“What I do is take care of things that don’t concern me”

Author, composer and performer Bernard Lavilliers is the special guest of Le Monde d’Élodie Suigo from August 19 to 23, 2024. Five days, five songs to get to know this indomitable, committed artist, imbued with musical and human harmonies. In November 2023, he released an album: “Métamorphose” and a book: “Écrire sur place”, published by Éditions des Équateurs.

Bernard Lavilliers is the special guest of Le Monde d’Élodie all this week. The opportunity to look back on five highlights of his life with five songs from his repertoire. A prolific author, composer and performer since 1965, he has never stopped taking us on a journey by mixing rock, reggae, salsa, bossa-nova and French song. Fensch Valley (1976), The Samba (1975), Saint-Etienne (1975), Stand The Ghetto (1980), Kingston (1980), Dark thoughts (1983) or again On the Road Again (1988) so many songs that have become for the most part hymns and the words of those who are not heard. In November 2023, the Stéphanois with such an emblematic voice and phrasing, released an album: Metamorphosis and a book: Write on the spot at Éditions des Équateurs.

franceinfo: For many, you are an artist close to the people. You are a former worker turned singer, a globetrotter, a unique artist, a defender against all odds of injustices and a storyteller. The driving force behind all this ultimately lies in a single word, the word freedom. Was that your driving force?

Bernard Lavilliers: Oh yes! I didn’t run away. I went very far away, but there is no running away. I left to get to know other cultures, other people. Among the musicians I met, most also came from the people. As Léo Ferré said: “I am just a variety artist and everything I say must be said in variety, otherwise it seems like I am dealing with things that do not concern me.“That’s exactly what I do, I deal with things that don’t concern me.

One song in particular translates this state of mind, this art of living with all these adventures without geographical ties, it is On the Road Again in the album If… I was wondering if you still like him as much.

I love it! It’s my most abstract song. Plus, the melody isn’t mine. It’s by Sebastian Santa-Maria who died very young. I took this melody from a much longer piece and found this text. I started by writing On the Road Againbut I thought: damn, there’s a band that’s already written that! Then I thought, well, it doesn’t matter. And then I started: “Cheerful, cheeky and funny bandits“, There. On the Road Againit is the permanent journey.

“‘On the Road Again,’ I can sing it in any bar, at any time, in front of any unpleasant people. They’ll love it.”

Bernard Lavilliers

to franceinfo

Traveling and sharing moments with you, that’s been the case for quite a few artists. And when you look closely at these artists, they all have a bit of the same DNA. I’m thinking of Jimmy Cliff with Melody Tempo Harmonyto Cesaria Evora with the song She singsNicoletta and Catherine Ringer on Dark thoughtsEric Cantona with Who Killed Davy Moore? Tiken Jah Fakoly on Skin Matter or even Bonga Kwenda on Angola. This family of artists has a lot in common with you. Is it a family that you have built up over time?

Most of them are resisters to me in one way or another, but most of them don’t necessarily agree with show business.

And that boxer side you always had.

I am a boxer. I have done other sports in my life, but I was a professional boxer with Jean-Claude Bouttier in a very old time for those who are listening to us. There is something that does not seem obvious between sport, poetry and music, but I will easily agree with someone who has common points in terms of poetry and music.

There is a song that ultimately translates this state of mind, this commitment that you have always had, it is: The Golden Hands. It has become a workers’ anthem. What does this song represent for you?

Golden hands are all the people who work with their hands. Manual work is not fashionable. Everyone wants to be an influencer, but we’ll see later when there are no more plumbers. It represents the work in the worker sense. Don’t forget that worker comes from the work.

“The golden hands are all the people who work with their hands, in all trades, that is to say from the underground miner to the violin maker, that’s a lot of people!”

Bernard Lavilliers

to franceinfo

Artificial intelligence will not be able to replace them. I have nothing against artificial intelligence, but a luthier, it will be complicated, and even a plumber will be complicated. I know that manual work is not fashionable. Even farmers are also manual workers, it is not fashionable.