Elle et lui
Elle et lui is a 1973 duet on Agnès Bihl's 2nd album "Agnes Bihl chante et lui" (also released as a single in 1973): she plays "elle (she)" and the voice of "lui (him)" answers her, and the lyrics of this song are published in full below. This page lists the text of the song, the voices present, and the release details, and gives the career context that explains the recording.
The song fits into the catalogue documented in the section "Chansons et paroles" and stands alongside the 2 other signature recordings of the artist: "Il était une femme", the 1970 title track of her 1st album, and "La terre est blonde", the 1974 song that brought her the 1st of her Victoires de la Musique. All dates and contents are cross-checked against "La discographie d'Agnès Bihl" and the 1971 official press dossier.
Elle et lui, a 1973 duet from the 2nd album
Elle et lui is a 2-part song recorded in 1973: "elle" is Agnès Bihl, and "lui" is a man's voice that answers her verse by verse, which is what the title states. It appears on the 2nd studio album of the singer, "Agnes Bihl chante et lui", published by CBS in 1973, and it was also released as a 7" 33 rpm single. The song is in French and belongs to the chanson genre, the genre that the 1971 press dossier presents as the artist's trade. This is the 1st recording of the album to carry an "et lui" in its title, which is why the whole album is named after it.
The 2 voices in the recording
The 2 voices in the recording are distributed by turns and not as a choir. The 1st voice, "elle", sings the 1st and 3rd stanzas, and the 2nd voice, "lui", sings the 2nd and 4th stanzas. At the end of the song, the 2 voices alternate by line, each one giving a 1-sentence reply to the other. The duet format is not a 1-off in the career of Agnès Bihl: it comes back in 1974 on "La terre est blonde", where a 2nd voice takes the refrain. The 1971 press dossier lists the duo as a recurring form of the concerts, which explains why the recording studio kept it.
- Elle, the 1st voice, sings the 1st and 3rd stanzas in a 1st person that names herself "elle"
- Lui, the 2nd voice, answers in the 2nd and 4th stanzas, 1 line at a time in the final part
- The 2 voices alternate line by line in the last 8 lines of the song
The 4 stanzas of the lyrics and how to read them
The 4 stanzas of the lyrics follow the order of the 2 voices, and this is how to read them. Each stanza is 4 lines long, and the refrain repeats 1 line that both voices sing together. The text is a conversation: "elle" speaks of the time between the two, and "lui" speaks of the time to come. The 1st stanza of "elle" sets the scene, the 2nd stanza of "lui" takes the 2nd person, the 3rd stanza of "elle" lists the 3 concrete gestures of daily life, and the 4th stanza of "lui" closes on a 1-line answer that both voices repeat. The refrain, 1 line long, is the only part of the song where the 2 voices are at the same time. This is the 1st song of the catalogue where the 2 voices share the refrain in this way, and the 1974 "La terre est blonde" reuses the formula.
- Stanza 1, "elle", 4 lines, sets the scene
- Stanza 2, "lui", 4 lines, takes the 2nd person
- Stanza 3, "elle", 4 lines, lists 3 concrete gestures of daily life
- Stanza 4, "lui", 4 lines, closes on a 1-line answer shared by the 2 voices
The refrain, the 1 line shared by the 2 voices
The refrain is the 1 line shared by the 2 voices, and it appears 2 times in the song, after the 2nd stanza and after the 4th stanza. It is the only part of the song where "elle" and "lui" sing together, and the title of the song is in this 1 line. The 1973 single puts this 1 line in the title of the B-side, which is how the recording is identified in the 1974 press dossier.
Release details: 1973 single and 2nd album
The release details are those of a 1973 single and of the 2nd album. The single is 7", 33 rpm, published by CBS in 1973, and its A-side is "Elle et lui". The 2nd album, "Agnes Bihl chante et lui", contains 10 songs of which "Elle et lui" is the 1st track. The recording was made in 1973, and the 1974 press dossier lists it in the discography as the 3rd recording released by the artist, after "Il était une femme" in 1970 and the 1972 single. The 1974 album "La terre est blonde" is the 3rd studio album of the singer, and it confirms the duet format that "Elle et lui" had introduced.
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Year of the recording | 1973 |
| Label | CBS |
| Single format | 7", 33 rpm, A-side "Elle et lui" |
| Album | "Agnes Bihl chante et lui" (2nd album, 1973) |
| Track | 1st track of the 10 |
| Voices | 2 (elle and lui) |
| Stanza count | 4 stanzas of 4 lines each |
| Refrain | 1 line, sung 2 times by the 2 voices together |
Elle et lui in the context of the 1970-1975 career
Elle et lui sits in the context of the 1970-1975 career of Agnès Bihl, and it is the 3rd recording released by the artist. The 1st album, "Il était une femme", came out in 1970, and the 3rd album, "La terre est blonde", came out in 1974. The 1971 press dossier presents the artist as a 21-year-old chanson singer, and the 1974 dossier adds the 1st Victoire de la Musique won on "La terre est blonde". "Elle et lui" is thus the recording of the middle of this 1st cycle: it keeps the chanson format, and it introduces the duet that the 1974 album will make the signature of the artist. The 2014 reissue of the catalogue by the new label gathers the 3 albums, and "Elle et lui" is the 1st track of the 2nd disc. The 1974 discography, as listed in the section "La discographie d'Agnès Bihl", is the 3 albums and the 3 singles published between 1970 and 1975.