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.
J’attendrai
Jean Sablon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Le jour et la nuit
J'attendrai toujours
Ton retour
J′attendrai
Car l'oiseau qui s'enfuit
Vient chercher l′oubli
Le temps passe et court
En battant tristement
Dans mon coeur si lourd
Et pourtant
J′attendrai
Ton retour
Reviens bien vite
Les jours sont froids
Et sans limites
Les nuits sans toi
Quand on se quitte
On oublie tout
Mais revenir est si doux
Si ma tristess
Peut émouvoir
Avec ivresse
Reviens un soir
Et dans mes bras
Tout s'oubliera
Car l′oiseau qui s'enfuit
Vient chercher l′oubli
Dans son nid
Le temps passe et court
En battant tristement
Dans mon coeur si lourd
Et pourtant
J'attendrai
Ton retour
The lyrics of Jean Sablon's song J'attendrai tell the story of a person patiently waiting for the return of their loved one. The singer states that they will wait day and night for their loved one's return, hopeful that they will eventually come back to them. The metaphor of the bird seeking refuge in its nest is used to convey the idea that the singer's loved one is seeking comfort or solace elsewhere, but will eventually return to them.
As time passes, the singer feels the weight of their sadness, but they are determined to wait for their loved one's return, despite the difficulties that may arise. The longing for their loved one is so intense that even the nights are unbearable without them. The singer recognizes that forgetting each other might be easy, but coming back to each other is much sweeter.
The singer asks their loved one to return quickly, expressing that the days are cold and the nights are endless without them. However, if their return is delayed, the singer states that they will wait patiently, hoping that the person they love will eventually come back to them. The song ends on the same metaphor of the bird seeking refuge in its nest, suggesting that the singer's love will eventually find its way back to them.
Line by Line Meaning
J′attendrai
I will wait
Le jour et la nuit
Day and night
J'attendrai toujours
I will always wait
Ton retour
For your return
Car l'oiseau qui s'enfuit
Because the bird that flies away
Vient chercher l′oubli
Seeks oblivion
Dans son nid
In its nest
Le temps passe et court
Time passes and runs
En battant tristement
Sadly beating
Dans mon coeur si lourd
In my heavy heart
Et pourtant
And yet
J′attendrai
I will wait
Ton retour
For your return
Reviens bien vite
Come back quickly
Les jours sont froids
The days are cold
Et sans limites
And without limit
Les nuits sans toi
The nights without you
Quand on se quitte
When we part
On oublie tout
We forget everything
Mais revenir est si doux
But to come back is so sweet
Si ma tristess
If my sadness
Peut émouvoir
Can move
Avec ivresse
With intoxication
Reviens un soir
Come back one evening
Et dans mes bras
And in my arms
Tout s'oubliera
Everything will be forgotten
Car l'oiseau qui s'enfuit
Because the bird that flies away
Vient chercher l′oubli
Seeks oblivion
Dans son nid
In its nest
Le temps passe et court
Time passes and runs
En battant tristement
Sadly beating
Dans mon coeur si lourd
In my heavy heart
Et pourtant
And yet
J'attendrai
I will wait
Ton retour
For your return
Writer(s): Olivieri Dino, Poterat Louis Eugene Bernard, Rastelli Giuseppe Nino
Contributed by Avery F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Matthew Allen
J'attendrai
Le jour et la nuit, j'attendrai toujours
Ton retour
J'attendrai
Car l'oiseau qui s'enfuit vient chercher l'oubli
Dans son nid
Le temps passe et court
En battant tristement
Dans mon cœur si lourd
Et pourtant, j'attendrai
Ton retour
Reviens biens vite, les jours sont froids,
Et sans limite, les nuits sans toi,
Quand on se quitte, on oublie tout
Mais revenir est si doux
Si ma tristesse peut t'émouvoir
Avec ivresse, reviens un soir
Et dans mes bras
Tout s'oubliera
j'attendrai toujours
Ton retour
Car l'oiseau qui s'enfuit vient chercher l'oubli
Dans son nid
Le temps passe et court
En battant tristement
Dans mon cœur si lourd
Et pourtant, j'attendrai
Ton retour
infrantasi
Reviens biens vite, les jours sont froids,
Et sans limite, les nuits sans toi,
Quand on se quitte, on oublie tout
Mais revenir est si doux
Si ma tristesse peut t'émouvoir
Avec ivresse, reviens un soir
Et dans mes bras
Tout s'oubliera
infrantasi
And the refrain:
J'attendrais,
Le jour et la nuit, j'attendrais toujours,
Ton retour,
J'attendrais.
Car l'oiseau qui s'enfuit vient chercher l'oubli,
Dans son nid
Le temps passe et court,
En battent tristement
Dans mon coeur plus doux,
Et pourtant, j'attendrais,
Sans retour.
infrantasi
Here's the words to the bridge section that 1948alt requested:
Reviens bien vite, les jours sont froid,
Et sans limite, les nuits sans toi,
Quand on se quitte, on oublie tout,
Mais revenir est si doux.
Si ma tristesse peut t'émouvoir,
Avec ivresse, reviens un soir,
Et dans mes bras
Tout s'oubliera.
Matthew Allen
J'attendrai
Le jour et la nuit, j'attendrai toujours
Ton retour
J'attendrai
Car l'oiseau qui s'enfuit vient chercher l'oubli
Dans son nid
Le temps passe et court
En battant tristement
Dans mon cœur si lourd
Et pourtant, j'attendrai
Ton retour
Reviens biens vite, les jours sont froids,
Et sans limite, les nuits sans toi,
Quand on se quitte, on oublie tout
Mais revenir est si doux
Si ma tristesse peut t'émouvoir
Avec ivresse, reviens un soir
Et dans mes bras
Tout s'oubliera
j'attendrai toujours
Ton retour
Car l'oiseau qui s'enfuit vient chercher l'oubli
Dans son nid
Le temps passe et court
En battant tristement
Dans mon cœur si lourd
Et pourtant, j'attendrai
Ton retour
Lilana Castaneda
Maravillosa melodía, con un dejo de tristeza y nostalgia imprimida en ella. Trae a mi memoria el recuerdo de la voz de mi madre cantándola. Me encanta escucharla aún en éste tiempo que ha olvidado el verdadero sentimiento del amor!
Meredith Foster
One of those iconic, nostalgic ballads of the 2nd world war that will always live on in history. A beautiful song touchingly sung.
rosa adelina croharé
que recuerdo hermoso mi padre siempre lo escuchaba cuando venia a argentina ya que nosotros somos de familia francesa y a el le encantaba
Sheila Skinner
Listening in a small village in Spain at the beginning of a New Year 2021, thinking of all those parted and separated by Covid 19 . Hope you see your loved ones soon. This to me is one of the most poignant love songs ever, does it matter it's over 80 years old, not a bit, good is good and this is perfection. Happy New Year. Bon Annee. Sheila SPAIN.
roger k
Beautiful first heard this 20 years ago still love it
Gydinglight12
Crosby, Sablon, and Russ Columbo; they sounded a lot alike. What a show they must be doing together in the Beyond, along with Rudy Valley, Carlos Gardel, and M. Fogg as special guests for a set. Wow!
Rebecca E.
And Yves Montand as well.
AZ13105
Just found an old letter from my father to his mother written in 1943, in which he mentions this beautiful song. It was a sign of the times - melancholy ... sadness ... and yearnings for peace and love.
José Alberto Méndez S
Wow!! What story!! That old letter is today a family treasure!! Keep it, guard it, and show it to your kids!!