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.
Les Routes De Rome
Michel Sardou Lyrics
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Entraînant notre histoire et la mémoire des vieux.
Où sont les étonnés, les jaloux, les peureux?
Où sont les insolents, les rusés, les heureux?
Où sont les hommes
Des chemins qui menaient à Rome?
Enfants du néant, du hasard
Retenus par le temps qui dure
Au fond d'une prison sans murs.
Je sais que le ciel ne m'attend pas.
Ni Dieu ni Diable, mais au-delà,
Une idée folle, une idée d'hommes
De ceux qui s'en allaient à Rome.
J'entends jouer l'orchestre d'un paquebot qui sombre,
Entraînant notre histoire et la mémoire des vieux.
Où sont les résignés, les errants, les curieux?
Où sont les indignés, les violents, les furieux?
Où sont les hommes?
Nous sommes des passants illusoires
Sur des chemins qui vont nulle part,
Retenus par des liens obscurs
A des éternités futures.
Je sais que le ciel n'est pas si haut.
Ni bien ni mal, ni laid ni beau,
Une idée folle, une idée d'hommes
De ceux qui s'en allaient à Rome.
J'entends jouer l'orchestre d'un paquebot qui sombre,
Entraînant notre histoire et la mémoire des vieux.
Où sont les étonnés, les jaloux, les peureux?
Où sont les insolents, les rusés, les heureux?
Où sont les hommes
Des chemins qui menaient à Rome?
In Michel Sardou's song Les Routes De Rome, the singer reflects on the passing of time and the fleeting nature of human existence. The lyrics describe the sound of an orchestra playing on a sinking ship, symbolizing the loss of history and memories. The singer wonders about the fate of all types of people, from the amazed to the jealous, the fearful to the happy, who once walked the roads leading to Rome. He goes on to describe humans as beings controlled by chance and a cry for love, confined in a prison without walls by the passing of time.
Throughout the song, the singer grapples with the concept of an afterlife and the unknown truths beyond this life on Earth. He rejects traditional religious beliefs and instead suggests a "crazy idea" of human creation of their own afterlife, alluding to the ancient Roman practice of deification after death.
Line by Line Meaning
J'entends jouer l'orchestre d'un paquebot qui sombre,
I hear the orchestra playing as a sinking ship takes with it our history and the memories of the elders.
Entraînant notre histoire et la mémoire des vieux.
Dragging along with it our history and the memories of the old.
Où sont les étonnés, les jaloux, les peureux?
Where are the astonished, the jealous, and the fearful?
Où sont les insolents, les rusés, les heureux?
Where are the insolent, the crafty, and the happy?
Où sont les hommes
Where are the men
Des chemins qui menaient à Rome?
Of the roads that led to Rome?
Enfants du néant, du hasard
Children of nothingness and chance
Et d'un cri d'amour quelque part,
And of a cry of love somewhere
Retenus par le temps qui dure
Held back by time that persists
Au fond d'une prison sans murs.
In the depths of a prison without walls.
Je sais que le ciel ne m'attend pas.
I know that heaven does not wait for me.
Ni Dieu ni Diable, mais au-delà,
Neither God nor Devil, but beyond,
Une idée folle, une idée d'hommes
A crazy idea, an idea of men
De ceux qui s'en allaient à Rome.
Of those who were leaving for Rome.
Nous sommes des passants illusoires
We are illusionary passersby
Sur des chemins qui vont nulle part,
On paths that lead nowhere
Retenus par des liens obscurs
Held back by obscure ties
A des éternités futures.
To future eternities.
Je sais que le ciel n'est pas si haut.
I know that heaven is not so high.
Ni bien ni mal, ni laid ni beau,
Neither good nor bad, neither ugly nor beautiful,
Une idée folle, une idée d'hommes
A crazy idea, an idea of men
De ceux qui s'en allaient à Rome.
Of those who were leaving for Rome.
J'entends jouer l'orchestre d'un paquebot qui sombre,
I hear the orchestra playing as a sinking ship takes with it our history and the memories of the elders.
Entraînant notre histoire et la mémoire des vieux.
Dragging along with it our history and the memories of the old.
Où sont les résignés, les errants, les curieux?
Where are the resigned, the wanderers, the curious?
Où sont les indignés, les violents, les furieux?
Where are the indignant, the violent, the furious?
Où sont les hommes?
Where are the men?
Des chemins qui menaient à Rome?
Of the roads that led to Rome?
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JACQUES ABEL JULES REVAUD, MICHEL CHARLES SARDOU, PIERRE BARRET
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind