Born in a Parisian suburb in a wealthy family, he had a happy childhood. His father owned a small business. In high school, influenced by the great chansonniers of his time Luis Mariano, Charles Aznavour and Gilbert Bécaud, he formed with classmates a band.
Studying at the Petit Conservatoire de Mireille, where Yves Duteil and Françoise Hardy had been discovered, he made his first single, Anatole in 1963. He meets Roland Vincent who becomes his regular composer. Michels first hit Chez Laurette the following year is from the musical he plays in 'Copains-Clopant' . In 1966 appears his album Inventaire 66, while he is opening act for Leny Escudero. As Jacques Brel, in 1967, provides a series of farewell performances in the Parisian music theater Olympia, Delpech is the support act. Johnny Stark, the impresario of Mireille Mathieu, decides to accompany him. Michel is touring as a supporting act along with Mireille, to the US and the USSR.
In 1968 he won the French Grand Prix du Disque with "Il ya des jours où on ferait mieux de rester au lit".
In 1969 he composed the song hippie Wight is Wight in French about the British Isle of Wight Festival that summer. It became a huge hit in France, Sandie Shaw covered it the following year. In 1970 he regrets the break-up of The Beatles in the song Et Paul chantait Yesterday, brings the album Un coup de pied dans la montagne and he breaks up with Johnny Stark.
In 1971 Delpech scored a European hit with Pour un flirt; even in Britain it reached the charts. Further chansons by him were Que Marianne était jolie (1972) and Les divorcés (1974), Le Chasseur (1974) and Le Loir-et-Cher (1977).
The following years Delpech devoted primarily to composing and writing lyrics. He had a comeback in 1983 with the single Animaux, animaux and his successful album Loin d'ici in 1985, followed in 1989 by J'étais un ange. In 1992 with Roland Vincent he made the album Les Voix du Brésil. Delpech then took a five year sabbatical.
From 1997 Delpech was particularly productive. J'étais un ange is the title of an album in 2000 that heralds a tour with musician friends such as Alain Chamfort, Charlélie Couture, Claude Nougaro, Marc Lavoine and Pierre Richard providing inspiration for the album Comme vous (2004) and Live -album Ce lundi-là au Bataclan (2004).
In 2006 he even released an album consisting of five CDs Delpech inventaires followed by Michel Delpech & ... Delpech with repertoire old and new and of musical contemporaries like Bénabar, Francis Cabrel, Alain Souchon, Cali, Laurent Voulzy, Julien Clerc and Clarika. In 2008 appeared a live DVD, Live au Grand Rex, which is widely acclaimed as an excellent live recording.
Delpech fought three years against throat cancer. On January 2, 2016 Delpech died in Paris
Bombay
Michel Delpech Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Des femmes en sari se baignent
Le soir descend, c'est la fкte de Holi
Devant la mer phosphorescente
Il y a des gens qui rient
En se lanзant de la peinture
Et des feux allumйs
Ce soir, on chante qu'on est vivant
Dans la lourde chaleur du port
Dans les rues envahies
De chariots et de mendiants
Dans les bazars du Fort Market
Ou la foule achиte le curry
Dans les immeubles en bois
Les cris et les clameurs
Bombay
Ton nom est dans mon coeur
Partout dans la poussiиre des rues
Des vaches et des chiens qui traоnent
Des bouchers, des barbiers et des poseurs de sangsues
Et des vieux chauffeurs de rickshaw
Des hommes qui se cramponnent
Aux wagons des tramways
On offre des cadeaux а la dйesse Kali
On coupe les cheveux
Dans les bas-fonds du centre ville
On vend de l'herbe et des filles
On voit les gens dormir par terre
Solitaires ou en famille
Ils passent la nuit dehors
Couchйs sur les trottoirs
On ne voit dans leurs yeux
Ni envie, ni malheur
Bombay
Ton nom est dans mon coeur
Ce matin le soleil se lиve
Sur la route de l'aйroport
Au dessus des slums et des baraques
Les Boeing passent tous les quarts d'heure
Bombay
Ton nom est dans mon coeur
Bombay
Ton nom est dans mon coeur.
The lyrics of Michel Delpech's song 'Bombay' paint a vivid picture of the bustling city in India, capturing both its beauty and its struggles. The first verse describes the scene of a festival called Holi, where women in saris are bathing in the phosphorescent sea while the cawing crows circle overhead. People are throwing paint on each other, and fires are being lit for later in the night. Throughout the song, we get a glimpse of the city's crowded streets, its markets, and its slums.
The second verse describes the variety of people and activities to be found in the city. Rickshaw drivers and tramway riders, street vendors, drug dealers, and prostitutes are all mentioned, and we see both the energy and the desperation of the city's inhabitants. The third verse brings us to the morning after the festival, as the planes pass overhead on their way to the airport. Throughout the song, the refrain repeats: "Bombay, ton nom est dans mon coeur" (Bombay, your name is in my heart), expressing the singer's affection for this complex, fascinating city.
Overall, the lyrics of 'Bombay' paint a picture of a city that is both chaotic and beautiful, full of energy and life but also poverty and struggle. Through its vivid imagery and emotional refrain, the song captures the complexity of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) and the love that many feel for this unique and fascinating place.
Line by Line Meaning
Les corbeaux crient dans le ciel rouge
Amidst a red sky, crows screech
Des femmes en sari se baignent
In saris, women bathe
Le soir descend, c'est la fкte de Holi
As evening sets, Holi festival begins
Devant la mer phosphorescente
By the glowing sea
Il y a des gens qui rient
There are people laughing
En se lanзant de la peinture
Throwing paint at each other
Et des feux allumйs
Lights are lit
Pour tout а l'heure quand il fera nuit
For later when it gets dark
Ce soir, on chante qu'on est vivant
Tonight, we sing that we are alive
Dans la lourde chaleur du port
In the heavy heat of the port
Dans les rues envahies
In the crowded streets
De chariots et de mendiants
Of carts and beggars
Dans les bazars du Fort Market
In the bazaars of the Fort Market
Ou la foule achиte le curry
Where the crowd buys curry
Dans les immeubles en bois
In wooden buildings
Les cris et les clameurs
Screams and shouts
Ton nom est dans mon coeur
Your name is in my heart
Partout dans la poussiиre des rues
Everywhere in the dust of the streets
Des vaches et des chiens qui traоnent
Cows and dogs loitering
Des bouchers, des barbiers et des poseurs de sangsues
Butchers, barbers, and leech sellers
Et des vieux chauffeurs de rickshaw
And old rickshaw drivers
Des hommes qui se cramponnent
Men clinging
Aux wagons des tramways
To the trams
On offre des cadeaux а la dйesse Kali
Gifts are offered to the goddess Kali
On coupe les cheveux
Hair is cut
Dans les bas-fonds du centre ville
In the slums of downtown
On vend de l'herbe et des filles
Selling drugs and girls
On voit les gens dormir par terre
People sleeping on the ground
Solitaires ou en famille
Alone or with family
Ils passent la nuit dehors
They spend the night outside
Couchйs sur les trottoirs
Lying on the sidewalks
On ne voit dans leurs yeux
We don't see in their eyes
Ni envie, ni malheur
Neither desire nor misery
Ce matin le soleil se lиve
This morning the sun rises
Sur la route de l'aйroport
On the way to the airport
Au dessus des slums et des baraques
Above the slums and shacks
Les Boeing passent tous les quarts d'heure
Boeings pass every quarter hour
Contributed by Kaelyn K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@pedrolita569
Quel talent, un humaniste. Michel était une âme sensible, peut-être trop pour ce monde ignoble ou nous vivons.
@patricebarge1638
C'c'est vrai, bravo pour vôtre réponse. Aujourd'hui tout le monde se fou de tout et des autres
@DominiqueBuchs
Quel homme qui a su rebondir, le diable n'a pas gagné, quelle belle chanson tellement réelle comme l'était Michel la simplicité et la bonté. Il a mérité de retrouver la femme qui la sauvé, aidé, aimer et accompagné jusqu'au bout.......❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
@johnspart5830
De l'élégante, du charme, vous nous manquez Michel Delpech ....
@faridnabti2889
Les larmes me viennent quand j'écoute cette chanson ,ça me renvoie toutes la misère du monde en pleine face ,et chanter par michel quel talent .
@kinnac
Superbe melodie paroles choisies un veritable chanteur
@nicocharl08
Quelle belle chanson !!! Et quelle classe !
@sylviadeprater8277
Magnifique chanson .
@61septembre
je ne me lasse pas d'écouter cette superbe chanson!!
@faridnabti2889
Moi aussi je l'écoute tous les jours, je m'en impregne car je vais essayer de la chanter en karaoké 😊😊😊