"J'en ai marre!" (English: "''I'm fed up!''") is a
song
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...
performed by French singer
Alizée
Alizée Lyonnet (''née'' Jacotey; born 21 August 1984), known professionally as Alizée, is a French singer, dancer and musician. She was born and raised in Ajaccio, Corsica.
She first became known with her winning performance in the talent s ...
, written by
Mylène Farmer
Mylène Jeanne Gautier (; born 12 September 1961), known professionally as Mylène Farmer (), is a Canadian-born French singer, songwriter, occasional actress, writer, and entrepreneur. Having sold more than 30 million records in France, she is ...
. Released in February 2003, the song is Alizée's fifth
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
as the lead artist, and was the first song from her second
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
''
Mes Courants Électriques''. It charted at #4 in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and # 2 in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
The release included the single version of the song followed by an instrumental version. Later on three remixes were made available in special editions of the single. Internationally, it was released as "I'm Fed Up!". In Japan, it was released as "Mon bain de mousse" ("My Foam Bath") along with a music video and a remix version of the song.
Background
Alizée told
MTV Spain
MTV is a Spanish pay television channel which focuses its programming on general entertainment and music. It was launched on 10 September 2000 and is owned by Paramount Global. It used to be available on the Spanish digital terrestrial television ...
that the song was released as her comeback single because of its upbeat sound.
[Interview with Alizée](_blank)
(in Spanish). MTV Spain
MTV is a Spanish pay television channel which focuses its programming on general entertainment and music. It was launched on 10 September 2000 and is owned by Paramount Global. It used to be available on the Spanish digital terrestrial television ...
. 8 April 2003.
Content
Internationally, the song was released as the English language translation and re-recording "I'm Fed Up!".
The title translates as "I'm fed up". The English translation is artistic rather than literal, lacking both the wordplay and some of the darkness of Mylène Farmer's French. In particular, the French "''extrémistes à deux balles''" may be translated as "cheap/worthless extremists" though to whom this refers is open to speculation. The French "''délits dociles''" is a pun which may mean "docile offence" or "docile delight", and also echoes "de lit", "of bed", but the translation does not attempt to render this and replaces it by a simple filler, "Twisting up my toes". The whinging big sister and the idiomatic French "annoying people who roll(drive) at 2km/h" of the chorus are both replaced by a different character, a stressed-out uncle, with various different but similarly annoying complaints.
The translation does however introduce some of its own novel English wordplay such as "I’m foamely ecstatic", which captures the playfulness and cross-line phrasing of the French the "mon etat aquatique" from another section of the song.
Live performances
The song is widely noted for its live TV performance routine which appeared on several French programmes as well as the UK's Top of the Pops. This featured distinctive choreography featuring a section of notable hip movement which, amongst other reactions, inspired the female Night Elf dance emote in the popular international video game ''
World of Warcraft
''World of Warcraft'' (''WoW'') is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. Set in the ''Warcraft'' fantasy universe, ''World of Warcraft'' takes place within the world of Azeroth ...
''.
Music video
The video, filmed on 4 February 2003 and directed by
Olivier Megaton
Olivier is the French form of the given name Oliver (given name), Oliver. It may refer to:
* Olivier (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Olivier (surname), a list of people
* Château Olivier, a Bordeaux winery
*Olivier, Loui ...
, premiered 19 February 2003 on
M6. It is the first video for a song from Alizée's second album. During the filming of the clip, the artist harmed her knees due to lack of appropriate protection, which led to a swelling.
In the video, Alizée, dressed in a red jumpsuit, is enclosed in a glass cubicle, big enough for her to move freely; this scene represents a
redfish
Redfish is a common name for several species of fish. It is most commonly applied to certain deep-sea rockfish in the genus ''Sebastes'', red drum from the genus ''Sciaenops'' or the reef dwelling snappers in the genus ''Lutjanus''. It is also app ...
swimming on an
aquarium
An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...
.
Some scenes show her creeping against the glass wall, some show her throwing a tennis ball towards the wall; one particular scene shows her throwing a camera to the ground and smashing it in the process. Throughout the video, water is poured into the cubicle, making Alizée wet. In the middle of the video, i.e. towards the final chorus, Alizée punches the cubicle and it breaks.
Formats and track listings
French CD Single
#"J'en ai marre !" – 4:35
#"J'en ai marre !" (Instrumental Mix) – 5:05
French CD maxi single
#"J'en ai marre !" (Single Version) – 4:35
#"J'en ai marre !" (Soft Skin Club Mix) – 7:40
#"J'en ai marre !" (Bubbly Club Remix) – 7:50
#"J'en ai marre !" (My Goldfish is Under me Remix) – 3:40
French 12" vinyl single
A Side:
#"J'en ai marre !" (Soft Skin Club Mix) – 7:40
B Side:
#"J'en ai marre !" (Bubbly Club Remix) – 7:50
#"J'en ai marre !" (My Goldfish is Under me Remix) – 3:40
Charts and sales
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
See also
*
Viva_la_Vida
"Viva la Vida" (, ; ) is a song by British rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, ''Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends'' (2008). The lyrics to the song contain historical and Christian refe ...
References
{{authority control
2003 singles
Alizée songs
Songs with lyrics by Mylène Farmer
2003 songs