Bob Dylan and Françoise Hardy

In 1961, the French singer Maurice Chevalier went to New York for a few concerts, and he asked to a young singer to come with him; he was called Hugues Aufray; it was early in his career. In Greenwich Village, he met Peter, Paul & Mary, and he was introduced to Bob Dylan.

A few months later, Bob came to Paris to meet Hugues Aufray and as they were at some terrasse for to take a coffee, Bob saw a picture of Françoise Hardy, who also was in the early years of her career, with a great hit, 'Tous les garçons et les filles", more than 1.000.000 LPs sold in a few monthes. Bob asked few questions about this beautiful young girl.... When Bob wrote poems for the back of Another Side of Bob Dylan, there was one dedicated to Françoise Hardy (at the Seine edge...). At this time, Bob had yet to meet the singer.

In Olympia, on May 24th, 1966, Bob Dylan was on stage for his first concert in France - all of show-biz was there in the first row. François Hardy was there, and after the the first part of the show (acoustic), a friend of Bob went to Françoise Hardy, and said to her that Bob would not return to the stage until he could meet her.

So she went backstage and Bob asked her to meet him after the show at his hotel the famous "George V", the most expensive in Paris ... She was 22 years old, rather shy, and she did not really like this kind of party with so many people. In any case, Bob found her in the crowd, and she went in his bedroom only to listen to his new songs. Bob played at first "I Want You", which made her slightly uncomfortable, and the second was "Just Like A Woman".

After this time, Hardy and Dylan never saw each other again.

for françoise hardy
at the seine's edge
a giant shadow
of notre dame
seeks t' grab my foot
sorbonne students
whirl by on thin bicycles
swirlin' lifelike colors of leather spin
the breeze yawns food
far from the bellies
of erhard meetin' johnson
piles of lovers
fishing
kissing
lay themselves on their books. boats.
old men
clothed in curly mustaches
float on the benches
blankets of tourists
in bright red nylon shirts
with straw hats of ambassadors
-- Bob Dylan, from the liner notes to Another Side of Bob Dylan