Stéphane, Bruno, Patrick

Stéphane. Bruno. Patrick.

By 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...

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 ...

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. ;)

P.S. Check for more of this interview here.

Published on AbsoluteSkating.com:

http://www.absoluteskating.com/interviews/2009stephane_bruno_patrick.htm