Lyrics
"Putain Putain" is a trilingual song, mostly sang in French, but with phrases in the dialect of Ostend (a type of West Flemish, [4] his mother tongue) and English. The lyrics are mostly a series of non-connected, silly observations. The singer claims he is not a communist, cyclist, Catholic or a "footballiste" (association football player). He mentions he likes women and boys and "like I already said: I like dicks.". Singing in the Ostend dialect he makes observations about the length and girth of penises, concluding:
"E korte dikn
Stuukt olles in stikn
E lange dinn
Doet deugd vanbinn
'k Hén e klintsje, mo 't sjhiet vérre"
(A short thick one - shoot everything to pieces - a long thin one - feels good inside - I have a small one, but it shoots far.") [5] [6] Returning to the French language, the singer then claims that some people talk a lot, but do little, while there are people starving from hunger. In the final verses he invites a jolly girl to take his hand, because "Saturday Night the entire world will take a bath", concluding with lines in English: The rich may be rich, the poor may be poor. They all beat the shit out of each other.".
The refrain of "Putain Putain" goes "Putain, putain, c'est vachement bien. Nous sommes quand-même tous des Européens.", loosely translating to: "Damn, damn, it's darn O.K., we're all Europeans after all.". As a joke, a female singer (Julia Lo'ko [1] ) hums Marc-Antoine Charpentier's composition "Te Deum", best known as the theme song of the Eurovision Song Contest. Interviewed by Ray Cokes in 1986, Arno explained that he feels European, because in daily life he speaks several languages. He talks French with his girlfriend and Flemish, French, English and a little German with his friends. [7]
In 2021, Arno recorded a new version of "Putain Putain" on his solo album Vivre. [8]
Ostend is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast.
The music of Belgium is a cultural mix where Flemish Dutch-speaking and Walloon French-speaking traditions mix with those of German minorities and of immigrant communities from Democratic Republic of the Congo or other distant countries.
Arnold Charles Ernest Hintjens, better known by his stage name Arno, was a Belgian singer. He was the frontman of TC Matic, one of the best-known Belgian bands of the 1980s. After the band split in 1986 he enjoyed a solo career.
Fabienne Demal, better known by her stage name Axelle Red, is a Belgian singer-songwriter. She has released 12 albums, including Sans plus attendre, À Tâtons, Toujours Moi and Jardin Secret. She is best known for her 1993 single "Sensualité", a hit in France in 1994.
Raymond van het Groenewoud is a Belgian musician. He was born in Schaerbeek, of Dutch descent, and he sings primarily in Dutch. His biggest hits include "Vlaanderen Boven", "Meisjes", "Je Veux de l'Amour", "Zjoske Schone Meid" and "Liefde voor Muziek". He refers to himself as a musician but also a poet, philosopher and clown.
Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created in 1995 on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Two parallel sets of charts are concurrently produced and published; one is on behalf of Belgium's mainly Dutch-speaking Flanders region, and the other catering to the nation's mainly French-speaking region of Wallonia.
TC Matic was a Belgian rock band founded in 1980 in Brussels. Centered on singer Arno Hintjens and guitarist Jean-Marie Aerts, the band played a kind of music sometimes referred to as "eurorock", containing various styles including new wave, blues, funk, hard rock, avant-garde and French chanson. The band released four studio albums and attained a measure of commercial and popular success, and disbanded in 1986.
Paul van Haver, better known by his stage name Stromae, is a Belgian singer, rapper, songwriter and producer. He is mostly known for his music blending hip hop and electronic music. Stromae came to wide public attention in 2009 with his song "Alors on danse", which became a number one in several European countries. In 2013, his second album Racine carrée was a commercial success, selling two million copies in France and yielding chart-topping singles "Papaoutai" and "Formidable".
Belgium participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song "Envie de vivre" written by Silvio Pezzuto. The song was performed by Nathalie Sorce. The Belgian entry for the 2000 contest in Stockholm, Sweden was selected through the national final Finale Nationale Concours Eurovision de la Chanson 2000, organised by the Walloon broadcaster Radio Télévision Belge de la Communauté Française (RTBF). In the final on 18 February 2000 which featured ten competing entries, "Envie de vivre" performed by Nathalie Sorce was selected as the winner solely by public televoting, receiving 21,362 votes.
The discography of Belgian singer-songwriter Stromae consists of three studio albums, one extended play, 21 singles and five promotional singles.
Jean-Marie Aerts was a Belgian guitarist and producer, best known as the guitar player for TC Matic. Aerts was a session musician who had worked with Kaz Lux, Raymond van het Groenewoud, and Plastic Bertrand when he joined Arno Hintjens in TC Matic in 1980, replacing Paul Decoutere. He also produced the band's first three albums; during his tenure with the band he produced other artists' albums as well, including Luc van Acker's KAZ (1982) and Arbeid Adelt!'s ''Jonge Helden (1983). After TC Matic broke up he continued as a producer, working with artists including DJ DNA, Jo Lemaire, and the Urban Dance Squad, for whom he produced the groundbreaking debut album Mental Floss for the Globe. Aerts died on 20 April 2024, at the age of 72.
"Papaoutai" is a song written and performed by Belgian singer Stromae. The song was released as a digital download in Belgium on 13 May 2013 as the lead single from his second studio album Racine carrée (2013). The song peaked at number one in Belgium and France and became the best-selling single of 2013 in Belgium. A remix of the song featuring Angel Haze also appears on the album.
Balthazar is a Belgian indie pop/rock group. The band consists of Maarten Devoldere, Jinte Deprez, Simon Casier, Michiel Balcaen, and Tijs Delbeke, who all come from the areas of Kortrijk and Ghent (Flanders).
Putain is a French vulgarity meaning "whore" or "fuck".
Roland Van Campenhout or in short Roland is a Flemish blues musician.
Paul Decoutere, known under the name Paul Couter, was a Belgian guitarist. He played in Freckleface, Tjens Couter and TC Matic.
Multitude is the third studio album by Belgian musician Stromae, released through Mosaert on 4 March 2022. It is Stromae's first album since Racine carrée in 2013. Multitude includes various music styles from different cultures, as seen in "Santé" and "L'enfer". During an interview with TF1, he stated that his album was influenced by the frequent travelling he and his mother would do.
"Oh La La La" is a 1981 song by Belgian rock band TC Matic. Written by Arno Hintjens, Ferre Baelen and Rudy Cloet, it appeared on their album TC Matic (1981) and was also released as a single, with "Dancing Thoughts" as the B-side. "Oh La La La" became a huge club hit, concert favorite and was always considered both the band as well as Arno Hintjens' signature song.
Events in the year 2022 in Belgium.
Camille Dhont, also known as Camille is a Belgian singer and actress.
