The Poet in Francoise Hardy

Among Francoise Hardy’s older songs, “A Quoi Ca Sert” (1968) is one of my favorites because of its cool, elegant yet distantly melancholic qualities. She composed both the music and the lyrics, from which one can readily see her flair in blending sweet melody with simple French words. The bittersweet lyrics, added to the casual innocence in her delicate voice, make the song irresistibly engaging.

“A Quoi Ca Sert” is one of the four Francoise Hardy songs chosen to depict four seasons in Francois Ozon’s new movie “Jeune et Jolie” (“Young and Beautiful”), which was nominated for the Palme d’Or award at the May 2013 Cannes Film Festival and will be released in France this August. Marine Vacth, French model-turned-actress who plays the leading role of seventeen-year-old Isabelle, shot to fame as the film premiered at the Festival. The story follows Isabelle in a one-year span, who leads a double life as a student and a high-class prostitute.

The song title of the official English adaption is “Why Even Try”.

“A Quoi Ca Sert” (“How Would It Help”):-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZPriwkS7K4&list=FLlMBDFYTe8MGL_Z6TJc6LOg&index=1

Comme toi j'ai un cœur
Qui ne peut rien promettre
A qui l'amour fait peur
Mais qui t'aime peut-être
A quoi ça sert de le cacher?
A quoi ça sert d'y échapper?

Je n'ai rien à t'offrir
Que ce que mes yeux voient
Tu ne veux pas souffrir
Mais qui ne souffre pas?
A quoi ça sert de l'éviter?
A quoi ça sert de t'en aller?

A rester dans ta tour d'ivoire
En broyant du rose ou du noir
Tout seul - tout seul

Comme on n'est pas très malheureux
On oublie qu'on n'est pas heureux
Tout seul, tout seul

Je n'ai que les étoiles
Et rien d'autre pour toi
Si l'on doit se faire mal
C'est la vie qui veut ça
A quoi ça sert de rester seul?
A quoi ça sert de vivre seul?

Je n'ai que les étoiles
Et rien d'autre pour toi
Si l'on doit se faire mal
C'est la vie qui veut ça
A quoi ça sert de rester seul?
A quoi ça sert de vivre seul tout seul?

My English Rendition of the Lyrics:-

Like you I have a heart,

That can promise nothing,

That is frightened by love,

But that loves you perhaps.

How would it help, hiding from it?

How would it help, slipping away?

I have nothing to offer you,

Except what my eyes can see.

You don’t want to get hurt,

But who doesn’t get hurt?

How would it help, avoiding it?

How would it help, walking away?

Staying in your ivory tower,

Grinding to red or to black.

All alone, all alone.

When you’re not very unhappy,

You forget that you are not happy.

All alone, all alone.

I have nothing but the stars,

And nothing else to share.

If we must cause us pain,

It is life that wants that.

How would it help, staying alone?

How would it help, living alone?

I have nothing but the stars,

And nothing else to share.

If we must cause us pain,

It is life that wants that.

How would it help, staying alone?

How would it help, living alone, all alone?