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.
Méfie-toi on t'aime
Michel Sardou Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Des fleurs pour commencer
Une enveloppe et un cœur
Pour ne pas l'oublier
Y a quelque part quelqu'un
Qui voit sans être vu
Qui lit dans un bouquin
Méfie-toi, on t'aime
C'est un amour de loin
Un amour fait pour un
(Méfie-toi, on t'aime)
Sans désir, sans haleine
Qui s'approche de la haine
(Méfie-toi, on t'aime)
Quand ton soleil s'éteint
Ils te guettent, ils te parlent
Ils te cherchent, ils te suivent
Night and day, en secret
Ils t'engueulent, ils t'écrivent
Y a quelque part quelqu'un
Dont tu n'as pas idée
Qui croit te faire du bien
Qui veut te protéger
Méfie-toi, on t'aime
C'est un amour de loin
Un amour fait pour un
(Méfie-toi, on t'aime)
Sans désir, sans haleine
Qui s'approche de la haine
(Méfie-toi, on t'aime)
Quand ton soleil s'éteint
C'est un amour qui n'aime personne
Souviens-toi du canon de Lennon
C'est un amour qui n'aime personne
Souviens-toi du canon de Lennon
C'est un amour qui n'aime personne
Souviens-toi du canon de Lennon
C'est un amour qui n'aime personne
Souviens-toi du canon de Lennon
The lyrics of Michel Sardou's song "Méfie-toi on t'aime" address the complex and often contradictory nature of love. The song opens with a description of a romantic gesture: "Des fleurs pour commencer" ("flowers to start"). Yet, from the very beginning, there is a sense of warning: "Méfie-toi on t'aime" ("beware, you are loved"). The lyrics suggest a hidden agenda, an unseen presence that is watching over the subject of the song.
The chorus repeats the warning and adds more details about this mysterious love: "C'est un amour de loin" ("it's a distant love"), "sans désir sans haleine" ("without desire or breath"), "qui s'approche de la haine" ("that is close to hatred"). The tone is ominous and cautionary, as if the singer is trying to protect the subject of the song from a dangerous, obsessive love.
The second verse strengthens this sense of surveillance and control: "Ils te guettent ils te parlent" ("they watch you, they talk to you"), "ils te cherchent ils te suivent" ("they look for you, they follow you"). The line "night and day en secret" ("night and day in secret") adds a sense of constant vigilance, a state of being watched even when you don't know it.
The final lines of the song add another layer of meaning: "C'est un amour qui n'aime personne / Souviens-toi du canon de Lennon" ("it's a love that loves no one / remember Lennon's gun"). This reference to the assassination of John Lennon in 1980 suggests that this kind of love can lead to violence and destruction.
Line by Line Meaning
Une présence une chaleur
A warm presence
Des fleurs pour commencer,
Flowers to start with
Une enveloppe et un cœur
An envelope and a heart
Pour ne pas l'oublier.
To not forget it
Y a quelque part quelqu'un
There is someone somewhere
Qui voit sans être vu,
Who sees without being seen
Qui lit dans un bouquin
Who reads in a book
Comment il t'a connu.
How they got to know you
Méfie-toi on t'aime.
Beware, we love you.
C'est un amour de loin
It's a far-off love
Un amour fait pour un.
A love made for one
Méfie-toi on t'aime,
Beware, we love you
Sans désir sans haleine
Without desire without breath
Qui s'approche de la haine.
That approaches hatred
Méfie-toi on t'aime
Beware, we love you
Quand ton soleil s'éteint.
When your sun goes out
Ils te guettent ils te parlent.
They watch you, they talk to you
Ils te cherchent ils te suivent.
They look for you, they follow you
Night and day en secret,
Night and day in secret
Ils t'engueulent ils t'écrivent.
They scold you, they write to you
Y a quelque part quelqu'un
There is someone somewhere
Dont tu n'as pas idée,
That you have no idea about
Qui croit te faire du bien,
Who thinks they are doing you good
Qui veut te protéger.
Who wants to protect you
C'est un amour qui n'aime personne
This is a love that loves no one
Souviens-toi du canon de Lennon.
Remember Lennon's gun.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Didier Barbelivien, Jean-Pierre Bourtayre, Michel Sardou
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind