He was bor… Read Full Bio ↴Michel Sardou (born January 26, 1947) is a French singer.
He was born in Paris, the son of Fernand Sardou and Jackie Rollin (Jackie Sardou). Contrary to what has been written at the beginning of his career, he is not the grandson of the dramatist Victorien Sardou.
He is known for songs dealing with various social and political issues, such as the rights of women in Islamic countries, clerical celibacy and colonialism. Another sometimes controversial theme found in some of his songs ("Les Ricains," for example) is respect and support for the culture and foreign policies of the United States. Another notable fact about his career is that he has focused his full attention on his homeland, ignoring the prospect of an international audience, although his 1981 single "Les lacs du Connemara" did manage to become a big international hit. A number of his hit songs were written in collaboration with Jacques Revaux, a few others (most notably "En chantant") with Italian singer Toto Cutugno.
Even in the 21st century, Michel Sardou remains immensely popular in France, selling out 18 consecutive dates at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in 2001, while his 2004 album "Du plaisir" went straight to the no. 1 spot on the French album charts.
He has been married three times, first to a French dancer, then to Babette (the mother of his children) and lastly to an lifelong friend who edits the French version of Vogue.
He is currently (2023) at the center of a controversy over a song he wrote fifty years ago: the lakes of Connemara. Juliette Armanet, a French pop starlet answering a question about a song that would made her leave a party and it was LES LACS DU CONNEMARA. Sardou, an idol of the French right, in spite of himself, is stuck between the left which finds him corny and the right which does not support that one attacks its institutions. Music is a strong force and nobody fights harder than those who LOVE certain songs. Amazingly this song has nothing to do with politics.
Dans ma mémoire elle était bleue
Michel Sardou Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Les feuilles mortes sur la Maritza,
Le fleuve est noir
Devant mes yeux.
Dans ma mémoire,
Il était bleu.
Cette petite fille sur la photo,
Elle n'avait pas le même regard.
Il était bleu dans ma mémoire.
Le toit du Kilimandjaro
Et la montagne Eldorado,
Les jours heureux,
Les nuits barbares,
Ils étaient bleus
Dans ma mémoire.
La croix sur la baie de Rio,
Les nuits gitanes de Bilbao,
Ce roman noir
Écrit à deux,
Dans ma mémoire
Il était bleu.
L'oiseau sacré, l'oiseau géant
Qui passait dans mon ciel d'enfant,
Dans ma mémoire il était bleu.
La liberté au fond du trou
Les mains liées, la corde au cou,
Quand il rêvait de la revoir,
Elle était bleue dans sa mémoire.
Bateaux-prisons chargés d'ébène,
Champs de coton et chant de haine,
Chanson d'espoir,
Chanson d'adieu,
La musique noire
Elle était bleue.
Le toit du Kilimandjaro
Et la montagne Eldorado,
Les jours heureux,
Les nuits barbares,
Ils étaient bleus
Dans ma mémoire.
La croix sur la baie de Rio,
Les nuits gitanes de Bilbao,
Ce roman noir
Écrit à deux,
Dans ma mémoire il était bleu.
La terre des hommes, la terre du feu,
Celle qui a sacrifié ses Dieux,
Comme une orange elle était bleue.
The lyrics to Michel Sardou's song "Dans ma mémoire elle était bleue" talk about the power of memory and the way it can transform our experiences. Sardou sings about various landmarks and moments in his life that have become etched into his memory, and how they take on a new significance when viewed through the lens of nostalgia.
The first verse mentions different rivers, including the Danube, Volga, and Maritza, and how they are all black in his current view. However, in his memory, they were all blue. This shows how memory has the power to transform something as simple as a river's color and make it take on a greater significance.
The second verse focuses on a specific memory of a girl who appears in a photograph. Sardou sings about how his memory of her differs from the reality of their relationship at the time. Her eyes weren't the same, but in his memory, they were blue. This further emphasizes how memory can alter our perception of past events.
The third verse touches on various images and experiences from Sardou's past, including the Kilimandjaro, Eldorado mountain, and the nights he spent in Bilbao with the gypsies. Again, these experiences were all colored blue in his memory, highlighting the power of nostalgia.
The fourth verse discusses the idea of freedom and how it can be imagined even in the face of oppression. Sardou sings about an "oiseau sacré," or sacred bird, that flew in his childhood sky and how it was also blue in his memory. He then moves on to reference the history of slavery and how even the harshest of experiences can take on a new meaning when viewed through memory.
Overall, the lyrics to "Dans ma mémoire elle était bleue" are a meditation on the power of memory and how it can transform the way we view our lives and experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
Que ce soit Danube ou Volga,
Les feuilles mortes sur la Maritza,
Le fleuve est noir
Devant mes yeux.
Dans ma mémoire,
Il était bleu.
No matter if it's the Danube or the Volga, or the dead leaves on the Maritza, the river is black in front of my eyes. But in my memory, it was blue.
Cette petite fille sur la photo,
Premier amour premier duo,
Elle n'avait pas le même regard.
Il était bleu dans ma mémoire.
That little girl in the photo, my first love, my first partner, didn't have the same look. But in my memory, her eyes were blue.
Le toit du Kilimandjaro
Et la montagne Eldorado,
Les jours heureux,
Les nuits barbares,
Ils étaient bleus
Dans ma mémoire.
La croix sur la baie de Rio,
Les nuits gitanes de Bilbao,
Ce roman noir
Écrit à deux,
Dans ma mémoire
Il était bleu.
The roof of Kilimanjaro and the Eldorado mountains, the happy days and the savage nights, they were blue in my memory. The cross on the bay of Rio and the gipsy nights of Bilbao, that dark novel we wrote together, in my memory it was blue.
L'oiseau sacré, l'oiseau géant
Qui passait dans mon ciel d'enfant,
Dans ma mémoire il était bleu.
La liberté au fond du trou
Les mains liées, la corde au cou,
Quand il rêvait de la revoir,
Elle était bleue dans sa mémoire.
That sacred, giant bird that passed in my childhood sky, in my memory it was blue. The freedom at the bottom of the hole, hands tied, rope around my neck, when I dreamed of seeing it again, it was blue in my memory.
Bateaux-prisons chargés d'ébène,
Champs de coton et chant de haine,
Chanson d'espoir,
Chanson d'adieu,
La musique noire
Elle était bleue.
Prison ships loaded with ebony, cotton fields and songs of hate, a song of hope, a song of farewell, that black music, it was blue.
La terre des hommes, la terre du feu,
Celle qui a sacrifié ses Dieux,
Comme une orange elle était bleue.
The land of men, the land of fire, the one that sacrificed its gods, like an orange, it was blue.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JACQUES ABEL JULES REVAUD, MICHEL CHARLES SARDOU, PIERRE DELANOE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind