Michel Sardou (born January 26, 1947) is a French singer.

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 Dernière Danse
Michel Sardou Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

J'aimerais que pour ma dernière danse
L'orchestre joue de préférence
La chanson qui nous a réunis
C'était une chanson en anglais
Je me souviens ce qu'elle disait
L'histoire d'un homme, d'une vie

J'aimerais que pour ma dernière danse

Mes amours s'écartent en silence
Pour laisser passer mes amis
Ceux qui ont marché avec moi
Les absents et ceux qui sont là
Une poignée d'hommes, une vie

J'aimerais qu'la salle soit éclairée
Aux chandeliers, à la bougie
Qu'il y ait des femmes sophistiquées
Comme on en trouve en Italie
J'aimerais aussi, c'est important
Ce tempo Nouvelle-Orléans
Mélancolique et chaleureux
J'aimerais que pour ma dernière danse
Mon tout premier amour s'avance
Et que nous ayons quinze ans tous les deux

J'aimerais que pour ma dernière danse
L'orchestre joue de préférence
La chanson qui nous a réunis
C'était une chanson en anglais
Je me souviens ce qu'elle disait
L'histoire d'un homme, l'histoire d'une vie

J'aimerais que pour ma dernière danse
Mes ennemis aient la décence
De se lever et danser aussi
Qu'ils se rappellent de nos combats
Ou mieux qu'ils ne souviennent pas
Ce soir la bataille est finie

Il faut aussi de la gaieté
La dernière danse est belle aussi
et que les femmes soient habillées
En robe aussi noire que la nuit
J'aimerais aussi, c'est important
Ce tempo Nouvelle-Orléans
Mélancolique et chaleureux
J'aimerais que pour ma dernière danse

Mon dernier amour s'avance
Et avoir l'éternité pour nous deux, pour nous deux.

Overall Meaning

The Michel Sardou song "La Dernière Danse" tells the story of a man wanting his final dance to be a memorable one. He wants the orchestra to play the same song that brought him and his first love together. He wishes for his friends to be there with him, those who have walked alongside him in life, and for his enemies to also have the decency to dance as they reminisce about their battles, or forget them entirely. He asks for sophistication in the form of women dressed in black as dark as the night and for the tempo to be soulful and reminiscent of New Orleans.

The lyrics speak of the unity that comes with a shared experience, no matter how insignificant it may seem to an outsider. The song he desires represents the connection he had with his first love, a person he hopes will be there with him at his final dance, as he longs for eternity for the two of them. He wants to celebrate life, but also have a melancholic undertone as he reflects on his journey. The lyrics provide a heartfelt plea for his final moments to be a culmination of everything that mattered to him.

Line by Line Meaning

J'aimerais que pour ma dernière danse
I would like, for my last dance,

L'orchestre joue de préférence
the orchestra to preferably play

La chanson qui nous a réunis
the song that brought us together

C'était une chanson en anglais
it was a song in English

Je me souviens ce qu'elle disait
I remember what it said

L'histoire d'un homme, d'une vie
the story of a man, of a life

Mes amours s'écartent en silence
My loves step aside silently

Pour laisser passer mes amis
To let my friends pass by

Ceux qui ont marché avec moi
Those who walked with me

Les absents et ceux qui sont là
The absent ones and those who are here

Une poignée d'hommes, une vie
A handful of men, a life