At age 16, Distel became a professional jazz guitarist. Over his career he worked alongside Dizzy Gillespie and Tony Bennett and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in the late 1950s after establishing himself as a French crooner.
Sacha Distel had a much publicized relationship with actress Brigitte Bardot but in 1963 he married skier Francine Bréaud. He reputedly broke off the relationship with Bardot after discovering her with another man.
In the 1960s, he composed 'La Belle Vie', a tune that made its way across the Atlantic as 'The Good Life', and most famously performed by Tony Bennett. French lyrics were added in the 1970s and it became Distel's signature tune. During the 1960s, he had his own variety show on French television.
During the 1970s, he became popular outside France, and once hosted the Miss World contest in London. In this decade, he spent more time in the UK than in France. Considered a Gallic heart throb in Britain he was a regular on British TV
Distel remained reasonably popular in France in the 1980s and 1990s, including a new show named after his song 'La Belle Vie'.
In 2001, Distel had a part as lawyer Billy Flynn in the London production of the musical Chicago. He did have an ambition to make a musical about the life of Maurice Chevalier, but this remained unfulfilled at the time of his death.
Sacha Distel died on 22 July 2004 near St Tropez,after a long battle with cancer.
His name was used in Peter Sarstedt's song "Where Do You Go To My Lovely".
Le mur
Sacha Distel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mais jamais nous ne dormirons ensemble
Faut s'aimer au soleil
Nus comme innocents
Se moquant des saintes âmes qui grondent
Nos 20 ans
Un matin nous partirons sans bagages
Ecrasés de soleil, nus
Débarrassés de ce mur
Qui nous volait nos voyages insensés
Amoureux, jolis vagabonds de l′ombre
N'allez plus vous cacher dans les coins sombres
Courrez vite au soleil, nus tout exaucés
Vous aimer à la barbe de ce monde affolé
Inondé de clarté
The lyrics of Sacha Distel's song "Le mur" convey a sense of longing for freedom, love, and escape from societal constraints. The central theme revolves around a metaphorical "wall" that separates the singer from their desired state of being. On one side of the wall, there is always darkness, symbolizing the limitations and restrictions imposed by society. The lyrics emphasize the impossibility of the singer and their lover ever sleeping together, suggesting the societal disapproval of their relationship.
However, the song offers a glimmer of hope. It urges the lovers to embrace their love in the sun, stripped of inhibitions and disregarding the judgment of others. The reference to "saintly souls" grumbling conveys the disapproval and condemnation faced by individuals who choose to live freely and authentically. Despite this disapproval, the song encourages the lovers to cherish their youth and to escape together to a small beach, where they can be free from the metaphorical wall that had been stealing their extraordinary adventures.
Line by Line Meaning
Y a toujours un côté du mur à l′ombre
There is always one side of the wall in the shade
Mais jamais nous ne dormirons ensemble
But we will never sleep together
Faut s'aimer au soleil
We must love each other in the sun
Nus comme innocents
Naked like innocents
Se moquant des saintes âmes qui grondent
Mocking the holy souls that rumble
Nos 20 ans
Our 20 years
Un matin nous partirons sans bagages
One morning we will leave without luggage
Tous les deux sur une petite plage
Both of us on a small beach
Ecrasés de soleil, nus
Overwhelmed by the sun, naked
Débarrassés de ce mur
Freed from this wall
Qui nous volait nos voyages insensés
That stole our senseless travels
Amoureux, jolis vagabonds de l′ombre
Lovers, beautiful vagabonds of the shadows
N'allez plus vous cacher dans les coins sombres
No longer hide in dark corners
Courrez vite au soleil, nus tout exaucés
Quickly run to the sun, completely fulfilled
Vous aimer à la barbe de ce monde affolé
To love each other under the nose of this frantic world
Inondé de clarté
Flooded with clarity
Writer(s): Gilbert Francois Leopold Becaud, Maurice Alfred Marie Vidalin
Contributed by Addison H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Laurent David
Chanson de la pub COVID 😉