Mon mec à moi (My guy, mine all mine), 1988
The title of this song doubles down on the sense of ownership when it appends “à moi” (mine, all mine) to the beginning words “Mon mec” (slang for “My guy/dude”). The song portrays a woman’s relationship with a charming but likely untrustworthy man. It is a relationship built on shaky foundations where hope outpaces reality, a classic case of one-sided love driven by wishful thinking and self-delusion.
Didier Barbelivien wrote the lyrics and François Bernheim composed the music. It appeared on Kaas’s debut album in 1988 “Mademoiselle chante le bleus” and was issued as a single. The song peaked in 1989 at #5 on the French Singles Chart SNEP. The title is reminiscent of the 1964 hit single “My Guy” by American singer Mary Wells and written by Smokey Robinson that topped the US Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart. ‘Mon mec à moi” won an award in 1989 as “la chanson de l’année” by listeners of French language radio in Canada, France, Belgium and Switzerland.
Each 2-stanza verse is followed by a Pre-Refrain and then the Refrain. The verses have stanzas of 4 lines each, with rhyming schemes of ABAB. The Chorus/Refrains are 10 lines.
Laurent et Patricia
Recently (since 2025 and Patricia’s return to the public scene on TV as a coach for The Voice), the song “Mon mec `a moi” became something of a meme-theme for Patricia’s occasional appearances with a mysterious companion known at first only as Laurent….
The live version of the song that appears below comes from a 1988 performance, the year of the song’s release, on the TV talk show “Du Coté de chez Fred” that ran on FR2 between 1988-1991.
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FRENCH LYRICS
Verse Il joue avec mon cœur Il triche avec ma vie Il dit des mots menteurs Mais moi je crois tout c'qu'il dit Les chansons qu'il me chante Les rêves qu'il fait pour deux C'est comme les bonbons menthe Ça fait du bien quand il pleut Pre-Refrain J'me raconte des histoires En écoutant sa voix C'est pas vrai ces histoires Mais moi j'y crois Refrain Mon mec à moi il me parle d'aventures Et quand elles brillent dans ses yeux J'pourrais y passer la nuit Il parle d'amour Comme il parle des voitures Et moi je le suis où il veut Tellement je crois tout c'qu'y' m'dit Tellement je crois tout c'qu'y' m'dit Oh oui Mon mec à moi Verse Sa façon d'être à moi Sans jamais dire je t'aime C'est rien qu'du cinéma Mais c'est du pareil au même Ce film en noir et blanc Qu'il m'a joué deux cents fois C'est Gabin et Morgan Enfin ça r'ssemble à tout ça Pre-refrain J'me raconte des histoires Des scénarios Chinois C'est pas vrai ces histoires Mais moi j'y crois Refrain Mon mec à moi il me parle d'aventures Et quand elles brillent dans ses yeux J'pourrais y passer la nuit Il parle d'amour Comme il parle des voitures Et moi je le suis où il veut Tell'ment je crois tout c'qu'y' m'dit Tell'ment je crois tout c'qu'y' m'dit Oh oui Mon mec à moi Instrumental Refrain Mon mec à moi il me parle d'aventures Et quand elles brillent dans ses yeux J'pourrais y passer la nuit Il parle d'amour Comme il parle des voitures Et moi je le suis où il veut Tellement je crois tout c'qu'y' m'dit Tellement je crois tout c'qu'y' m'dit Oh oui Mon mec à moi il me parle d'aventures Et quand elles brillent dans ses yeux J'pourrais y passer la nuit Il parle d'amour Comme il parle des voitures Et moi je le suis où il veut Tellement je crois tout c'qu'y' m'dit Tellement je crois tout c'qu'y' m'dit Oh oui |
TRANSLATION (PENDERGAST)
Verse He plays with my heart He cheats with my life He says lying words But I believe everything he says The songs he sings to me The dreams he makes for two It's like mints It feels good when it rains Pre-Refrain I tell myself stories Listening to his voice It's not true these stories But I believe it Refrain My guy, he talks to me about adventures And when they shine in his eyes I could spend the night He talks about love As he talks about cars And I'm where he wants So I believe everything that I'm told So I believe everything that I'm told Oh yes My man, mine Verse His way of being mine Without ever saying I love you It's nothing but cinema But it's all the same This film in black and white That he played me two hundred times It's Gabin and Morgan Finally, it's all about that Pre-refrain I tell stories About Chinese scenarios It's not true these stories But me, I believe it Refrain My guy, he talks to me about adventures And when they shine in his eyes I could spend the night He talks about love As he talks about cars And I'm where he wants So much do I believe everything he tells me So much do I believe everything he tells me Oh yes My man, mine Instrumental Refrain My guy, he talks to me about adventures And when they shine in his eyes I could spend the night He talks about love As he talks about cars And I'm where he wants So much do I believe everything he tells me So much do I believe everything he tells me Oh yes My guy, he talks to me about adventures And when they shine in his eyes I could spend the night He talks about love As he talks about cars And I'm where he wants So much do I believe everything he tells me So much do I believe everything he tells me Oh yes |
NB:
-Tellement je crois tout c'qu'y' m'dit: “Tellement” is an emphatic adverb that means “so much” or “so many.” “c’qu’y’m’dit” is a contraction of “ce qu’il me dit” so the entire phrase means “So much do I believe everything he tells me.”
-c'est du pareil au même: this expression means that two options are basically equivalent without any real difference between them.
-Gabin et Morgan: these two famous French actors Jean Gabin and Michèle Morgan worked together and shared a real-life romance. They starred in a famous 1938 movie Le Quai des brumes (“Dock of Mists/Port of Shadows”) directed by Marcel Carné and written by Jacques Prévert that was an exemplar of “poetic realism” and a precursor of American “film noir.”
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