Dassin was born in New York City to Jules Dassin (Yiddish actor and film noir director) and BĂ©atrice Launer. He began his childhood first in New York and Los Angeles, California. However after his father became a victim of the anti-communist policies of Senator Joseph McCarthy, he and his family moved from place to place across Europe.
After studying at Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland, Dassin moved back to the United States to go to college at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan after doing very well on his bachelor's exam. After college, he moved back again to France where, while working at a radio station, a record label convinced him to begin to record his songs.
By the early 1970s, Dassin's songs topped the charts in France and he became well known. Probably as a recognition of his parents' left leanings, Dassin's records were officially released in the USSR. However, the political views of his parents were not well known to the general public in the USSR, and Dassin's popularity in the USSR should be connected to his talent only. He was also a talented polyglot, recording songs in German, Spanish, Italian and Greek, as well as French and English.
He died of a heart attack during a vacation to Tahiti on August 20, 1980. He is buried at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.
Songs:Les Champs-ĂlysĂ©es ,L'Ă©tĂ© indien ,Ăa va pas changer le Monde ,Et si tu n'existais pas, Salut ....
Comment te dire
Joe Dassin Lyrics
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Il vient chauffer encore les feuilles mortes
Sur les derniers colchiques il s'abandonne
Avant que les froids de Novembre ne l'emporte
Toi, si tu veux comprendre la tendresse
Donne-toi comme lui, donne-toi
Mais comment te dire
L'amour sans amour n'est plus rien
Laisse-toi conduire
Et cherche Ă comprendre
Et reviens me tendre la main
{2x}
Vas regarder comment la terre aride
S'ouvre pour embrasser les grandes pluies d'été
Et quand tu l'auras vu, tu seras riche
Alors tu reviendras me chercher
Mais comment te dire
Mais comment t'apprendre
L'amour sans amour n'est plus rien
Laisse-toi conduire
Et cherche Ă comprendre
Et reviens me tendre la main
{3x}
The lyrics to Joe Dassin's song "Comment te dire" reflect upon the beauty of nature and how it can help us understand tenderness and love. The first verse describes the last rays of the autumn sun warming the dead leaves and fading flowers before winter takes over. The singer compares this fleeting warmth to tenderness and suggests that, to understand it, one must give oneself as fully as the sun gives itself to the dying plants.
The second verse encourages the listener to observe how the dry earth opens up to embrace the summer rains, creating a fertile ground for new life to grow. The singer believes that this is a metaphor for finding richness in life by opening up to love. The chorus repeats the message of the song: love without reciprocity is worthless and one must be open and receptive to it. The final line of the song, "and come back to me and take my hand," expresses a desire for the listener to join the singer on this journey of understanding and experiencing love.
Overall, the song is a reminder to cherish the fleeting moments of beauty and tenderness in life, to be open to love, and to seek it out actively.
Line by Line Meaning
Quand s'en va le dernier soleil d'automne
As the last autumn sun fades away
Il vient chauffer encore les feuilles mortes
It still warms the dead leaves
Sur les derniers colchiques il s'abandonne
On the last meadow saffrons, it rests
Avant que les froids de Novembre ne l'emporte
Before the cold of November takes over
Toi, si tu veux comprendre la tendresse
If you want to understand tenderness
Donne-toi comme lui, donne-toi
Give yourself like the sun, give yourself
Mais comment te dire
But how can I tell you
Mais comment t'apprendre
But how can I teach you
L'amour sans amour n'est plus rien
Love without love is nothing
Laisse-toi conduire
Let yourself be led
Et cherche Ă comprendre
And try to understand
Et reviens me tendre la main {2x}
And come back to me with outstretched hands
Vas regarder comment la terre aride
Go and see how the dry earth
S'ouvre pour embrasser les grandes pluies d'été
Opens up to embrace the heavy summer rain
Et quand tu l'auras vu, tu seras riche
And when you have seen it, you will be wealthy
Alors tu reviendras me chercher
So you will come back to me
Contributed by Sadie R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.