Au début des années 1970, il fut d'abord comédien, chanteur et musicien pou… Read Full Bio ↴Au début des années 1970, il fut d'abord comédien, chanteur et musicien pour le groupe de théâtre La Quenouille bleue de l'UQAM, où il étudiait avec Pierre Huet et Robert Léger, qui firent partie de Beau Dommage par la suite.

Il a fait partie du groupe musical québécois Beau Dommage et poursuit une carrière solo.

Discographie

* 1977 : Méfiez-vous du grand amour
* 1979 : De Longueuil à Berlin
* 1983 : Sauvage
* 1985 : Bonsoir, mon nom est Michel Rivard et voici mon album double
* 1987 : Un trou dans les nuages
* 1989 : Michel Rivard
* 1992 : Le Goût de l'eau... et autres chansons naïves
* 1998 : Maudit Bonheur
* 2004 : Bonsoir... mon nom est toujours Michel Rivard et voici mon album quadruple (en spectacle intime...)
* 2004 : Simple
* 2006 : Confiance
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Michel Rivard (born September 27, 1951), is a singer-songwriter and musician from Quebec. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His father was an actor, Robert Rivard. Michel began his career at an early age appearing in a Canadian television series (Rue des Pignons) and in TV commercials.

Rivard's career as a writer and composer began in earnest when he became a member of the theatrical group Quenouille Bleue, established in 1970. Later, he became a member of Théâtre Sainfoin, when it was founded in 1973.

Beau Dommage and beyond

Four years later, in 1974, Rivard and other members of Théâtre Sainfoin, formed the group Beau Dommage (an old Québécois expression meaning "certainly" or "damn right"). Rivard wrote and composed for Beau Dommage.

Beau Dommage became a very popular group, and as a result of his songwriting ability Rivard's popularity increase as well. Perhaps his most popular song from this era is "La complainte du phoque en Alaska". Although Beau Dommage disbanded in 1978, there were reunion concerts in 1984 and 1994, both of which Rivard participated in. Characteristic of Rivard's creative energy, he also put out his first solo album in 1977, Méfiez-vous du grand amour.

In 1978, as a sign of his increased prestige, Michel opened for Maxime Forestier and was accompanist for Forestier at the Olympia in Paris. Although an unlikely pairing, it resulted in a continued friendship. Rivard released his second LP, De Longueuil à Berlin, in 1979; that year also marked the beginning of Rivard's appearance in a series of concerts in Paris.

The 1980s

The following years saw Rivard involved in various collaborations, including film collaborations. These film collaborations included roles in Les Enfants de Kennedy, and Maria Chapdelaine. He also wrote scores for films, such as André Melançon's L'Espace d'un été, and Jean-Michel Ribes's Rien ne va plus. He also acted playing the lead Yves Simoneau's Pourquoi M. Zolock s'intéresse-t-il tant à la bande dessinée? (Why is Mr. Zolock so interested in Comic Strips?) (1982). He joined the LNI (Ligue nationale d'improvisation [National Improvisation League]) in 1980 and performed for several years. Not wanting to miss an opportunity for some political humour, Rivard was a candidate for the satirical Rhinoceros Party of Canada in 1980 when he ran against former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

He returned to music in 1983 with the release of his third LP, Sauvage. This LP included "Schefferville, le dernier train", a tune that became quite popular and which was written for the film Le Dernier glacier. (Rivard also acted in this film). Rivard made a music video of another song on Sauvage: "Rumeurs sur la ville". It was directed by Louis Saia and André Gagnon and won the Félix Video Clip of the Year for 1985 – awarded at the ADISQ (Association du disque, de l'industrie du spectacle québécois et de la vidéo) award ceremonies.

During this time Rivard toured Quebec. He released a fourth LP, called Bonsoir... Mon nom est Michel Rivard et voici mon album double. This was a live recording made during his 1983–84 concerts. These live show recordings display his adeptness at comic improvisation as well as his musical creativity.

In December 1988 Rivard played the Convocation Hall in Toronto, Ontario. It was the first time in ten years that a Québécois sang in French there. Rivard continued to garner awards: In 1988 he won two more Félix awards "Concert of the Year" and "Male Singer of the Year." He also participated in concerts supporting political and humanitarian issues, among them: the Amnesty International concert "Human Rights Now!" along with Youssou N'Dour, Tracy Chapman, Bruce Springsteen, and others.

What was to become his most popular album, Un trou dans les nuages was issued in late 1987. It included songs that would be enduring hits for him: "Ma blonde et les poissons", "Libérer le trésor", "Je voudrais voir la mer", "Le privé", and "Un trou dans les nuages". Rivard received many awards for this album including the Charles-Cros Academie International Grand Prize.

Rivard released another album in 1989, Michel Rivard a compilation of greatest hits. He continued to perform concerts in Canada and Europe.

The 1990s

Rivard's seventh album Le goût de l'eau…et autres chansons naïves came out in 1992. It too became another award winning album for him and in 1993 Rivard performed at the Olympia theatre in Paris.

At this point in time Rivard's prominence as a creative musician and poetic lyricist with a broad humanitarian vision put him on a par with the two great performers of a previous Québécois generation, Gilles Vigneault and Félix Leclerc. Rivard's "Complainte du phoque en Alaska"' was one of the few songs recorded by Leclerc that Leclerc did not write himself. Rivard also shares with those two men, though more moderately, a concern and interest in Quebec's nationalist aspirations.

In 1998, Rivard released the haunting and personal Maudit Bonheur.

He had his own variety television show, Studio TV5, for a couple of years, where he invited musicians, songwriters, and singers that he enjoyed performing with and jammed with them.
[edit] The 2000s

Rivard's concert career continues and he also continues to perform in theatre. In 2002 his album Simple (a live concert album) came out, and in 2004 Bonsoir…mon nom est toujours Michel Rivard et voici mon album quadruple came out.

On August 5, 2007 Rivard performed the last show at the Montreal Spectrum. He had been the only act to perform over one hundred concerts at the venue.

Oh secourez-moi
Michel Rivard Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Secourez-moi les mains amicales
Chassez de moi les noctambules de mes solitudes
Conjurez les tourmentes où mon âme est leur proie rouge
Secourez-moi

Des fantômes blancs assoiffés dans leur antre
Vous les entendez, les chiens qui reviennent
Les marteaux répétition dans mon squelette

Secourez-moi

Comme on fait pour les noyés de l’eau noire
Qui passent sous le pont du Bout de l’Île
Dans le charroi morne des glaces et des soleils moirés
Secourez-moi

Et où glisse le ventre doux des vents frileux d’avril
Comme on fait pour l’enfant égaré
Alors que se flèchent dans ses eaux les scintillements
De la neige qui meurt sur les roches

Oh, secourez-moi
Secourez-moi
Ouh, les mains amicales

Secourez-moi les mains amicales
Par-dessus le fossé des damnations qui gestent
Et malgré les latitudes à nos voies
Secourez-moi

Des fantômes blancs assoiffés dans leur antre
Vous les entendez, les chiens qui reviennent
Les marteaux répétition dans mon squelette
Secourez-moi

Comme on fait pour les noyés de l’eau noire
Qui passent sous le pont du Bout de l’Île
Dans le charroi morne des glaces et des soleils moirés
Secourez-moi

Et où glisse le ventre doux des vents frileux d’avril
Comme on fait pour l’enfant égaré
Alors que se flèchent dans ses eaux les scintillements
De la neige qui meurt sur les roches

Oh, secourez-moi
Secourez-moi
Ouh, les mains amicales
Oh, secourez-moi
Secourez-moi

Ouh, les mains amicales
Oh, secourez-moi

Overall Meaning

In "Oh secourez-moi", Michel Rivard is pleading for help and support from those around him as he struggles with feelings of loneliness, fear, and despair. The first stanza speaks to his need for friendship and connection, and the desire to banish the shadows of isolation that threaten to overwhelm him. The second stanza brings in more vivid and haunting imagery of ghostly apparitions, dogs and hammers that seem to torment and haunt his very being.

The third stanza uses the metaphor of a drowning victim or a lost child to further emphasize his need for help and intervention to rescue him from his emotional turmoil. The final repetition of "oh, secourez-moi" is a desperate plea for the people around him to offer him the kind of supportive and caring relationship that might alleviate his distress.

Overall, "Oh secourez-moi" is a poignant and powerful song that highlights Michel Rivard's incredible talent for creating vivid, evocative lyrics that resonate deeply with listeners. It speaks to the universal human need for connection, support, and love, and reminds us of the importance of reaching out to those around us who may be struggling and in need of help.

Line by Line Meaning

Secourez-moi les mains amicales
Please help me with your friendly hands

Chassez de moi les noctambules de mes solitudes
Drive away the night wanderers from my loneliness

Conjurez les tourmentes où mon âme est leur proie rouge
Conjure up the storms where my soul is their red prey

Secourez-moi
Help me

Des fantômes blancs assoiffés dans leur antre
Thirsty white ghosts in their lair

Vous les entendez, les chiens qui reviennent
Do you hear the dogs coming back?

Les marteaux répétition dans mon squelette
The hammers repeating in my bones

Comme on fait pour les noyés de l’eau noire
Like they do for the drowned in the dark water

Qui passent sous le pont du Bout de l’Île
Who pass under the bridge at the end of the island

Dans le charroi morne des glaces et des soleils moirés
In the gloomy procession of ice and shimmering suns

Et où glisse le ventre doux des vents frileux d’avril
Where the soft belly of the chilly April winds glide