The song "Le Coureur" (The Runner) by Jean-Jacques Goldman tells the story of a young boy who used to run on the beach, living a carefree life, in touch with nature, and connected to his ancestors. He mentions running barefoot, just like his ancestors did. However, one day, there is a strange man with a stopwatch on the beach, and the boy feels like he is being observed and measured. Later that evening, the boy returns home to find his parents waiting for him, and the strange man is sitting at the table. There are tears in his mother's eyes, and the mention of dollars and signatures suggests that some kind of transaction or agreement has taken place. The boy then boards a plane and leaves behind his former life. He arrives in a cold city full of tourists and cars, detached from his previous existence. He becomes subjected to an intense training regimen, where he is treated like a racehorse, including being touched, measured, and tested in various ways. He is given a number and forced to compete against others, running in circles with nails in his shoes to damage the ground. However, he reminisces about the beach he used to run on and how he used to caress the earth. The lyrics also touch upon the sacrifices and intense training involved in pursuing a competitive career, to win against others and beat time itself. The strange affection from the crowd, achieving success on podiums, the competitiveness, the pursuit of fame, and wealth are all mentioned. In the end, the protagonist reflects on how the chance encounter with the strange man and the subsequent path he took has made him a stranger everywhere. He questions whether this is a good or bad thing, but ultimately accepts that this is how life is. Overall, "Le Coureur" speaks to the conflict between the purity and simplicity of a natural, carefree life and the demands and sacrifices of pursuing success and societal expectations. It explores themes of identity, nostalgia, ambition, and the impact of external pressures on an individual's personal journey.
