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.
La Corrida N'Aura Pas Lieu
Michel Sardou Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Le matador est amoureux
Et sa femme et sa femme
Et sa femme, mes amis
Et sa femme et sa femme
Elle lui gâche sa vie
Tous les dimanches, à quatre heures, elle pleure
Elle occupe la chapelle
Et abrutit d'appels les saints du paradis
Pour que les taureaux ne soient mis à mort
Que dans la boucherie
Nous avons tous une femme
Une mère, une sœur
Qui tremble d'apprendre
Quel que soit notre métier, matador ou plombier
Que pour éblouir un ami
Se prouver qu'on n'a pas vieilli
On reste trois mois couché, malade et déprimé
Toute la nuit
Elle a caché son habit joli
Elle a brisé son épée, olé
Avant d'aller à confesse
Elle le tue de caresses, l'étouffe de baisers
Alors le toréador
Bien entendu, s'endort épuisé
Nous avons tous une femme
Une mère, une sœur
Qui tremble d'apprendre
Quel que soit notre métier, matador ou plombier
Que pour éblouir un ami
Se prouver qu'on n'a pas vieilli
On reste trois mois couché, malade et déprimé
Toute la nuit
Mais il aime trop la gloire, il part
Il court, il vole au combat, anda
Ah, qu'il est grand, qu'il est beau
Les aficionados sont contents
Mais le taureau ne sort pas
Dans toute la plaza on attend
La corrida n'a pas eu lieu
Le matador est amoureux
Et l'amour et l'amour
Le taureau n'a pas tort
Et l'amour et l'amour
Ça vaut mieux que la mort
In Michel Sardou's song "La Corrida N'Aura Pas Lieu," the lyrics depict a matador who is in love with his wife. However, his wife becomes a source of misery and disrupts his life. The song highlights the conflict between his love for bullfighting and his devotion to his wife.
The first verse portrays the wife's constant emotional turmoil. She cries every Sunday at four o'clock and spends the rest of the week praying, occupying the chapel, and bothering the saints in heaven with her pleas. She prays for the bulls to be spared from being killed in the bullring and instead be sent to the butcher's shop. This demonstrates the wife's interference with the matador's life and her disregard for his passion for bullfighting.
The second verse delves deeper into the theme of the song, emphasizing that everyone has women in their lives who fear for their safety, regardless of their profession. Whether they are matadors or plumbers, women worry when their loved ones partake in dangerous activities to impress their friends and prove they haven't aged. The lyrics suggest that in order to shine in front of their peers, they may face months of sickness and depression, staying in bed all night.
The chorus reveals the wife's actions to sabotage her husband's involvement in bullfighting. She hides his beautiful outfit and breaks his sword before confessing her love and suffocating him with kisses. Despite her efforts, the matador's desire for glory and the cheers of the aficionados lead him to continue pursuing the bullfight. However, in a twist, the bull refuses to come out into the arena, leaving everyone waiting in anticipation. In the end, the love between the matador and his wife is presented as more valuable than death, suggesting that love triumphs over everything.
Line by Line Meaning
La corrida n'aura pas lieu
The bullfight will not take place
Le matador est amoureux
The matador is in love
Et sa femme et sa femme
And his wife, his wife
Elle lui gâche sa vie
She ruins his life
Tous les dimanches, à quatre heures, elle pleure
Every Sunday at four o'clock, she cries
Et du lundi au samedi, elle prie
And from Monday to Saturday, she prays
Elle occupe la chapelle
She occupies the chapel
Et abrutit d'appels les saints du paradis
And overwhelms the saints of paradise with calls
Pour que les taureaux ne soient mis à mort
So that the bulls are not killed
Que dans la boucherie
Except in the butcher shop
Nous avons tous une femme
We all have a woman
Une mère, une sœur
A mother, a sister
Qui tremble d'apprendre
Who trembles to learn
Quel que soit notre métier, matador ou plombier
No matter our profession, matador or plumber
Que pour éblouir un ami
That to impress a friend
Se prouver qu'on n'a pas vieilli
To prove that one hasn't aged
On reste trois mois couché, malade et déprimé
We remain bedridden, sick and depressed for three months
Toute la nuit
All night long
Elle a caché son habit joli
She hid his beautiful outfit
Elle a brisé son épée, olé
She broke his sword, olé
Avant d'aller à confesse
Before going to confession
Elle le tue de caresses, l'étouffe de baisers
She kills him with caresses, suffocates him with kisses
Alors le toréador
Then the bullfighter
Bien entendu, s'endort épuisé
Of course, falls asleep exhausted
Mais il aime trop la gloire, il part
But he loves glory too much, he leaves
Il court, il vole au combat, anda
He runs, he flies to the fight, anda
Ah, qu'il est grand, qu'il est beau
Ah, how great, how handsome he is
Les aficionados sont contents
The bullfighting enthusiasts are happy
Mais le taureau ne sort pas
But the bull does not come out
Dans toute la plaza on attend
Everyone in the arena is waiting
La corrida n'a pas eu lieu
The bullfight did not happen
Le matador est amoureux
The matador is in love
Et l'amour et l'amour
And love, and love
Le taureau n'a pas tort
The bull is not wrong
Et l'amour et l'amour
And love, and love
Ça vaut mieux que la mort
It is better than death
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Pierre Delanoe, Jacques Revaud, Michel Sardou
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind