The son of a composer, with brothers and sisters who had successful careers of their own in musical entertainment, Jean Sablon studied piano at the Lyceé Charlemagne in Paris. He left before graduating to enroll at the Paris Conservatoire in order to concentrate on a vocal career. He started in the cabarets of Paris at the age of 17, and was subsequently accompanied on his first album by the pianist/composer Mireille, whose song Couchés dans le foin became a great success. Later, he partnered the wildly popular Mistinguett at the Casino de Paris and boosted his career considerably. He was the first cabaret singer to use a microphone in his stage act. In the 1920s he spent time in Brazil where his recordings remain extremely popular today.
In 1937 he won the Grand Prix du Disque for the song "Vous qui passez sans me voir," written for him by Charles Trenet and Johnny Hess. That same year, he went to the United States, where he sang on live radio broadcasts for CBS and made several records in the English language. On Broadway, he worked with luminaries such as Cole Porter and George Gershwin. He returned to Paris but with the German occupation of France in World War II, he went back to America for the duration.
Jean Sablon became one of the most widely acclaimed male French singers, considered second only in overall lifetime popularity to Maurice Chevalier. His records sold in the millions around the world and he is frequently referred to as the French equivalent of America's Bing Crosby. During his career, he recorded with some of the world's top musicians, including Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli. Sablon is credited with arranging Reinhardt's debut in a fashionable cabaret in 1933. He is also recognized for his talents as a lyricist and a composer. Sablon appeared in a number of motion pictures and television films performing as a vocalist or pianist, his last coming in 1984 when he sang "April in Paris" in Mistral's Daughter, the popular American TV miniseries filmed in France.
Jean Sablon died in 1994 and was interred in the Cimetière du Montparnasse in Paris.
C'est si bon
Jean Sablon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mais de plus belle, il n'en est pas pour moi.
Elle est vraiment toute la joie du monde.
Ma vie commence dès que je la vois
Et je fais "Oh!",
Et je fais "Ah!".
C'est si bon
De partir n'importe ou,
Bras dessus, bras dessous,
En chantant des chansons.
C'est si bon
De se dir' des mots doux,
Des petits rien du tout
Mais qui en disent long.
En voyant notre mine ravie
Les passants, dans la rue, nous envient.
C'est si bon
De guetter dans ses yeux
Un espoir merveilleux
Qui donne le frisson.
C'est si bon,
Ces petit's sensations.
Ça vaut mieux qu'un million,
Tell'ment, tell'ment c'est bon.
Vous devinez quel bonheur est le nôtre,
Et si je l'aim' vous comprenez pourquoi.
Elle m'enivre et je n'en veux pas d'autres
Car elle est tout's les femmes à la fois.
Ell' me fait: "Oh!". Ell' me fait: "Ah!".
C'est si bon
De pouvoir l'embrasser
Et pui de r'commencer
A la moindre occasion.
C'est si bon
De jouer du piano
Tout le long de son dos
Tandis que nous dansons.
C'est inouï ce qu'elle a pour séduire,
Sans parler de c'que je n'peux pas dire.
C'est si bon,
Quand j'la tiens dans mes bras,
De me dir'que tout ça
C'est à moi pour de bon.
C'est si bon,
Et si nous nous aimons,
Cherchez pas la raison:
C'est parc'que C'est si bon,
C'est parce que C'est si bon,
C'est parce que C'est si bon.
These lyrics from Jean Sablon's song "C'est si bon" express a deep sense of joy and contentment that the singer feels in the company of his beloved. The first stanza describes the singer's admiration for his lover, stating that she may not be the blondest, but she is the most beautiful to him. He notes that her presence brings happiness to his life and that he cannot help but exclaim "Oh!" and "Ah!" in joy when he sees her.
The second stanza celebrates the simple pleasures of being together, such as walking arm in arm and singing songs. The singer revels in the sweetness of exchanging tender words and gestures, even if they seem small and insignificant to others. He notes that even strangers on the street envy the happy couple when they see their joyful expressions.
The third stanza is a more intimate revelation of the deep connection that the singer shares with his lover. He describes the thrill he feels when he looks into her eyes and senses the promise of unspoken wonders. He also alludes to a physical attraction, stating that he finds it intoxicating to embrace her and to run his fingers along her spine while they dance. The singer concludes by emphasizing the indescribable pleasure of being in love, asserting that there is no need for explanations or justifications - it simply feels good.
Line by Line Meaning
Je ne sais pas s'il en est de plus blonde,
I don't know if there's anyone blonder than her,
Mais de plus belle, il n'en est pas pour moi.
But there's no one more beautiful than her in my eyes.
Elle est vraiment toute la joie du monde.
She is truly the joy of the world.
Ma vie commence dès que je la vois
My life begins the moment I see her
Et je fais "Oh!",
And I say 'Oh!'
Et je fais "Ah!".
And I say 'Ah!'
C'est si bon
It's so good
De partir n'importe ou,
To go anywhere,
Bras dessus, bras dessous,
Arm in arm,
En chantant des chansons.
Singing songs.
C'est si bon
It's so good
De se dir' des mots doux,
To say sweet nothings
Des petits rien du tout
About nothing in particular,
Mais qui en disent long.
But which say a lot.
En voyant notre mine ravie
Seeing our happy faces,
Les passants, dans la rue, nous envient.
The passersby on the street envy us.
C'est si bon
It's so good
De guetter dans ses yeux
To watch for that wonderful hope
Un espoir merveilleux
That gives us goosebumps.
Qui donne le frisson.
That makes our hearts skip a beat.
C'est si bon,
It's so good,
Ces petit's sensations.
These little sensations.
Ça vaut mieux qu'un million,
It's worth more than a million,
Tell'ment, tell'ment c'est bon.
So, so good.
Vous devinez quel bonheur est le nôtre,
You can guess how happy we are,
Et si je l'aim' vous comprenez pourquoi.
And if I love her, you understand why.
Elle m'enivre et je n'en veux pas d'autres
She intoxicates me, and I don't want anyone else
Car elle est tout's les femmes à la fois.
Because she is every woman at once.
Ell' me fait: "Oh!". Ell' me fait: "Ah!".
She makes me say 'Oh!'. She makes me say 'Ah!'
C'est si bon
It's so good,
De pouvoir l'embrasser
To be able to kiss her,
Et pui de r'commencer
And then to start over
A la moindre occasion.
At any opportunity.
C'est si bon
It's so good,
De jouer du piano
To play the piano
Tout le long de son dos
All the way down her back,
Tandis que nous dansons.
While we dance.
C'est inouï ce qu'elle a pour séduire,
It's incredible what she has to seduce,
Sans parler de c'que je n'peux pas dire.
Not to mention what I can't say.
C'est si bon,
It's so good,
Quand j'la tiens dans mes bras,
When I hold her in my arms,
De me dir'que tout ça
To think that all of this
C'est à moi pour de bon.
Is truly mine.
C'est si bon,
It's so good
Et si nous nous aimons,
And if we love each other,
Cherchez pas la raison:
Don't look for the reason:
C'est parc'que C'est si bon,
It's because it's so good,
C'est parce que C'est si bon,
It's because it's so good,
C'est parce que C'est si bon.
It's because it's so good.
Writer(s): Ange Betti, Henri Betti, Andre Hornez
Contributed by Eli V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.