Alain Souchon on his song “Et si en plus y’a no one”

Alain Souchon has been one of the major figures of French song since the 70s. His career is notably marked by his collaboration, his very strong friendship with Laurent Voulzy since 1974. He released, a few weeks ago, a best-of : (New collection, including three CDs with 57 very well-known titles or a little less and today, we are talking about the song And if in addition there is no one.

franceinfo: Since the 70s, you have worn a smile that has not aged a bit. I say this because I know that you had a slight problem with the passage of time, is it still relevant?

Alain Souchon: Everyone has it. It is inherent in man. It makes him melancholy. Everyone can think back to their mother’s kisses at 5 years old. It comes back suddenly, to me, but also to everyone!

This passing time can be found in your writing work. Are your songs pictures of an era?

Yes. I watch, I try that the way of transmitting what I see, is not too stupid. I make small judgments, but not too much. I don’t want to give advice like John Lennon. Sometimes, I take stock of little things that seem a little bad to me, but I think that’s why a lot of people find their way there. When I was very young, what I liked in the songs of Jacques Brel, those of the Beatles, is the melancholy. This is what is pleasant, a little sadness which has and which one does not have the right to say in life because it is not worthy to say: “I’m unhappy because the time goes by“, but if someone says it to you on the radio while singing, it reassures, we will say:”Ah him too, it’s good, me too it does that to me“.

When you started out, you didn’t like your voice. Today, how do you relate to her?

“I noticed something is that no one likes his voice.”

Alain Souchon

to franceinfo

We are made for others, not for ourselves. If we listen to each other or see each other and are fascinated by our image, it’s weird. And the voice is the same. So being a singer teaches you to be serious about it. It’s not that you like it, it’s about that it is suitable for others.

You’ve always said things as you go, over time. In 2005, for example, you signed the album Theodore life in homage to Théodore Monot. I would like us to come back to a song considered to be one of the most beautiful in your repertoire, And if in addition there is no one. This song resonates in people’s hearts.

“There is something reassuring about all religions, and at the same time, people of different religions are fighting all the time, killing each other, it’s fascinating.”

Alain Souchon

to franceinfo

I was brought up in the Catholic religion, I went to catechism very regularly. My parents went to mass and I was very taken by that and when I made my communion, I said to myself: It’s decided, I will be a priest. And then, it didn’t turn out like that at all. When you read a little about the history of the world, religions have always been of considerable importance. This kind of belief in something higher is so dazzling, things like infinity, you look at the sky, it never ends. It’s something that is completely beyond you. Religion is there to reassure ourselves, because we are a little lost in this universe.

Is this song also to bring people together?