Michèle Torr (born Michelle Cléberte Tort 7 April 1947) is a French singer … Read Full Bio ↴Michèle Torr (born Michelle Cléberte Tort 7 April 1947) is a French singer and author, best known in non-Francophone countries for her participation in the Eurovision Song Contests of 1966 and 1977.

Born in Pertuis, Vaucluse, Torr won her first singing contest at age fifteen, in 1962, winning the first year's On Chante dans mon Quartier contest in Avignon. Michèle was a tall beautiful woman with actress-like expression, and easily wins the audience over by singing the Édith Piaf song Exodus. Mireille Mathieu was runner-up that year with Les cloches de Lisbonne by Maria Candido. Then in 1963, at age sixteen, Michèle won a recording contract with the Mercury label, and opened for Jacques Brel at the Paris Olympia. She released three EPs (four songs each) throughout 1964, which were aimed at radio and juke-box play. Torr's release of Dans mes bras, oublie ta peine in 1964 was a big hit. Further releases of both original French material, and French covers of British and American hits, proved to be hit and miss. This setting the tone for Torr's career throughout the 60's, as she tried to find her niche. The Mercury contract ended in 1972.

Torr had continued to record and release singles during the early and mid 1970s like Une vague bleue, a big hit, but she achieved the biggest successes of her career at the end of the decade with Emmène-moi danser ce soir, La séparation and Discomotion. Through the 1980s she continued to release successful singles and albums and was a regular on television. Her career stalled in the 1990s, with much less new material being released, although compilations of earlier work kept her in the public eye.

On 3 March 2008, she released her album Ces années-là on the Sony BMG Import label.

On 12 November 2012, she released an album of religious songs Chanter c'est Prier on the Sony Music France S.M.A.R.T. label.

As of 2015, She continues to tour worldwide on the French music nostalgia circuit, with almost a concert a month.

Midnight Blue En Irlande
Michèle Torr Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Midnight blue
Dans l'église à genoux
Je pense aux années bleues
Où nous étions heureux

Midnight blue
C'est juste un rendez-vous
C'est comme un oiseau bleu

Qui vole entre nous deux

Midnight et il pleut
Au ciel d'Irlande
Je me demande
Qui peut être heureux

Midnight blue
En souvenir de nous
J'écoute l'orgue d'un fou
Qui joue un peu pour nous.

Midnight et il pleut
Au ciel d'Irlande
Où la légende
Parle de nous deux.

Midnight blue
Ces larmes sur mes joues

Ce n'est qu'un peu de pluie
Qui passe sur ma vie.

Overall Meaning

In “Midnight Blue en Irlande,” Michèle Torr sings about the memory of a love that has faded. The song begins with Torr in a church, thinking about the “midnight blue” years when she was happy with her lover. She compares their present situation, where they are meeting up just for a date, to a blue bird that flies between them. Torr wonders who can truly be happy during this midnight hour when it’s raining in Ireland.

The song picks up with the sound of an organ, and Torr remembers her past with the lover. She listens to the music, reflecting on the times when they were happy together. Tears fall down her cheeks, but she comforts herself with the thought that they are just like the rain that passes through her life.

Overall, the song reflects a sense of longing for a lost love. The imagery of “midnight blue” and rain adds a sense of melancholy to the lyrics, and the use of the organ adds to the feeling of nostalgia. Torr’s voice is emotive, and the lyrics are simple but effective in conveying the feeling of missing someone.

Line by Line Meaning

Midnight blue
Describing the color of the night sky

Dans l'église à genoux
Kneeling in a church

Je pense aux années bleues
Thinking about happier times

Où nous étions heureux
When we were happy together

C'est juste un rendez-vous
It's only a meeting

C'est comme un oiseau bleu
It's like a blue bird

Qui vole entre nous deux
That flies between us

Midnight et il pleut
Midnight and it's raining

Au ciel d'Irlande
In the Irish sky

Je me demande
I wonder

Qui peut être heureux
Who can be happy