“Mademoiselle chante le blues” (Miss Sings the Blues), 1987
(Album: Mademoiselle chante le blues)
(Album: Mademoiselle chante le blues)
This song gave its name to Patricia Kaas’s debut album in 1987. Didier Barbelivien composed the music and he collaborated with Bob Mehdi on the lyrics. The song’s name owes at least a curtsy of acknowledgement to jazz singer Billie Holiday’s 1956 album and title track song “Lady Sings the Blues” (written by Herbie Nichols). That name also appeared on Holiday’s autobiography the same year and a 1972 biographical musical drama film about Holiday’s life starring Diana Ross.
“Mademoiselle chante le blues” reached 7th place on the French SNEP singles chart and became Kaas’s signature song, celebrating her dynamic blend of chanson, jazz, pop and blues. It propelled her to stardom. The album itself reached second place on the French album charts and led to Kaas’s “Discovery of the Year” award at the French Victoires de la Musique celebration. It also received the “Grand Prix du Disque” in 1989 from the “Académie Charles Cros.”
The song unfolds in a Verse/Chorus (VCVCVC) structure. All Choruses are identical. Verses have 6 lines and Choruses have four lines. The rhyme schemes are variable. Verse 1 is AAABBB; Verse 2 is AAAAAA; Verse 3 is AAABCC.
The text in each Verse identifies several categories of people in the world. All have peculiarities and all stand in contrast to “Mademoiselle,” who the Choruses capture in a succinct description: she sings the blues and drinks red wine.
The phrase “Y´en a qui” begins 13 out of 18 total Verse lines in the song. That is a shortened version of “il y en a qui” meaning “Some people” in English. This is an informal way in French to categorize and contrast groups of people. For the non-native ear and tongue, however, it’s a “knock” with a somewhat percussive effect to hear and pronounce that phrase in in such rapid succession and with an unexpected intonation. After you hear it several times and fall into Patricia’s groove of “Yan-ah-kee,” though, it sounds natural. More generally, the phrase highlights the special role of the pronouns “y” and “en” in the French language.
The live version below is from 1987, the year the song was first released as a single before the album that bore its name. Patricia Kaas was 21 years old.
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FRENCH LYRICS
Verse 1 Y´en a qui élèvent des gosses au fond des hlm Y´en a qui roulent leurs bosses du Brésil en Ukraine Y´en a qui font la noce du côté d´Angoulême Et y´en a même qui militent dans la rue avec tracts et banderoles Et y´en a qui en peuvent plus de jouer les sex symbols Y´en a qui vendent l´amour au fond de leur bagnole Chorus Mademoiselle chante le blues Soyez pas trop jalouses Mademoiselle boit du rouge Mademoiselle chante le blues Verse 2 Y´en a huit heures par jour qui tapent sur des machines Y´en a qui font la cour masculine féminine Y´en a qui lèchent les bottes comme on lèche des vitrines Et y´en a même qui font du cinéma, qu´on appellent Marilyn Mais Marilyn Dubois s´ra jamais Norma Jean Faut pas croire que l´talent c´est tout c´qu´on s´imagine Chorus Mademoiselle chante le blues Soyez pas trop jalouses Mademoiselle boit du rouge Mademoiselle chante le blues Elle a du gospel dans la voix et elle y croit Instrumental Verse 3 Y´en a qui s´font bonne sœur, avocat, pharmacienne Y´en a qui ont tout dit quand elles ont dit je t´aime Y´en a qui sont vieilles filles du côté d´Angoulême Y´en a même qui jouent femmes libérées Petit joint et gardénal qui mélangent vie en rose et image d´Epinal Qui veulent se faire du bien sans jamais s´faire du mal Chorus Mademoiselle chante le blues Soyez pas trop jalouses Mademoiselle boit du rouge Mademoiselle chante le blues Elle a du gospel dans la voix et elle y croit Mademoiselle chante le blues, chante le blues Mademoiselle chante le blues |
TRANSLATION (PENDERGAST)
Verse 1 Some people raise kids in the depths of low-rent housing Some knock around from Brazil to Ukraine Some paint the town red in Angouleme Even some campaign in the street with tracts and banners Some can no longer stand being sex symbols Some sell love in the back of their car Chorus Mademoiselle sings the blues Don't be too jealous Mademoiselle drinks red wine Mademoiselle sings the blues Verse 2 Some people type on machines for eight hours a day Some woo both men and women Some lick boots like you lick windows Some even make films, that are called Marilyn But Marilyn Smith will never be Norma Jean Don’t think your talent is everything you think it is Chorus Mademoiselle sings the blues Don't be too jealous Mademoiselle drinks red wine Mademoiselle sings the blues She has gospel in her voice and she believes it Instrumental Verse 3 Some women become nuns, lawyers, pharmacists Some have said everything once they say 'I love you' Some are old spinsters from Angouleme Some even play liberated women Small joint and Phenobarbital that blend rose-colored life and Epinal scenes Who want to do good for themselves without getting hurt Chorus Mademoiselle sings the blues Don't be too jealous Mademoiselle drinks red wine Mademoiselle sings the blues She has gospel in her voice and she believes it Mademoiselle sings the blues, sings the blues Mademoiselle sings the blues |
NB:
-Y´en a qui: this contraction of “il y en a qui” is a common expression that means “there are some who…” The expression dominates all 3 verses of the song as a reference to various categories of people who contrast explicitly with “Mademoiselle” in the Chorus who sings the blues and drinks red wine.
-Hlm = habitation à loyer modéré (housing at moderate rent) or low-rent housing (subsidized). It is pronounced in French as: “ash-el-em.”
-roulent leurs bosses: this expression means “to get around.” It has maritime origins in the mooring ropes (“bosses”) that sailors wind up at ports.
-Faire la noce du côté d´Angoulême: this has become a famous phrase thanks to this song. Basically, it means “to live the good life.” The phrase “faire la noce” means to paint the town red. The symbolic meaning of the specific reference to Angoulême is not clear other than being a fortified city located on a prominent plateau overlooking the Charente river.
-en peuvent plus: is a contraction of “n’en pouvoir plus,” which means “can’t take it anymore” or “to be fed up,” a variant of “en avoir marre.”
-on lèche des vitrines: “faire du leche-vitrines” is an idiomatic expression for “window shopping”
-Petit joint: this means what you think it means, which is a “joint” of pot;
-Gardénal: phenobarbital drug
-image d´Epinal: an “Epinal print” is a naïve comic-book type of image, named after a French printing house founded in the town of Épinal in 1796.
-Y´en a qui: this contraction of “il y en a qui” is a common expression that means “there are some who…” The expression dominates all 3 verses of the song as a reference to various categories of people who contrast explicitly with “Mademoiselle” in the Chorus who sings the blues and drinks red wine.
-Hlm = habitation à loyer modéré (housing at moderate rent) or low-rent housing (subsidized). It is pronounced in French as: “ash-el-em.”
-roulent leurs bosses: this expression means “to get around.” It has maritime origins in the mooring ropes (“bosses”) that sailors wind up at ports.
-Faire la noce du côté d´Angoulême: this has become a famous phrase thanks to this song. Basically, it means “to live the good life.” The phrase “faire la noce” means to paint the town red. The symbolic meaning of the specific reference to Angoulême is not clear other than being a fortified city located on a prominent plateau overlooking the Charente river.
-en peuvent plus: is a contraction of “n’en pouvoir plus,” which means “can’t take it anymore” or “to be fed up,” a variant of “en avoir marre.”
-on lèche des vitrines: “faire du leche-vitrines” is an idiomatic expression for “window shopping”
-Petit joint: this means what you think it means, which is a “joint” of pot;
-Gardénal: phenobarbital drug
-image d´Epinal: an “Epinal print” is a naïve comic-book type of image, named after a French printing house founded in the town of Épinal in 1796.
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