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.
Vladimir Ilitch
Michel Sardou Lyrics
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Les femmes sont en colère aux portes des moulins
Des bords de la Volga au delta du Niémen
Le temps s'est écoulé, il a passé pour rien
Puisqu'aucun dieu du ciel ne s'intéresse à nous
Lénine, relève-toi, ils sont devenus fous
Toi Vladimir Illitch, t'as raison, tu rigoles
Quand tu vois le Saint-Père, ton cousin de Pologne
Bénir tous ses fidèles dans son auto blindée
Toi Vladimir Illitch, est-ce qu'au moins tu frissonnes
En voyant les tiroirs de la bureaucratie?
Remplis de tous ces noms de gens qu'on emprisonne
Ou qu'on envoie mourir aux confins du pays
Toi Vladimir Illitch, au soleil d'outre-tombe
Combien d'années faut-il pour gagner quatre sous?
Quand on connaît le prix qu'on met dans une bombe
Lénine, relève-toi, ils sont devenus fous
Où sont passés les chemins de l'espoir
Dans quelle nuit, au fond de quel brouillard?
Rien n'a changé, les damnés de la Terre
N'ont pas trouvé la sortie de l'Enfer
Toi qui avait rêvé l'égalité des Hommes
Tu dois tomber de haut dans ton éternité
Devant tous ces vieillards en superbes uniformes
Et ces maisons du peuple, dans des quartiers privés
Toi Vladimir Illitch, si tu es le prophète
Viens nous parler encore en plein cœur de Moscou
Et répands la nouvelle à travers la planète
Amis du genre humain, ils sont devenus fous
The lyrics of Michel Sardou's song Vladimir Ilitch are a commentary on the state of the Soviet Union under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin. The opening line, "A Siberian wind blows over Bohemia," serves as a metaphor for the harsh political climate of the time. The frustration of the women who stand outside the mills waiting for bread is another indication of the hardship faced by ordinary people in the Soviet Union. The passage of time has done little to improve their plight, and the lack of intervention from any divine power only adds to their sense of despair.
The lyrics then directly address Lenin, with the singer questioning whether he is aware of the way things have turned out. Sardou imagines Lenin looking down on the situation with amusement, having predicted how things would go. The reference to the pope of Poland blessing his followers in an armored car is a clear critique of the contrast between the wealth and power of the Church and the suffering of the people. The song goes on to question the bureaucracy and the systems of imprisonment and oppression that are in place, asking Lenin whether he is comfortable with how his vision has been realized. The lines "where have the paths of hope gone" and "the damned of the earth have not found the way out of hell" speak to the hopelessness felt by many in the Soviet Union at the time.
Overall, the song is a powerful condemnation of the Soviet Union under Lenin's leadership, with Sardou offering a clear-eyed view of the suffering of ordinary people and the betrayal of their hopes for a better future.
Line by Line Meaning
Un vent de Sibérie souffle sur la Bohème
There is an influence from Siberia on Bohemia
Les femmes sont en colère aux portes des moulins
Women are angry at the gates of mills
Des bords de la Volga au delta du Niémen
From the banks of the Volga to the delta of the Niemen
Le temps s'est écoulé, il a passé pour rien
Time has passed for nothing
Puisqu'aucun dieu du ciel ne s'intéresse à nous
Since no god in the sky cares about us
Lénine, relève-toi, ils sont devenus fous
Lenin, rise up, they have become crazy
Toi Vladimir Illitch, t'as raison, tu rigoles
You, Vladimir Ilitch, are right, you laugh
Toi qui a voyagé dans un wagon plombé
You who traveled in a leaded wagon
Quand tu vois le Saint-Père, ton cousin de Pologne
When you see the Holy Father, your cousin from Poland
Bénir tous ses fidèles dans son auto blindée
Blessing all his faithful in his armored car
Toi Vladimir Illitch, est-ce qu'au moins tu frissonnes
You, Vladimir Ilitch, do you at least shudder
En voyant les tiroirs de la bureaucratie?
When seeing the drawers of the bureaucracy?
Remplis de tous ces noms de gens qu'on emprisonne
Filled with all these names of people who are imprisoned
Ou qu'on envoie mourir aux confins du pays
Or that are sent to die in the remote regions of the country
Toi Vladimir Illitch, au soleil d'outre-tombe
You, Vladimir Ilitch, in the afterlife sun
Combien d'années faut-il pour gagner quatre sous?
How many years does it take to earn four cents?
Quand on connaît le prix qu'on met dans une bombe
When one knows the price put into a bomb
Lénine, relève-toi, ils sont devenus fous
Lenin, rise up, they have become crazy
Où sont passés les chemins de l'espoir
Where have the paths of hope gone
Dans quelle nuit, au fond de quel brouillard?
In which night, at the bottom of which fog?
Rien n'a changé, les damnés de la Terre
Nothing has changed, the damned of the Earth
N'ont pas trouvé la sortie de l'Enfer
Have not found the way out of Hell
Toi qui avait rêvé l'égalité des Hommes
You who had dreamed of equality among Men
Tu dois tomber de haut dans ton éternité
You must be falling from a great height in your eternity
Devant tous ces vieillards en superbes uniformes
In front of all these elders in splendid uniforms
Et ces maisons du peuple, dans des quartiers privés
And these people's houses, in private neighborhoods
Toi Vladimir Illitch, si tu es le prophète
You, Vladimir Ilitch, if you are the prophet
Viens nous parler encore en plein cœur de Moscou
Come and speak to us again in the heart of Moscow
Et répands la nouvelle à travers la planète
And spread the news across the planet
Amis du genre humain, ils sont devenus fous
Friends of the human race, they have become crazy
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Jacques Revaud, Jean Bourtayre, Michel Sardou, Pierre Delanoe
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind