Paul-Alain Leclerc, popularly known as Julien Clerc (1947-) is a prominent French singer, pianist, and composer. Though sometimes dismissed in his native land as little more than a “chanteur de charme” – in other words, “a ladies’ singer” – Julien Clerc in fact enjoyed one of the most successful and longest-lived careers in contemporary French pop, shaping the nouvelle chanson aesthetic across a span of decades that began in the shadow of the student rebellions of 1968 and continued well into the following century. Julien Clerc owes his fame in France to his leading role in the 1969 French language adaptation of the musical Hair. By the age of 24, Clerc was a major star and had recorded numerous hits, many of which were sold abroad, translated and distributed in other languages. Among his many popular songs: Si on chantait (1974); Elle voulait qu’on l’appelle Venise (1975); This Melody (1976); Femmes je vous aime (1982); Coeur De Rocker (1983).
Je le sais
Sa façon d’être à moi parfois
Vous déplait
Autour d’elle et moi
Le silence se fait
Mais elle est
Ma préférence à moi
I know it
Her way of belonging to me sometimes
Is not to your liking
Around her and me
Everyone goes quiet
But she is
She is the one for me
Oui, je sais
Cet air d’indifférence qui est
Sa défense
Vous fait souvent offense
Yes, I know
This air of indifference which is
Her defense
Often offends you
Mais quand elle est
Parmi mes amis de faïence
De faïence
Je sais sa défaillance
But when she is
Among my ‘faenza’ friends [reference to pottery perhaps to evoke her fragility]
Of faenza
I know her weakness
Je le sais
On ne me croit pas fidèle à
Ce qu’elle est
Et déjà vous parlez d’elle à
L’imparfait
Mais elle est
Ma préférence à moi
I know it
Her way of belonging to me sometimes
Is not to your liking
Around her and me
Everyone goes quiet
But she is
She is the one for me
Refrain
Il faut le croire
Moi seul je sais quand elle a froid
Ses regards
Ne regardent que moi
Believe me
Only I know when she feels cold
Her glances
Are for me alone
Par hasard
Elle aime mon incertitude
Par hasard
J’aime sa solitude…
By chance
She likes my uncertainty
By chance
I like her loneliness
x 2
Je le sais
Sa façon d’être à moi, parfois
Vous déplaît
Autour d’elle et moi
Le silence se fait
Mais elle est
Elle est ma chance à moi
Ma préférence à moi
Ma préférence à moi
I know it
Her way of belonging to me sometimes
Is not to your liking
Around her and me
Everyone goes quiet
But she is
She is the one for me
La la la
La la la la la la la
La la la
La la la la la la la
La la la
La la la
Elle est ma chance à moi
Ma préférence à moi
La la la