“J’ai essayé de vivre…” (I tried to live…) is the seventh track from Mylène Farmer’s ninth studio album, “Monkey Me,” released on December 3, 2012. The lyrics of this song were penned by Mylène Farmer herself, while the music, arrangements, programming, keyboards, and production were handled by Laurent Boutonnat.
This song stands out as a deeply human and introspective piece. Mylène Farmer, known for her humility in her songwriting, explores the universal experience of navigating life without a guidebook. It reflects on the inevitable mistakes, detours, and disillusionments we encounter as we try to live according to our beliefs. Farmer’s lyrics suggest that despite these challenges, the journey is about doing our best, guided by our personal sense of right and wrong.
The song appears to be a natural evolution of the theme introduced in “Pas le temps de vivre” (No time to live) from the 1999 album “Innamoramento.” While the lyrics of these two tracks do not necessarily collide, there is a discernible continuity in their choice of words and themes. Knowing Farmer’s meticulous approach to lyricism, it is clear that her words are carefully chosen to convey profound meanings.
Furthermore, “J’ai essayé de vivre…” echoes themes from another famous Farmer song, “L’Autre.” (The Other) The sense of loneliness present in “L’Autre” is balanced by a hopeful quest for validation and gratification in “J’ai essayé de vivre…” — not in a romantic sense, but rather in the search for a soulful connection. This connection is envisioned as a bond with a kindred spirit, someone who understands and accepts us deeply. Farmer eloquently captures the longing for this type of non-romantic, soul-deep companionship, emphasizing its importance in our lives.
Ultimately, the song conveys that all we can do is try our best in life’s journey. The aspiration is to find soul companions, as Farmer seemingly has, to enrich our experiences. She reminds us that life is fleeting, and not striving to live fully might be the greatest failure of all. This message resonates as a poignant reflection on the human condition, urging listeners to embrace life with courage and hope.
The dance melody of the “J’ai essayé de vivre…” although not universally acclaimed as a masterpiece, was nevertheless a welcome return for Laurent Boutonnat, especially after his absence from the 2010 album “Bleu Noir,” which involved collaborations with Moby and Darius Keeler from Archive.
Many expressed disappointment with Boutonnat’s perceived basic songwriting quality in “Monkey Me,” arguing that he hadn’t produced anything particularly memorable since the “Point de Suture” album and the beloved track “Du temps,” which served as a standout piece for the 2001-2011 compilation album. This led some fans and critics to hastily dismiss Boutonnat, suggesting he was spread too thin to continue his fruitful collaboration with Mylène. However, Boutonnat redeemed himself with tracks like “À l’ombre” and, notably, “Quand,” a personal favorite from “Monkey Me.” Regrettably, this turned out to be the last album on which Boutonnat actively collaborated with Mylène. This change might be attributable to shifts in his personal life, notably his relationship with Russian model and jeweler Ilona Orel, with whom he reportedly has a daughter, Angeline, born around 2010. This personal development possibly sheds light on his reduced creative output with Mylène.
In an effort to quell rumors about the end of their professional partnership, Mylène Farmer expressed her deep connection with Boutonnat in an interview: “He’s a twin brother. He’s someone I’ll see, who I’ll work with until I die, I guess. And, he’s a great, great talent. And, I admit that when I still worked on this album with him, as soon as he puts three chords, he still has this ability to move me and make me cry on three chords. So, it’s something magical for me, of course.” (News from 8 p.m. – TF1 – 12/02/2012). This statement highlights the enduring emotional and professional bond between Farmer and Boutonnat, underscoring the unique and profound impact of their collaboration in the music industry.
The time revealed a different reality. Although Laurent Boutonnat was the creative force behind Mylène Farmer’s 2019 concerts, he had not contributed new material in terms of songwriting for over a decade. Officially, Mylène has embarked on her musical journey independently, and “Monkey Me” stands as a poignant testament to their last collaboration. However, the future remains uncertain, and there’s always a possibility that things might change. Nonetheless, Mylène has demonstrated the courage and capability to continue her artistic journey without her long-time collaborator.
It’s a very “human” song. Mylene once again reaffirms her humility. We all come here without a manual. 😊 And we all do our very best to try to live according to what we believe is right. We all of course make mistakes, we all become lost sometimes, take detours, get discouraged, disillusioned and even jaded by the events that we created consciously or unwillingly.
Un sentiment de n'être Rien du tout
“A feeling of being
Nothing at all”
How well it links with the previous song I covered yesterday À quoi je sers…
Musically it is another well put together dance tune which is remixed nicely and is a joy – no doubts – to dance to in the clubs.
Jérôme Devoise portrait – sound engineer
Speaking of mixing, I think it’s time to talk about Jérôme Devoise – the man behind the curtains who makes the magic happen for us.
Meet Jérôme Devoise – a sound engineer. His job is record, mix and make the live performances sound as good as studio recordings. The biggest challenge is stadiums and large arenas where sound delays can be a few seconds or more. Long story short he is the wizard of Oz we all want to meet. He is humble and loyal to the artists he like. Mylene happened to be one of such artists. He mixed almost all of her albums since Innamoramento. He also reworked many Mylene’s live performance official videos to enhance the quality of sound. He is apparently also a musician and play many instruments for the recordings.
He works regularly with the group Archive for the mixing but also as a producer on certain titles or albums.
He also collaborated with Khaled (sound engineer on the Kenza album in 1999), Christophe Willem (sound engineer + mixing for the September album in 2008), Enrique Iglesias etc
He works at the Guillaume Tell studio.
Jérôme Devoise is also a loyal collaborator of Mylene Farmer and Alizée: He was the one who played the role of the frozen lover in the clip Moi … Lolita in 2000.
Jérôme Devoise Studio albums work
- 1999: Innamoramento — Sound recording assistant (with Bertrand Châtenet)
- 2001: Best of Les mots – Sound recording for unreleased titles Les mots, C’est une belle jourNEE and Pardonne-moi (with Bertrand Châtenet and Rik Pekkonen)
- 2005: Avant que l’ombre… – Sound recording and mixing
- 2008: Point de Suture – Sound recording and mixing
- 2010: Bleu Noir – Sound recording and mixing (with Ninja)
- 2012: Monkey Me – Sound recording and mixing
- 2015: Interstellaires – Sound recording and mixing / Programming, drums, percussion and keyboards for I want you to want me
- 2018: Désobéissance — Voice and orchestra recording at the Guillaume Tell studio (Paris) / Mixing for Sentimentale, Get Up Girl, Prière, Parler d’avenir, On a besoin d’y croire, Retenir l’eau at the DES studio (Paris) Albums or live videos
- 2000: Mylenium Tour(album/video) – Mixing assistant (with Bertrand Châtenet)
- 2006: Avant que l’ombre… à Bercy (album/video) – Recording, production and mixing (assisted by Tristan Monrocq)
- 2009: N°5 on Tour (album) – Recording (with Stéphane Plisson), production and mixing (assisted by Tristan Monrocq)
- 2010: Mylène Farmer Stade de France (video) – Sound recording (with Stéphane Plisson) and mixing (assisted by Tristan Monrocq)
- 2013 : Timeless 2013 (album) – Recording (with Stéphane Plisson), production and mixing at Studio Digital Encoding System
- 2014 : Timeless 2013 Le Film (video) – Sound recording (with Stéphane Plisson) and mixing
- 2019 : Live 2019 (album ) – Indoor sound engineer (with Stéphane Plisson), recording (with Stéphane Plisson and Jean-Philippe Schevingt), production and mixing (Studio Digital Encoding System)
- 2019: Live 2019 Le Film (video) – Sound recording (with Stéphane Plisson and Jean-Philippe Schevingt), mixing
Jérôme Devoise Singles (or songs)
- 2003 : C’est une belle journée – Devil Head Remix pour l’album RemixeS
- 2005 : Redonne-moi – Musicien : clarinette
- 2006 : Slipping away (Crier la vie) en duo avec Moby – recording a voice of Mylène Farmer
- 2010 : Never tear us apart with INXS et Ben Harper – recording voices
Jérôme Devoise Concerts
* 2019: Live 2019 ( Paris La Défense Arena) – Sound (with Stéphane Plisson)
MONKEY ME truck
remixes
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lyrics with translation
Danser sans cesse
Au bord du gouffre
Pourtant l'ivresse comme
Un "entre-nous"
Voir la pénombre
Qui éclaire mon visage
On s'est dit "ensemble
Si c'est là ton voyage"
Un sentiment de n'être
Rien du tout
A vous peut-être
Je dirai tout
Moi j'ai
Moi j'ai essayé de vivre
Donné
Ici un sens à ma vie
Aussi
Moi j'ai,
Tant voulu d'autre
Ave
Milliers d'âmes anonymes
Ave
Au claire de lune
Mon ami "qui" ?
Suis-je ta plume
Mais quand la nuit...
Où étais-tu alors
Puisque je t'aime
Où étais-tu encore
Imaginaire
Es-tu un rêve
Es-tu un frère
Et je manque d'air
Quand tu m'oublies
Dancing without ceasing
On the edge of the abyss
Yet intoxication like
A "between us”
See the darkness
That lights up my face
We said "together
If this is your journey"
A feeling of being
Nothing at all
To you maybe
I'll tell you everything
I have
I tried to live
Gave
Here a meaning to my life
Also
I have,
Wanted so much of "the Other"
Hail
Thousands of anonymous souls
Hail
In the moonlight
My friend "who"?
Am I your feather
But when the night...
Where were you then
Since I love you
Where were you again
Imaginary
Are you a dream
Are you a brother
And I run out of air
When you forget me
