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.
Vous qui passez sans me voir
Jean Sablon Lyrics
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Sans même me dire bonsoir
Donnez-moi un peu d'espoir ce soir
J'ai tant de peine
Vous, dont je guette un regard
Pour quelle raison, ce soir passez-vous sans me voir
Un mot, je vais le dire "je vous aime"
C'est ridicule, c'est bohème
Vous, qui passez sans me voir
Me donnerez-vous ce soir
Un peu d'espoir?
Les souvenirs sont là pour m'étouffer
De larmes, de fleurs, de baisers
Oui je revois les beaux matins d'avril
Nous vivions sous les toits tout en haut de la ville
Vous qui passez sans me voir
Vous, qui passez sans même me dire bonsoir
Donnez-moi un peu d'espoir ce soir
J'ai tant de peine
Vous, dont je guette un regard
Pour quelle raison, ce soir passez-vous sans me voir
Un mot, je vais le dire, "je vous aime"
C'est ridicule, c'est bohème
C'est jeune et c'est triste aussi
Vous, qui passez sans me voir
Sans me donner d'espoir
Adieu, bonsoir!
These lyrics are a plea for attention and affection from someone who is constantly ignored by the person they admire. The song captures the feeling of a hopeless romantic who longs for a single moment of recognition from their beloved. The lyrics are poetic and melancholic, evoking feelings of unrequited love and the pain that comes with it.
The first stanza of the song talks about the singer's desperate desire for the person they love to acknowledge their existence. They are hurt by the fact that this person doesn't even say hello to them and feel like they are invisible. They ask for a little bit of hope, a sign that they might have a chance with this person. They long to hear the words "I love you" but they recognize how ridiculous and Bohemian that sounds.
The second stanza is a lament about memories that torment the singer. They remember the good times they had with this person and how happiness seemed so close. They recall the spring mornings they spent together and they lived in a cozy attic in the city. The singer is haunted by these memories and they intensify their feelings of pain and longing.
In summary, the song is a heart-wrenching confession by a person who is obsessed with someone they can't have. They are deeply in love and desperate for attention, but the object of their affection doesn't even bother with them. The song is a lament about the painful nature of unrequited love and the emotional toll it takes.
Line by Line Meaning
Vous, qui passez sans me voir
You, who walk by without noticing me
Sans même me dire bonsoir
Without even saying hello
Donnez-moi un peu d'espoir ce soir
Give me a little hope tonight
J'ai tant de peine
I have so much sorrow
Vous, dont je guette un regard
You, whose glance I am waiting for
Pour quelle raison, ce soir passez-vous sans me voir
Why are you passing by without seeing me tonight?
Un mot, je vais le dire "je vous aime"
One word, I will say it: "I love you"
C'est ridicule, c'est bohème
It's absurd, it's bohemian
C'est jeune et c'est triste aussi
It's young and it's also sad
Me donnerez-vous ce soir
Will you give me tonight
Un peu d'espoir?
A little hope?
Les souvenirs sont là pour m'étouffer
Memories are there to suffocate me
De larmes, de fleurs, de baisers
Of tears, flowers, kisses
Oui je revois les beaux matins d'avril
Yes, I see again the beautiful April mornings
Nous vivions sous les toits tout en haut de la ville
We lived under the roofs at the top of the city
Sans me donner d'espoir
Without giving me hope
Adieu, bonsoir!
Goodbye, good evening!
Lyrics © RAOUL BRETON EDITIONS, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Laurent Hess, Raoul Joseph Auguste Breton, Charles Louis Trenet
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind