Stéphane. Bruno. Patrick.

 

By Reut Golinsky
Photos © Reut Golinsky

Sometimes I think it happens to a few of us, when we listen to a melody or a song and we imagine our favourite skater skating to this music, when we listen to the words and we understand that those words are completely about him.
During my chat with Stéphane Lambiel, I had a unique opportunity to discuss with him the songs I love, songs which are... about him. Those were songs about an artist (and who among skaters is more artistic than Stéphane?) and about his feelings for the public - sometimes sad, sometimes grateful.
I hope you'll find this interview different from the usual formal format as it shows interviewee from a bit different angle.
It was also a rather special moment for me and I was really touched by the reaction I got from him.

I have two poems here, which are actually songs. They are in French and they are of two of my favourite Francophone singers. I thought that both of those poems are about you. Please, could you read them?

I know both of them.

Really - you know them? Because I wasn't sure you'd know Bruno Pelletier, and he is my favourite singer.

I know him because he was singing in the musical "Notre Dame de Paris".

Yes, me too, I know him from "Notre Dame", from the first song "Il est venu le temps des cathédrales", but after that he did so many other things, solo albums, so this song is from one of them.

OK, I'll read this...

Le clown/The clown
Roger Tabra, Claude Pineault

Le clown est fatigué de faire le clown ce soir
Et il en a assez de masquer son regard
Il en a trop fait rire des hommes et des enfants
Qui viennent l'applaudir pendant qu'il perd son sang

Ce soir, je ne joue plus la divine comédie
Ce soir, je suis tout nu au milieu de ma vie

Ce soir, le clown a peur d'être tout seul, il pleure
Ce soir, il redevient un homme et son chagrin
Ce soir, il est humain
Ce soir, devant vous il a peur

Il en a vu des villes, il en a fait des tours
Mais que lui reste-t-il d'amour après l'humour
La nuit est revenue, la foule est repartie
Et je reste tout nu au milieu de ma vie

Qu'importent les bravos, ils ne remplacent pas
Les gestes ni les mots que tu avais pour moi

Ce soir, le clown a peur d'être tout seul, il pleure
Ce soir, il redevient un homme et son destin
Ce soir, il est humain
Ce soir, devant vous il a peur
  
The clown is tired to make clownery this evening
And he is fed up with hiding his glance
He too often made the people and the children laugh
Who come to applaud him while he is bleeding

This evening, I do not play any more the divine comedy
This evening, I am all naked in the middle of my life

This evening, the clown is afraid to be all alone, he cries
This evening, he becomes again a man with his sorrow
This evening, he is human
This evening, facing you, he is afraid

He saw so many cities, he made so many tours
But if the love remains for him after the laugh ends
The night came again, crowd went away
And I remain all naked in the middle of my life

Cheers are not important, they can not replace
Neither gestures nor words you had for me

This evening, the clown is afraid to be all alone, he cries
This evening, he becomes again a man with his sorrow
This evening, he is human
This evening, facing you, he is afraid

(You can listen to this song here)

Do you feel something like this? Sometimes?

Sometimes...

I hope, not always!

No!

It's about the actor, about the artist, about someone who is coming out to the stage, to the audience...

It's like you come out to the stage and you don't know if it's good or bad for you. And to be someone who shares his emotions that means you share them not only at your good times, but also at times when everything doesn't go well. And everybody knows that, everybody can see it. For someone who is not in the public eye, when he does a mistake nobody knows, but when he does something good, nobody knows either. There are more risks being well known, but I think, my character is like that...

You want to be a public person.

I like... I love extreme, so when I'm sad I'm really sad, when I'm happy I'm very happy and I think that goes well with the fact that I'm a public person, because when it's great there's no frontier and everybody is happy for me - and that's great, it's a big happiness. When I do something bad, everybody is sad for me, and I'm sad too. So it's part of my character. It's hard; it's really hard to be that kind of person, it causes a lot of emotions. I think I'm a very sensitive person, but I'm happy to have my family, because they are helping me and supporting me. My family, they are very close to me. And I think family is the most important thing in your life, without them everything would be a lot harder.
And Patrick Bruel... What he is telling me...

Vous/You
Marie-Florence Gros, Patrick Bruel

Vous,
Etes-vous là ce soir? Un taxi, je descends
La porte grince un peu, j'avance dans le noir
Trois notes de piano, je souris au miroir
Vous,
Vous êtes là,
C'est l'heure, comme au premier moment
Quand j'étais immortel quand je riais de tout
Et quand seul sous la lune,
J' criais contre les loups
Vous,
Déjà sans vous connaître, je marchais vers vous

Vous m'avez pris à bout de bras
Un jour enfant terrible, un jour enfant perdu
J'ai gagné pas à pas, de pouvoir être moi
De pouvoir être libre, pour un regard de vous

Quand est venu le vent qui fait tomber les chênes
J'ai vu saigner le temps, rire les oiseaux jaloux
Quand pour me mettre en pièce,
Ils s'en prenaient à vous

Vous,
Vous étiez déjà là quand j'ai cassé ma voix
Quand j'ai vidé mes larmes
Au fond des derniers verres
Ces soirs où dans vos yeux,
J'ai séché ma colère
Vous,
Vous croyez que j'ignore votre sourire là-bas?

Vous m'avez pris à bout de bras
Un jour enfant terrible, un jour enfant perdu
J'ai gagné pas à pas, de pouvoir être moi
De pouvoir être là quand je marche vers vous

La ronde continue
La ronde continue et vous êtes restés
Toujours au bout du jour, derrière le rideau rouge
L'aventure continue et nous avons gagné
De faire danser le rêve en robe de velours

Et je chante pour vous
Vous savez tout de moi,
Tout c' qu'on ne se dit pas
Vos lèvres bougent à peine,
On manque de lumière
Mais le noir nous unit et d'ici je vous vois

Moi,
Je retrouve mon rire, je retrouve ma vie
Dans vos mains qui s'agitent,
Aux mots que je répète
Ce soir il est huit heures, nous avons rendez-vous
Et le rideau se lève... aujourd'hui j'ai quinze ans
Quand je me donne à vous...
Quand je me donne à vous...
  
You,
Are you there tonight? Taxi, I go out
The door is creaking a bit, I proceed in the dark
Three notes on piano, I smile to the mirror
You,
You're there,
This time, as at the first time
When I was immortal and laughed at everything
And when all alone in the moonlight,
I cried out against the wolves
You,
Even without knowing you, I was walking toward you

You took me into your hands
Sometimes like enfant terrible, sometimes like lost child
I merited step by step, to be myself
To be free, just for one of your glances

When came the wind, which put the oaks down,
I saw the time shedding blood, laugh of jealous birds
When they wanted to tear me to pieces
They started from you

You,
You were already there when I broke my voice
When I emptied my tears
From the bottom of the last glasses
At those nights where in your eyes,
I dried my anger
You,
You think, I ignore your smile over there?

You took me into your hands
Sometimes like enfant terrible, sometimes like lost child
I merited step by step, to be myself
To be there when I walk towards you

The round continues
The round continues and you stayed
Always at the end of the day, behind the red curtain
The adventure continues and we won
To dance with the dream in a velvet dress

And I sing for you
You know everything about me,
Everything that can't be said
Your lips are hardly moving
We lack the light
But the darkness unites us and I see you from here

Me,
I found my laughter, I found my life
In your hands which are trembling,
In words that I repeat
Tonight it's eight o'clock, we have a rendezvous
And the curtain rises ... Today I am fifteen
When I give myself to you ...
When I give myself to you ...

(You can listen to this song here)

Wow, it's incredible. I would love to listen to it.

Beautiful, isn't it?

Wow, that's completely me. I mean... when you are on the ice you are naked, you know... That's a really beautiful text, that's incredible. Wow...

So we watched this video clip together. And while we were watching Stéphane told me that he loves Patrick, and his favourite song is "Au Café de Delices". I was really suprised, beause he almost never used French songs for his programs, but now, well, who knows... I certainly hope he will. ;)


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