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 Même Eau Qui Coule
Michel Sardou Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
De mes coffres à jouets à mes jeux interdits
Les chevaux de Lascaux, les avions de Vinci
À part les mots nouveaux, je n'ai rien appris
C'est toujours la même eau qui coule
C'est toujours le raisin qui saoule
Des hauts-fourneaux de Liverpool
C'est toujours la même eau qui coule
Les amours ordinaires, les chagrins inhumains
(C'est toujours la même eau qui coule)
On les voit au scanner, on les lit dans la main
(De l'Antarctique qu'à Istamboul)
Quand le vieux Magellan, découvrit le détroit
Il y avait des enfants qui s'y baignaient déjà
C'est toujours la même eau qui coule
C'est toujours le raisin qui saoule
Des hauts-fourneaux de Liverpool
La même chanson qui fait danser la foule
C'est toujours la même eau qui coule
C'est toujours le raisin qui saoule
Des hauts-fourneaux de Liverpool
La même chanson qui fait danser la foule
La même chanson qui fait danser la foule
De l'homme que j'étais à l'enfant qui vieillit
J'ai suivi le trajet que les autres avaient pris
Des voyages "Apollo" au mystère de ma vie
À part les mots nouveaux, je n'ai rien appris
C'est toujours la même eau qui coule
C'est toujours le raisin qui saoule
Des hauts-fourneaux de Liverpool
La même chanson qui fait danser la foule
C'est toujours la même eau qui coule
C'est toujours le raisin qui saoule
Des hauts-fourneaux de Liverpool
La même chanson qui fait danser la foule
C'est toujours la même eau qui coule
C'est toujours le raisin qui saoule
Des hauts-fourneaux de Liverpool
La même chanson qui fait danser la foule
C'est toujours la même eau qui coule
The song La Même Eau Qui Coule by Michel Sardou talks about the cyclical nature of life, the passing of time, and the idea that despite all the advances made by human beings, some things remain the same. The first stanza talks about the singer's journey from being a man to becoming a child again, from his toy boxes to his forbidden games. The images of Lascaux's horses and Leonardo da Vinci's planes suggest that even with all the progress that has been made, we are still drawn to the same things we were fascinated by in the past. The second stanza talks about how the joys and pains of life are universal and timeless, from ordinary love to inhumane grief, and how they can be seen in X-rays or read in a palm. The idea that children were already playing in the strait that Magellan discovered reminds us that even the great explorers of the past were not the first or only ones to inhabit the world.
Throughout the song, the chorus repeats the phrase "C'est toujours la même eau qui coule" (It's always the same water flowing), implying that time passes and life goes on, but certain things never change. The line "C'est toujours le raisin qui saoule" (It's always the grapes that make us drunk) underscores the idea that some things are constant, regardless of time or place. The line "Des hauts-fourneaux de Liverpool, la même chanson qui fait danser la foule" (From the Liverpool blast furnaces, the same song that makes the crowd dance) also emphasizes the repetition of certain things, from the industrial age to the modern era, and how music can be a timeless force that unites people across generations.
Line by Line Meaning
De l'homme que j'étais
A l'enfant que je suis,
From the man that I was to the child that I am,
De mes coffres à jouets
A mes jeux interdits,
From my toy chests to my forbidden games,
Les chevaux de Lascaux,
Les avions de Vinci,
The Lascaux horses, Leonardo's planes,
A part les mots nouveaux,
Je n'ai rien appris.
Apart from new words, I have learned nothing.
C'est toujours la même eau qui coule,
It's always the same water that flows,
C'est toujours le raisin qui saoule,
It's always the grape that makes us drunk,
Des hauts-fourneaux de Liverpool,
La même chanson qui fait danser la foule,
From the Liverpool furnaces to the same song that makes the crowd dance,
Les amours ordinaires,
Les chagrins inhumains,
Ordinary loves, inhuman sorrows,
On les voit au scanner,
On les lit dans la main.
We see them on the scanner, we read them in the hand.
Quand le vieux Magellan
Découvrit le détroit,
When the old Magellan discovered the strait,
Il y avait des enfants
Qui s'y baignaient déjà.
There were already children bathing there.
De l'homme que j'étais
A l'enfant qui vieillit,
From the man that I was to the child that grows old,
J'ai suivi le trajet
Que les autres avaient pris.
I followed the path that others had taken.
Des voyages "Apollo"
Au mystère de ma vie,
From "Apollo" travels to the mystery of my life,
A part les mots nouveaux,
Je n'ai rien appris.
Apart from new words, I have learned nothing.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Jean Michel Berriat, Jacques Revaud, Michel Sardou
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind