"Joe le taxi" | |||||||||
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Single by Vanessa Paradis | |||||||||
from the album M&J | |||||||||
B-side | "Varvara Pavlovna" "Joe el taxi" (Spain) |
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Released |
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Format | 7" single, 12" single | ||||||||
Recorded | 1987 Local Studio, Rueil-Malmaison |
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Genre | Pop | ||||||||
Length | 3:54 | ||||||||
Label | Polydor, PolyGram | ||||||||
Writer(s) |
Étienne Roda-Gil (lyrics) Franck Langolff (music) |
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Producer(s) | Franck Langolff | ||||||||
Vanessa Paradis singles chronology | |||||||||
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"Joe le taxi" (English: "Joe the Taxi Driver") is a French song written by Franck Langolff and Étienne Roda-Gil for French singer Vanessa Paradis. It was later included in her debut album, M&J, which was released in 1988.
Paradis recorded the song in 1987, at the age of fourteen. It went on to top the singles chart in France for eleven weeks, and, uncommonly for a French-language song at that time, was released in the United Kingdom the following year, where it peaked at number three. The song was included in her debut album, M&J (short for "Marilyn & John"), which, although peaking at number thirteen in France, drew limited interest in the UK when it was issued in August 1988. The music video for the song was produced by Lili Balian, Jake Hertz, and Addie Calcagnini.
"Joe le taxi" is a song about a taxi driver, Joe, who works in Paris. The song emphasizes the notion that Joe seems to know all there is to know about the French capital including the whereabouts of all the little bars, all of the Parisian streets, the Seine, and bridges. The song's lyrics suggest that Joe enjoys drinking rum, has a passion for Latin music and his saxophone, and dreams of going to the Amazon. Spanish-Cuban bandleader Xavier Cugat and Peruvian exotica singer Yma Súmac are also referenced in the lyrics.
The video was directed by Jean-Sébastien Deligny in 1987, and begins by glimpsing the side of Joe's taxi (Chevrolet Nova), which is a New York taxi (dollar denominated taxi rates can be seen in black ink). The silhouettes of two men playing the saxophone in unison can be seen as well. The video then shows Joe in his taxi and afterwards, Paradis dancing to the beat of the song, next to a big yellow taxi similar to Joe's (she is wearing an oversized peach sweater with the words "Gross Stage" and the number twenty-six emblazoned across the front; she is also wearing grey pants).