The Birth and Death of Boby Lapointe in Pézenas, Hérault (34)

'"hé, dis Boby

t'es pas né au Chili !

Boby LAPOINTE

de

Pézenas à Pézenas

1922                  1972'

The plaque is on the wall of the birthplace of Boby Lapointe, the musician, mathematician, writer and singer-songwriter of very strange, demanding songs that play on words, are alliterative, with often jumbled meanings and syllables. Boby Lapointe, who died from cancer at the early age of fifty, was a singer like no other, and his friend Georges Brassens complimented him when  he called him crazy. He was crazy, but in the best way possible. (The sentence refers to Boby's song 'Je suis né au Chili', which is of course deliberately hopelessly wrong).

Boby Lapointe's face stares from his family grave. This face, singing 'Framboise' (a girl called Françoise but renamed) I first noticed in Truffaut's Tirez sur le pianiste: the bar scenes there are as mad as the song.

Henriette Elodie (1896–1973) is Boby's mother, François Ernest (1891–1973) is his father, Huguette (1926–2002) his sister, and Jacky Lapointe his son.

Ah yes, he wanted to play the helicon, pon pon pon pon!

Not too sure about the significance of the branch on the grave. OK, tell me!

And finally, the grave itself.

My other Boby Lapointe posts:
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Boby Lapointe Sculptures in Pézenas, Hérault (34)
Musée Boby Lapointe, Pézenas, Hérault (34)
Alain Poulanges: Boby Lapointe : ou les mamelles du destin)