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.
Stardust
Jean Sablon Lyrics
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Steals across the meadows of my heart
High up in the sky the little stars climb
Always reminding me that we're apart
You wander down the lane and far away
Leaving me a song that will not die
Love is now the stardust of yesterday
The music of the years gone by.
Sometimes I wonder, how I spend
The lonely nights
Dreaming of a song
The melody
Haunts my reverie
And I am once again with you
When our love was new
And each kiss an inspiration
But that was long ago
And now my consolation is in the stardust of a song
Besides the garden wall, when stars are bright
You are in my arms
The nightingale
Tells his fairytale
Of paradise, where roses grew
Though I dream in vain
In my heart it will remain
My stardust melody
The memory of love's refrain.
In the song "Stardust" by Jean Sablon, the lyrics explore the bittersweet feelings of nostalgia and heartbreak. The song begins with a description of the purple dusk of twilight time, which symbolizes the end of a day and the beginning of a long and lonely night. The singer is haunted by memories of lost love, and as the stars climb higher in the sky, they serve as a constant reminder of the distance between the two lovers. The lyrics express the unyielding nature of time, and how love that once was alive now exists only as a memory, preserved in the stardust of yesterday.
The second verse of the song reflects upon the singer's thoughts about how they spend their lonely nights. The lyrics speak of a song which haunts the singer's reverie, where they are taken back to the beginning of their relationship, where each kiss was an inspiration. However, as time has passed, the love they once shared has faded, and now the only consolation they have is in the stardust of a song. The final verse of "Stardust" portrays a dream world where the singer is reunited with their lost love among the stars. However, this is nothing more than a wishful fantasy, as the loneliness of the singer's reality still exists, and all that remains is the memory of love's refrain.
Line by Line Meaning
And now the purple dusk of twilight time
The sky is turning purple as the day comes to a close.
Steals across the meadows of my heart
I feel a sense of sadness as twilight sets in.
High up in the sky the little stars climb
The stars are slowly appearing in the sky.
Always reminding me that we're apart
The stars remind me that you are not here with me.
You wander down the lane and far away
You have left me and gone far away.
Leaving me a song that will not die
You have left me with a song that will always stay with me.
Love is now the stardust of yesterday
Our love is now just a memory.
The music of the years gone by.
Our love is a distant memory from the past.
Sometimes I wonder, how I spend
I often question how I spend
The lonely nights
The nights that I spend alone
Dreaming of a song
I dream of a song
The melody
The tune of the song
Haunts my reverie
It stays with me during my daydreams
And I am once again with you
In my dreams, I am with you again
When our love was new
When we first fell in love
And each kiss an inspiration
Every kiss felt magical and inspiring
But that was long ago
It's been a while since it happened
And now my consolation is in the stardust of a song
Now I find comfort in the memories of our love, preserved in a song.
Besides the garden wall, when stars are bright
By the garden wall, under the stars
You are in my arms
I hold you close to me
The nightingale
The bird known for its singing voice
Tells his fairytale
Sings a story so beautiful, it may be mistaken for a fairytale
Of paradise, where roses grew
The story is about a paradise where roses bloomed
Though I dream in vain
Although my dreams may never come true
In my heart it will remain
In my heart, the memory will stay
My stardust melody
The memory of our love, preserved in a song
The memory of love's refrain.
The memory of the melody that accompanied our moments of love.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: CHRISTOPHER GENTRY, JOHN HUTCHINSON DEAN, MATTHEW EVERITT, SIMON IAN WHITE, STUART BLACK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Zoox Coby
I like this version... it's easy to listen to ! Very relaxing and lightly, reminiscent is also very effective in allowing the lyrics and the melody to simply "be" - without forcing any enhanced artistic persuasion upon the listener.
We can simply, enjoy the pleasure of dreaming wistfully, if not poignantly... and, let that "lightness of being" blissfully carry us away