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.

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Les Villes Hostiles
Michel Sardou Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

C'était mon quartier autrefois
Plus rien n'existe tout a changé
Meme ma rue je ne la retrouve plus
On a dû reconstruire dessus.
Des fenetres aveugles un peu partout
Derrière lesquelles on s'abrutit
Un verre de rouge et on oublie.

L'amour réduit à un seul geste.
Meme pas l'amour, ce qu'il en reste.
Et puis le matin nettoie tout
Le grand balai des banlieusards
La bousculade sur les trottoirs
Et pas un mot n'est échangé

Y'a ces cités
Y'a ces cités maudites
Que tout l'monde veut quitter
Y'a ces cités
Et puis les villes hostiles
Hostiles et habitées
Ces villes sont des ruines neuves
Fardées comme des voitures volées.

Les solitudes on n'les compte plus
Elles s'agglutinent sous les feux rouges.
Quand un homme tombe, personne ne bouge.
On suit le mouvement des cohues.
Personne ne fait plus attention
Un homme assis avec son chien
Je passe devant et je ne vois rien.

Y'a ces cités
Y'a ces cités maudites
Que tout l'monde veut quitter
Y'a ces cités
Et puis les villes hostiles
Hostiles et habitées
Ces villes sont des ruines neuves
Fardées comme des voitures volées.

Y'a ces citées
Toutes ces cités maudites
Que tout l'monde veut quitter
Y'a ces cités
Et puis les villes hostiles
Hostiles et habitées
Ces villes sont des ruines neuves
Fardées comme des voitures volées.

Overall Meaning

The song "Les Villes Hostiles" by Michel Sardou sings about the changing landscape and the harsh reality of life in the cities. The lyrics talk about how the singer's old neighborhood is unrecognizable, with even the street he once lived on having been rebuilt. The once lively and friendly neighborhood is now filled with vacant windows and people drowning their sorrows in wine. The love that once existed is reduced to simply one physical act, and even that has lost its meaning. In the morning, the streets are swept clean by the rush of workers, and everyone remains indifferent to one another, with no one speaking or acknowledging one another's presence.

The song also addresses the growing issue of loneliness in urban areas, with people huddled together only to be isolated and ignored. No one pays attention to those in need, not even when someone falls or is in trouble. The refrain, "Y'a ces cités, y'a ces cités maudites que tout le monde veut quitter" ("There are these cities, these accursed cities that everyone wants to leave"), highlights how the harshness of city life is driving people away, yet the cities continue to be inhabited by those who have no other options.

Overall, "Les Villes Hostiles" portrays a bleak picture of urban life, where people are isolated and unaware of each other's presence, and where even love has lost its meaning. It is a thought-provoking song that raises important questions about the social and emotional cost of urbanization.

Line by Line Meaning

C'était mon quartier autrefois
This used to be my neighborhood

Plus rien n'existe tout a changé
Nothing remains the same, everything has changed

Meme ma rue je ne la retrouve plus
I can't even recognize my own street anymore

On a dû reconstruire dessus.
They had to rebuild on top of it

Des fenetres aveugles un peu partout
Blind windows everywhere

Derrière lesquelles on s'abrutit
Behind which we numb ourselves

Un verre de rouge et on oublie.
A glass of red wine and we forget.

L'amour réduit à un seul geste.
Love reduced to a single gesture.

Meme pas l'amour, ce qu'il en reste.
Not even love, just what is left of it.

Et puis le matin nettoie tout
And then the morning cleans everything up

Le grand balai des banlieusards
The big broom of the suburbanites

La bousculade sur les trottoirs
The jostling on the sidewalks

Et pas un mot n'est échangé
And not a word is exchanged

Y'a ces cités
There are these cities

Y'a ces cités maudites
There are these cursed cities

Que tout l'monde veut quitter
That everyone wants to leave

Et puis les villes hostiles
And then the hostile cities

Hostiles et habitées
Hostile and inhabited

Ces villes sont des ruines neuves
These cities are new ruins

Fardées comme des voitures volées.
Made up like stolen cars.

Les solitudes on n'les compte plus
Solitude is immeasurable

Elles s'agglutinent sous les feux rouges.
They huddle beneath the traffic lights

Quand un homme tombe, personne ne bouge.
When a man falls, no one moves.

On suit le mouvement des cohues.
We follow the crowd's movement.

Personne ne fait plus attention
No one pays attention anymore

Un homme assis avec son chien
A man sitting with his dog

Je passe devant et je ne vois rien.
I go by and I see nothing.

Y'a ces citées
There are these cities

Toutes ces cités maudites
All these cursed cities