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.
Mélodie pour élodie
Michel Sardou Lyrics
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Avec la même intro
Qui n'en finit pas
Toujours dans l'ombre
Tu n'aimais pas que l'on se voie
Alors dans l'ombre
Chacun pour soi
Une petite fille de mes amis
Qui avait une drôle de maman
Avant
On s'est aimé comme on s'envole
Sur une musique et des paroles
Deux météores au firmament
Passant
Une mélodie pour Elodie
Et pour deux années de ma vie
Qui sont passées comme en rêvant
Deux ans
Sur cette musique-là
Avec un vieux chanteur
Qui trafiquait sa voix
L'un contre l'autre
Enlacés pour une autre fois
L'un contre l'autre
Chacun pour soi
Une mélodie pour Elodie
Une petite fille de mes amis
Qui avait une drôle de maman
Avant
Une chanson tendre pour qu'elle m'entende
Pour qu'elle se souvienne en passant
D'un vieil hôtel d'un océan
Du vent
On s'est aimé comme on s'envole
Sur une musique et des paroles
On s'est réveillés différents
D'avant
The song "Mélodie pour élodie" by Michel Sardou is a sentimental tribute to a past love, with whom he shared a brief but intense relationship. The lyrics describe a song that the two lovers used to listen to together, and which brings back memories of their time together. The music has a long introduction that seems to go on forever, creating a sense of nostalgia and longing for the past.
The song is addressed to Elodie, the daughter of some friends of the singer, who had a peculiar mother. The melody was created for her, but it also pays homage to the two years that the singer lived with his former partner. The lyrics evoke the fleeting and ephemeral nature of love and its ability to make time pass quickly, leaving only memories. The phrase "On s'est aimé comme on s'envole" ("We loved each other like we were taking off") suggests the exhilarating effect of love, as if it were lifting the lovers off the ground, but also the transience of the experience.
The song also captures the ambivalence of the lovers' emotions, who are simultaneously drawn to and repelled by each other. They are always in the shadows, not wanting to be seen together, and each one is focused on their own feelings. Despite the tender memories, there is a hint of regret for what could have been and a sense of closure. The phrase "On s'est réveillés différents d'avant" ("We woke up different from before") suggests the experience has changed them and they cannot go back to the way things were.
Line by Line Meaning
Sur cette musique-là
On this very same music
Avec la même intro
With the same introduction
Qui n'en finit pas
That never ends
Toujours dans l'ombre
Always in the shadows
Tu n'aimais pas que l'on se voie
You didn't like us seeing each other
Alors dans l'ombre
So we would secretly meet
Chacun pour soi
Each for their own
Une mélodie pour Elodie
A melody for Elodie
Une petite fille de mes amis
A little girl of my friends'
Qui avait une drôle de maman
Who had a strange mother
Avant
Before
On s'est aimé comme on s'envole
We loved each other like we flew away
Sur une musique et des paroles
To the beat and the lyrics
Deux météores au firmament
Two meteors in the sky
Passant
Passing
Et pour deux années de ma vie
And for two years of my life
Qui sont passées comme en rêvant
That passed like a dream
Une mélodie pour Elodie
A melody for Elodie
Sur cette musique-là
On this very same music
Avec un vieux chanteur
With an old singer
Qui trafiquait sa voix
Who altered his voice
L'un contre l'autre
One against the other
Enlacés pour une autre fois
Entwined for another time
Chacun pour soi
Each for their own
Une chanson tendre pour qu'elle m'entende
A tender song for her to hear me
Pour qu'elle se souvienne en passant
So she remembers when passing by
D'un vieil hôtel d'un océan
Of an old hotel by an ocean
Du vent
Of the wind
On s'est réveillés différents
We woke up different
D'avant
From before
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MICHEL CHARLES SARDOU
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind