Beginning in 1931, she appeared in more than 110 films. She was one of France's great movie stars and her eight-decade career was among the longest in film history. She turned 100 in May 2017.
Darrieux was born in Bordeaux, France during World War I to a physician who was serving in the French Army. Her father died when she was seven years old. Raised in Paris, she studied the cello at the Conservatoire de Musique. At 13, she won a part in the musical film Le Bal (1931). Her beauty combined with her singing and dancing ability led to numerous other offers, and the film Mayerling (1936) brought her to fame.
In 1935, Darrieux married director/screenwriter Henri Decoin, who encouraged her to try Hollywood. She signed with Universal Studios to star in The Rage of Paris (1938) opposite Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Afterwards, she elected to return to Paris.
Under the German occupation of France during World War II, she continued to perform, a decision that was severely criticized by her compatriots. However, it is reported that her brother had been threatened with deportation by Alfred Greven, the manager of the German run film production company in occupied France, Continental. She got a divorce and then fell in love with Porfirio Rubirosa, a Dominican Republic diplomat and notorious womanizer. They married in 1942. His anti-Nazi opinions resulted in his forced residence in Germany. In exchange for Rubirosa's freedom, Darrieux agreed to make a promotional trip in Berlin. The couple lived in Switzerland until the end of the war, and divorced in 1947. She married scriptwriter Georges Mitsikidès in 1948, and they lived together until his death in 1991.
She gave a good performance in the 1951 MGM musical Rich, Young and Pretty. Joseph L. Mankiewicz lured her back to Hollywood to star in 5 Fingers (1952) opposite James Mason. Upon returning to France, she appeared in Max Ophüls' The Earrings of Madame de... (1953) opposite Charles Boyer, and The Red and the Black (1954) opposite Gérard Philippe. The next year she starred in Lady Chatterley's Lover, whose theme of uninhibited sexuality led to its being proscribed by Catholic censors in the United States.
During the late 1950s, she played a supporting role in her last American film, United Artists' epic Alexander the Great (1956) starring Richard Burton and Claire Bloom. In 1961 she went to England at the request of director Lewis Gilbert to star in The Greengage Summer opposite Kenneth More. In 1963, she starred in the romantic comedy La Robe Mauve de Valentine at the Chatelet Theatre in Paris. The play was adapted from the novel by Françoise Sagan. Then, in 1966, she played a memorable supporting role in Jacques Demy's musical The Young Girls of Rochefort. She is notable for being the only principal actor in any of Demy's film-musicals to sing her own songs. (All other actors had a separate person voice their singing parts.) During the 1960s she also was a concert singer.
In 1970, Darrieux replaced Katharine Hepburn in the Broadway musical Coco, based on the life of Coco Chanel, but the play, essentially a showcase for Hepburn, soon folded without her. In 1971 and 1972 she also appeared in the short-lived productions of Ambassador. In 1982, she worked again with Demy for his film Une chambre en ville, an opera-like musical melodrama reminiscent of the director's earlier masterpiece The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Once again, Darrieux provided her own vocals for her songs.
For her long service to the motion picture industry, in 1985 she was given an Honorary César Award. She continued to work, her career spanning eight decades, most recently providing the voice of the protagonist's grandmother in the animated feature, Persepolis (2007), which deals with the impact of the Islamic revolution on a girl's life as she grows to adulthood in Iran.
Danielle Darreux died on 17 October 2017 aged 100.
She was paid homage in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds (2009): when Shosanna Dreyfus is preparing to take the Nazis down, her assistant calls her Danielle Darrieux.
Les fleurs sont des mots d'amour
Danielle Darrieux Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Détient le secret de la vie...
C'est dans une main
Que d'autres croient lire un destin.
Moi, je ne retiens
Qu'un moyen,
Pour prédire au cœur
Le bonheur ;
Simple et très doux
Les fleurs sont des mots d'amour
Des mots plus tendres qu'un poème
Qui font comprendre sans discours
Au plus subtil comme au plus sourd
Le doux secret d'un cœur trop lourd.
Ce frais bouquet des beaux jours
Je l'ai fait pour celui que j'aime
Bouquet de soie et de velours
Où mon cœur exhale à son tour,
Parmi ces fleurs, des mots d'amour.
Ne questionnez plus
Les savants devins, les voyantes
Qui, sur l'inconnu
Prononcent des mots superflus
Respirez plutôt
Tendre et chaud
Ce troublant parfum
Qui demain
Saura vous charmer
Si vous m'aimez...
Les fleurs sont des mots d'amour
Des mots plus tendres qu'un poème
Qui font comprendre sans discours
Au plus subtil comme au plus sourd
Le doux secret d'un cœur trop lourd.
Monsieur gardez-le toujours
Que ce bouquet soit mon emblème
Qu'il vous apporte sans détour
Avec le parfum des beaux jours
Parmi ces fleurs, des mots d'amour.
The lyrics of "Les fleurs sont des mots d'amour" by Danielle Darrieux talk about the power and magic of flowers that can express love and feelings more profoundly than words or poems. The first verse introduces the idea that some people believe that the secret of life is held by the sky, whereas others rely on reading their destiny through a palm reading. However, the singer believes that there is a simple yet effective way to predict happiness, and that's through flowers, which can speak volumes and convey emotions without words.
In the chorus section, the singer explains that flowers are words of love, more tender than a poem, that can convey the deepest secrets of a heavy heart to anyone, regardless of their sensitivity or deafness. The flowers arranged delicately in a refreshing and colorful bouquet express the love the singer has for her loved one. As the lyrics continue, the singer urges the listener not to seek predictions or advice from fortune tellers or so-called savants, who only speculate on the unknown.
In the final verse, the singer expresses her desire for the recipient of the flowers to keep them always as a symbol of her love. Overall, "Les fleurs sont des mots d'amour" is a beautiful song that highlights the romantic and poetic nature of flowers as a symbol of love, beauty, and simplicity.
Line by Line Meaning
Le ciel pour certains
Détient le secret de la vie...
Some people believe that the sky holds the secret to life...
C'est dans une main
Que d'autres croient lire un destin.
While others believe that they can read their destiny in their hand.
Moi, je ne retiens
Qu'un moyen,
Pour prédire au cœur
Le bonheur ;
Il est entre nous
Simple et très doux
For me, there is only one way to predict happiness in the heart - it is simple and sweet, and it lies between us.
Les fleurs sont des mots d'amour
Des mots plus tendres qu'un poème
Qui font comprendre sans discours
Au plus subtil comme au plus sourd
Le doux secret d'un cœur trop lourd.
Flowers are words of love - they are tenderer than a poem, and they convey the sweet secret of a heavy heart to everyone, whether subtle or deaf, without the need for words.
Ce frais bouquet des beaux jours
Je l'ai fait pour celui que j'aime
Bouquet de soie et de velours
Où mon cœur exhale à son tour,
Parmi ces fleurs, des mots d'amour.
I made this fresh bouquet of beautiful days for the one I love, a bouquet of silk and velvet where my heart too breathes, among these flowers, words of love.
Ne questionnez plus
Les savants devins, les voyantes
Qui, sur l'inconnu
Prononcent des mots superflus
Respirez plutôt
Tendre et chaud
Ce troublant parfum
Qui demain
Saura vous charmer
Si vous m'aimez...
Stop questioning the learned diviners and the seers who speak in vain about the unknown. Instead, inhale the tender and warm, the unsettling fragrance that will tomorrow charm you if you love me...
Monsieur gardez-le toujours
Que ce bouquet soit mon emblème
Qu'il vous apporte sans détour
Avec le parfum des beaux jours
Parmi ces fleurs, des mots d'amour.
Sir, keep it always, let this bouquet be my emblem, let it bring you openly and with the fragrance of beautiful days, among these flowers, words of love.
Lyrics © WARNER CHAPPELL MUSIC FRANCE
Written by: Maurice YVAIN, LOUIS POTERAT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Charles Ramos
I loved listening to this beautiful song by Danielle Darrieux 💕🇫🇷 last night in Season 4 Episode 4 of the series Fargo!
shayne mangan
That's exactly where I heard it last nite, just finished S04.
Anopheles Now
ha, how I found this lovely song too. Ethelrida in that crazy nurse's kitchen.
Espoir Bel
une grande dame nous quitte mais sa divine voix restera à jamais dans nos cœurs ! Merci Madame pour ces 100 ans de grande classe et de talent absolu ! DIEU vous bénisse !
Mamynou Anne
Danielle Darieu une très belle artiste avec une voix superbe avec des films superbes et en ce temps là toutes naturelles ni lifting ni gonflées aux botox on aime revoir tous ces grands films avec plaisir elle a regagné le paradis des artistes.
Roland Thomasset
It was wartime but singers like Danielle Darieux kept up our morale, she and so many singers knew how to sing then.....and spoke words you could understand....I was 13 then. Elle mérite des fleurs a son tour....
Annie-france COHEN
quelle belle femme. et voix si cristalline. une merveille💖💖💖💖💖💖
annick legendre
chanson remplie de romantisme sublime..quelle belle époque.. hormis la guerre bien sur
marie hone
Bon anniversaire Madame Darrieux le 1er mai 2017 . Vos 100 ans me donnent beaucoup d'émotions .♥
stephan
MERVEILLE D ÉLÉGANCE ❤️
Et cette SUBLIME chanson a été enregistré le samedi 24 octobre 1942 .
Jour de la naissance de ma mère ❤️
Ma MERVEILLE 👼🌈💫❤️ qui a rejoint Danielle le 10 août 2020.
Anna Maddy Dasny 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹