All the boys and girls my age

All the boys and girls my age

RIP

norman lebrecht

June 14, 2024

The French pop star Francoise Hardy, who died on Tuesday aged 80, was known worldwide for one simple song above all: Tous les garcons et les filles de mon age.

Release in May 1962 it encapsulated an era of innocence tat was about to end with the Beatles, the Stones and the contraceptive pill.

Claude Lelouche directed the promo video. The song taught basic French to an entire English-speaking generation.

Bonne nuit, Mlle. Hardy.

Comments

  • chet says:

    The song stands the test of time:

    1) grammatically, it’s not heteronormative, les garçons could be in love with each other and les filles could be in love with each other
    2) French troubadours were singing about ennui, she sings about ennui, the French are rapping about ennui today,

    plus ça change….

    (lovely video, merci Norman)

    • soavemusica says:

      “Grammatically, it’s not heteronormative.”

      It doesn`t even discriminate against minors or family members?

  • John Marks says:

    If you listen to her entire first album, it is hard to escape the conclusion that Mlle. Hardy brought “Rockabilly” (the hybrid of Rock and Hillbilly music) to Europe before the Beatles had recorded anything that later saw commercial release. She was self-taught. Her musical education consisted of shortwave-radio listening to European stations that played American music. Formidable!

  • henry williams says:

    she was good in the movie
    Grand Prix.
    nice girls. racing cars.
    nothing better

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