rest of your life It's providential Instrumental Pont Refrain Upright no matter the cost Following instincts and desires The most essential Refrain You can explode today It’s the first day of the rest of your life Not accidental Refrain Yes, everything can change today It’s the first day of the rest of your life More confidential Instrumental Confidential Confidential |
NB:
1. "Clopin clopan" seems to be an example in French of onomatopoeia or a word that sounds like what it means, like "clip-clop."
2. “décrocher la lune:” the word “décrocher” means to detach/unhook but it also has several figurative meanings and one of them is “décrocher la lune,” an expression for doing the impossible.
Return to Daho Profile