J'attendrai
Rina Ketty Lyrics


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J'attendrai
Le jour et la nuit
J'attendrai, toujours
Ton retour
J'attendrai
Car l'oiseau qui s'enfuit vient chercher l'oubli
Dans son nid
Le temps passe et court
En battant tristement
Dans mon cœur plus lourd
Et pourtant, j'attendrai
Ton retour

Les fleurs palissent
Le feu s'éteint
L'ombre se glisse
Dans le jardin
L'horloge tisse
Des sons très longs
Je crois entendre ton pas
Le vent m'apporte
Des bruits lointains
Guettant ma porte
J'écoute en vain
Hélas, plus rien
Plus rien ne vient

J'attendrai
Le jour et la nuit
J'attendrai, toujours
Ton retour
J'attendrai
Car l'oiseau qui s'enfuit vient chercher l'oubli
Dans son nid
Le temps passe et court
En battant tristement
Dans mon cœur plus lourd




Et pourtant, j'attendrai
Ton retour

Overall Meaning

Rina Ketty's song J'attendrai is a classic French chanson that was composed in 1936 by Dino Olivieri, who was an Italian composer, and Louis Poterat, a Frenchman who wrote the lyrics. The song is a melancholic ballad about waiting for a lover to return. It is a timeless piece that has endured the test of time and is still a popular song today.


The song's central theme is hope, patience, and a love that endures. The singer professes their undying love for someone who has gone away and promises to wait for them to return, day and night, patiently and faithfully. The singer compares themselves to a bird that seeks refuge in its nest looking for solace and forgetting its sorrows. The passage of time is also a recurring theme in the song, with the clock ticking away relentlessly, marking the hours and days that go by without their beloved's return.


The lyrics are incredibly moving, and Rina Ketty's haunting voice evokes raw emotions of longing, heartbreak, and hope. The song's universal theme of waiting for someone you love makes it relatable to listeners of any age and culture. In essence, J'attendrai is a timeless masterpiece that epitomizes the beauty and simplicity of French chanson.


Line by Line Meaning

J'attendrai
I will wait


Le jour et la nuit
In the daytime and the night


J'attendrai, toujours
I will always wait


Ton retour
For your return


J'attendrai
I will wait


Car l'oiseau qui s'enfuit vient chercher l'oubli
Because the bird that flies away is seeking to forget


Dans son nid
In its nest


Le temps passe et court
Time passes and runs


En battant tristement
Beating sadly


Dans mon cœur plus lourd
In my heavier heart


Et pourtant, j'attendrai
And yet, I will wait


Ton retour
For your return


Les fleurs palissent
The flowers fade


Le feu s'éteint
The fire goes out


L'ombre se glisse
The shadow slips


Dans le jardin
In the garden


L'horloge tisse
The clock weaves


Des sons très longs
Very long sounds


Je crois entendre ton pas
I believe I hear your footsteps


Le vent m'apporte
The wind brings me


Des bruits lointains
Distant noises


Guettant ma porte
Watching my door


J'écoute en vain
I listen in vain


Hélas, plus rien
Alas, nothing


Plus rien ne vient
Nothing comes




Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Tratore
Written by: Dino Olivieri, Louis Poterat, Nino Rastelli

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@consubandon

I awoke this foggy morning thinking: It’s the 9th of March. The Italian girl steps to the microphone as Marcel and the orchestra wait. In his booth, the engineer starts the disk turning. She’s come to sing an Italian song, translated for a new audience. Her song will go on to become legend but now it is 1938 and recording fidelity is poor, so Rina Ketty, in her accented French, enunciates every word.


[The boat has submerged to avoid the crashing seas. It can make no headway.
The crew can do nothing. They sleep. They wait.]

KAPITANLEUTNANT: Nothing exciting out there?
RADIOMAN: Mm... Just position reports, and very faint. S-O-S calls from enemy freighters.
KAPITANLEUTNANT: Yeah, yeah... When the rudder breaks on one of those old tenders, there is nothing to do but pray.

[He observes the worry as the younger man pages through his logs.]

KAPITANLEUTNANT: The sea can’t sink us, Hinrich. No ships are as safe as our U-boats.

[The radioman nods, turns again to his log book, still concerned.
Kapitänleutnant sits back from his papers.]

KAPITANLEUTNANT: Hinrich, put the record on, again. You know the one.

[Hinrich looks up, then reaches back for the disk. He admires the label a moment,
places it on the platter, and lowers the needle.
Both men close their eyes as the ship rolls through the night...]



Internet translations of songs tend to be wanting. This one needed to match the flow, so I rewrote it. It’s a more perfect choice for the scene in the film than I think most people realise.


I will wait
All day and all night,
I'll wait all the days,
On your return

I will wait,
Because the bird who has fled comes to seek respite
In his nest

The time flows and wanes,
It beats on sorrowfully
In my heavy heart
Even so,
I'll await your return

The flowers fade pale,
The fire goes out,
The shadow drifts
Across the grass,
The clock entwines
Such lengthy sounds,
I think I am hearing your steps

The wind delivers
Sounds from far off,
Watching my door,
Listening in vain
Alas... nothing more,
No more arrives

I will wait
All day and all night,
I'll wait all the days,
On your return

I will wait,
Because the bird who has fled comes to seek respite
In his nest

The time flows and wanes,
It beats on sorrowfully
In my heavy heart
Even so,
I'll await your return



All comments from YouTube:

@Jose-yc6nv

Je lie encore des 78 tours sur 1 phono électrique mais g acheter 1 mécaniques a remonter le son est sublimes ❤

@racineurr.8924

Wow! C'est un voyage dans le temps. Jamais je n'aurais cru voyager aussi doucement. Merveilleuse voix et merveilleux temps.

@philipchretienkarlsson8157

inoubliable chanson, aussi chantée par Rina Ketty, du temps où plusieurs chanteurs "couvraient" une chanson à succès, ce qui permettait de s'en procurer plusieurs version. Celle de R. Ketty est charmante, et, dès mon adolescence, j'avais déjà cette chanson, éditée dans une collection EMI !

@lysgauty1

C'est celle de Rina ketty qui fit le tour du monde....detronnant Jean Sablon , Tino Rossi etc....

@ThreeOaks79

"hinrich, legen sie nochmal die platte auf... Sie wissen schon"

@FranckCarloni

Magnifique

@claudioluppi2373

Bellissima

@pervertt

Captain's pick.

@andbrevek

Aí meu Deus! Que linda! Nostálgica!!!! Em algum lugar dos meus passados nesse Cosmos....

@Betoseabra1

Soube dessa música e de Rina Ketty lendo El cartero de Neruda, de Antonio Skármeta. Bela descoberta!

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