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.
Mam Selle Louisiane
Michel Sardou Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pour ses yeux verts pour ses beaux seins,
La plus aimée des courtisanes
Connue dans le pays cajun.
Du temps où des hommes sans épouse
Venaient d'Abbeville et d'Orléans
Baptiser leurs bayous Toulouse
Toutes les femelles étaient anglaises,
Et l'Anglais chassait l'Acadien.
Pas une ne s'rait dev'nue francaise :
Mieux valait s'offrir aux Indiens.
Tous ceux qui savent jouer des violines,
Qui ont une guitare dans leurs mains,
Connaissent la chanson d'Ebeline,
De Bâton Rouge à Pontchartrain.
Elle s'est fait bâtir maison neuve,
Cythère des bateaux à fond plat,
Pour que les planteurs du grand fleuve
Aient une femme à pendre à leur bras.
Elle croyait revenir un jour,
Mais n'a jamais revu Paris.
Elle est evenue pour toujours
La sirène du Mississippi.
Tous ceux qui savent jouer des violines,
Qui ont une guitare sous leurs doigts,
Racontent l'arrivée d'Ebeline
Sur la Maria Magdalena.
Elle leur disait Je reste stand.
Mes amours j'n'irai jamais gone,
Mais quand la ville deviendra grande,
Que mes filles ne fassent pas l'aumône.
Tous ceux qui savent jouer des violines,
Qui ont une guitare dans le sang,
Connaissent la chanson d'Ebeline
Depuis la Nouvelle-Orléans.
Elle a été Mam'selle Louisiane
Pour ses yeux verts pour ses beaux seins,
La plus aimée des courtisanes
Connue dans le pays cajun.
The lyrics to "Mam'selle Louisiane" by Michel Sardou describe a woman named Ebeline who was known as Mam'selle Louisiane for her beauty and popularity as a courtesan in the Cajun country of Louisiana. The song references the history of Louisiana, specifically the time when French and English men came to the area and the conflicts between the groups. The lyrics suggest that the women in the area were primarily English and were pursued by English men, while French men were marginalized and often had to resort to courtesans like Ebeline.
Through the song, Sardou laments the fact that Ebeline never returned to Paris and became forever tied to the Mississippi River. Despite the fact that she became the most popular courtesan in the area, she never forgot her roots or her heritage. The song suggests that she wanted her children to live a better life than she did and not have to resort to begging for money on the streets.
Overall, "Mam'selle Louisiane" is a song about love, loss, and the cultural identity of Louisiana. It portrays Ebeline as a strong and determined woman who never forgot where she came from and remained proud of her heritage.
Line by Line Meaning
Elle a été Mam'selle Louisiane
She was known as Miss Louisiana
Pour ses yeux verts pour ses beaux seins,
Because of her green eyes and beautiful breasts
La plus aimée des courtisanes
She was the most loved of courtesans
Connue dans le pays cajun.
Known in the Cajun country
Du temps où des hommes sans épouse
At a time when unmarried men
Venaient d'Abbeville et d'Orléans
Came from Abbeville and Orleans
Baptiser leurs bayous Toulouse
To baptize their bayous Toulouse
Comme leurs cousins du Saint-Laurent,
Like their cousins from the Saint-Laurent
Toutes les femelles étaient anglaises,
All the females were English
Et l'Anglais chassait l'Acadien.
And the English chased the Acadian
Pas une ne s'rait dev'nue francaise :
Not one would have become French
Mieux valait s'offrir aux Indiens.
Better to offer themselves to the Indians.
Tous ceux qui savent jouer des violines,
All those who know how to play violins
Qui ont une guitare dans leurs mains,
Who have a guitar in their hands
Connaissent la chanson d'Ebeline,
Know the song of Ebeline
De Bâton Rouge à Pontchartrain.
From Baton Rouge to Pontchartrain.
Elle s'est fait bâtir maison neuve,
She had a new house built
Cythère des bateaux à fond plat,
A destination for flat-bottomed boats
Pour que les planteurs du grand fleuve
So that the plantation owners of the great river
Aient une femme à pendre à leur bras.
Would have a woman to hang on their arm.
Elle croyait revenir un jour,
She thought she would return one day
Mais n'a jamais revu Paris.
But never saw Paris again.
Elle est evenue pour toujours
She became forever
La sirène du Mississippi.
The siren of the Mississippi.
Racontent l'arrivée d'Ebeline
They tell the arrival of Ebeline
Sur la Maria Magdalena.
On the Maria Magdalena.
Elle leur disait Je reste stand.
She told them I will stay here.
Mes amours j'n'irai jamais gone,
I will never leave my loves.
Mais quand la ville deviendra grande,
But when the city becomes big
Que mes filles ne fassent pas l'aumône.
May my girls not have to beg for alms.
Tous ceux qui savent jouer des violines,
All those who know how to play violins
Qui ont une guitare dans le sang,
Who have a guitar in their blood
Connaissent la chanson d'Ebeline
Know the song of Ebeline
Depuis la Nouvelle-Orléans.
From New Orleans.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Sardou Michel, Barbelivien Didier, Revaux Jacques
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind