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.

Restera-T-Il Encore
Michel Sardou Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Un soleil pâlissant jette encore sa lumière
Sur un oiseau errant
Qui fuit devant l'hiver
Au retour de l'automne
Feras-tu comme l'oiseau
Qui s'envole et s'étonne
De me voir de si haut

Restera-t-il encore
Un peu de notre amour
Au premier vent du nord
Aux premiers mauvais jours
Restera-t-il demain
Un peu de ton sourire
L'oiseau s'en va si loin
Saura-t-il revenir?

Restera-t-il enfin
Quelque chose de nous?

Lorsque les feuilles d'automne
Recouvriront l'été
Rassemblant tous les hommes
Autour des cheminées
Couché sous une pierre
Bien à l'abri du vent
Un oiseau solitaire
Dormira pour longtemps

Restera-t-il encore
Un peu de notre amour
Au premier vent du nord
Aux premiers mauvais jours
Restera-t-il demain
Un peu de ton sourire
L'oiseau s'en va si loin
Saura-t-il revenir?

Restera-t-il enfin
Quelque chose de nous?

Restera-t-il un jour
Quelque chose de nous?

Overall Meaning

The opening lines of Michel Sardou's song "Restera-T-Il Encore" set a somber and introspective mood as they describe a fading sun casting its final rays on a wandering bird that is fleeing the onset of winter. The bird serves as a metaphor for the fleeting nature of love and passion in the face of the passing of time. Sardou then asks if the person he is singing to will be like the bird, flying away and leaving him behind in awe.

The chorus repeats the titular question "Will there still be anything left of our love?" as Sardou contemplates if their love will endure through the cold winds of change and the last autumn leaves falling. He wonders if there will be anything left of their relationship tomorrow, even a little bit of her smile, or if it will all be gone forever.

The final verse of the song brings the themes of love, death, and remembrance all together. Sardou paints a stark image of winter arriving, people gathering together around fireplaces, and a solitary bird finding its final resting place. He questions if anything of their relationship will still remain after they are gone and if there will be anything left to remember them by.

Line by Line Meaning

Un soleil pâlissant jette encore sa lumière
A fading sun still shines its light

Sur un oiseau errant
On a wandering bird

Qui fuit devant l'hiver
Fleeing from the winter ahead

Au retour de l'automne
As the fall comes back

Feras-tu comme l'oiseau
Will you do like the bird

Qui s'envole et s'étonne
Who flies away and wonders

De me voir de si haut
To see me from so high above

Restera-t-il encore
Will there still remain

Un peu de notre amour
A little bit of our love

Au premier vent du nord
At the first northerly wind

Aux premiers mauvais jours
At the first bad days