Adamo is one of the most commercially successful singers in Europe. Adamo has sold over 80 million copies of his albums worldwide. He is currently living in Belgium though he has lived in France with his family. His hits include "Tombe la Neige", "Vous permettez, Monsieur?" and "Inch'Allah", all from the sixties.
Adamo's early influences were the poetry of Victor Hugo, the music of French crooners such as Jacques Prévert or Georges Brassens, and the Italian canzonette. He started singing and composing his own songs from an early age. His debut was in a Radio Luxembourg competition, where he participated as singer and composer of the song "Si j'osais" ("If I dared") winning the competition's final held in Paris, in 14 February 1960.
Adamo's first hit was "Sans toi, ma mie", in 1963, from his debut album 63/64. He followed this with a series of hits, "Tombe la neige" ("The snow falls"), "Vous permettez, Monsieur?" ("May I, Sir"), "La Nuit" ("The Night") (1964), "Dolce Paola" ("Sweet Paola"), "Les Filles du bord de mer" ("The girls at the beach"), "Mes mains sur tes hanches" ("My hands on your hips") (1965), "Ton Nom" ("Your Name"), "Une meche de cheveux" ("Lock of golden hair") (1966), "Une larme aux nuages" ("A tear to the clouds"), "Inch'Allah" (1967), "L'amour te ressemble" ("Love resembles you"), "F... comme femme" ("F... like woman") (1968), "A demain sur la lune" ("See you tomorrow on the moon"), "Petit bonheur" ("Small happiness") (1969), "Va mon bateau" ("My boat goes"), "Les belles dames" ("Beautiful ladies") (1970), "J'avais oublié que les roses sont roses" ("I had forgotten that the roses are pink") (1971), "C'est ma vie" ("It's my life") (1975). Other notable songs included "Manuel", "Si Tu Etais", "Les Collines De Rabiah", "J'Te Lache Plus", "Mourir Dans Tes Bras", and "Ce George(s)".
The self-penned "Petit bonheur" sold over one million copies by April 1970, and was awarded a gold disc.
Amália Rodrigues recorded "Inch'Allah" in French. Adamo briefly attempted movie acting when he was cast in the film Les Arnaud (1967), which starred Bourvil.
He has recorded in many languages and, besides France and Belgium, had hits in Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Turkey and also in Japan, where he toured repeatedly. Adamo has had hits and toured also in Latin America. In Chile, the audience awarded him an appreciation prize known as the "Antorcha" (Gold and Silver Torch) at the "Festival de Viña del Mar" held yearly in the "Quinta Vergara", at the seaside resort of Viña del Mar, where he once had to sing in three different, sold-out venues in the same night.
In the 1980s, Adamo's career faltered, as the style of his music was no longer fashionable. Since the 1990s, however, and on the crest of a nostalgia wave, Adamo has successfully resumed composing, issuing records and touring, starting with a full season at the Casino de Paris venue in April 1990. Adamo has sold over 100 million copies of recordings worldwide.
Albums
* 1992 Rêveur de fond
* 1994 C’est ma vie (compilation Live)
* 1995 La vie comme elle passe
* 1998 Regards
* 2001 Par les temps qui courent
* 2002 Les mots de l’âme (compilation)
* 2003 Zanzibar
* 2004 Un soir au Zanzibar (CD/DVD compilation Live)
* 2007 La part de l'ange
Zanzibar
Salvatore Adamo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Il y a un endroit
Qui ressemble à une île
Où la nuit fait sa loi
On y traîne son spleen
À l'envers des décors
Dans la folie divine
Des chants de Maldoror
Et le noir que je broie
Accoudé au comptoir
Du bar le Zanzibar
Et comme un escargot
Mon passé sur le dos
Je largue les amarres
Je pars... pour Zanzibar
Je pars... pour Zanzibar
Je pars... pour Zanzibar
On se retrouve entre amis
Entre paumés de la vie
Complicité d'un soir
Chacun trouve son miroir
Au bar le Zanzibar
Entre l'ombre et la proie
Les chasseurs restent cois
Chacun attend que Godot
Lui ramène le gros lot
Zanzibar, Zanzibar
Je sais pas même pas où ça se trouve moi Zanzibar
Au fond je m'en fous comme du tiers et du quart
Au bar le Zanzibar,
Y a quelques cendrillons
Qui recousent leurs haillons
Qui attendent leur carrosse
Loin de leurs cauchemars de gosse
Des artistes de toute sorte
Le regard sur la porte
Qui attendent le talent
Ou l'improbable agent
Des peintres à court d'idées
Qui ont tout inventé
Des leaders sans la lutte
Des ténors sans le contre-ut
Des Rimbaud sans Verlaine
Des Stone sans leur Charden
Et des metteurs en scène
Qui refont la bête humaine
Au bar le Zanzibar
Des nobles encanaillés
Qui redorent leur pedigree
Et des rois sans couronne
Qui veulent fausser, la donne
Au bar le Zanzibar
Des loosers magnifiques
Qui régalent toute la clique
Des Crésus en goguette
Qui pleurent pour une soubrette
Zanzibar, Zanzibar
Je sais pas même pas où ça se trouve moi Zanzibar
Au fond je m'en fous comme du tiers et du quart
Au bar le Zanzibar
Des menteurs résignés
Retrouvent leur vérité
Des magiciens ringards
Se perdent dans leur foulard
On traîne sa solitude
Comme un chien fatigué
Et quand elle se dénude
On lui file un coup de pied
Y a même des musiciens
Qui viennent mine de rien
Jouer des airs fantasques
Qui font tomber les masques
Jusqu'au bout du voyage
Ils bercent les naufrages
Il n'est jamais trop tard
Au bar le Zanzibar
Zanzibar, Zanzibar
Je sais pas même pas où ça se trouve moi Zanzibar
Au fond je m'en fous comme du tiers et du quart
Mais noir pour noir
C'est plus facile de l'être à Zanzibar
Au bar le Zanzibar
Au bar le Zanzibar
Au bar le Zanzibar
The song "Zanzibar" by Salvatore Adamo describes a place in the city that resembles an island, where the night reigns and people go to escape their problems. The singer reveals that he finds solace in this place and often visits the Zanzibar, where he can leave his troubles behind and just be present in the moment. He describes the bar as a place where people come together, from artists to the wealthy, to escape their own realities and find comfort in the company of others. The lyrics express an overall feeling of a community of lost souls, all seeking asylum from the outside world.
The song depicts how, in this place, people usually come together as a community and forget about their social status, ethnicity, race or gender issues. The Zanzibar appears to be the place where those who are wanderers or those feeling lost can find acceptance and understanding. The singer seems to appreciate the Zanzibar as a place where he can escape his past and focus on the present moment, where he can be free from judgment and the pressures of society. The song expresses the idea of a sanctuary where people can come together in their shared experiences and forget about the outside world.
Line by Line Meaning
Quelque part dans la ville
Somewhere in the city
Il y a un endroit
There is a place
Qui ressemble à une île
That looks like an island
Où la nuit fait sa loi
Where the night rules
On y traîne son spleen
We bring our melancholy there
À l'envers des décors
Against the backdrop
Dans la folie divine
In divine madness
Des chants de Maldoror
With the songs of Maldoror
C'est là que je pose ma croix
That's where I put down my cross
Et le noir que je broie
And the blackness that I crush
Accoudé au comptoir
Leaning on the counter
Du bar le Zanzibar
At the Zanzibar bar
Et comme un escargot
And like a snail
Mon passé sur le dos
With my past on my back
Je largue les amarres
I cast off
Je pars... pour Zanzibar
I leave... for Zanzibar
On se retrouve entre amis
We meet up with friends
Entre paumés de la vie
Between lost souls
Complicité d'un soir
One night of camaraderie
Chacun trouve son miroir
Each finds their mirror
Au bar le Zanzibar
At the Zanzibar bar
Entre l'ombre et la proie
Between shadow and prey
Les chasseurs restent cois
The hunters stay silent
Chacun attend que Godot
Each awaits Godot
Lui ramène le gros lot
To bring them wealth
Zanzibar, Zanzibar
Zanzibar, Zanzibar
Je sais pas même pas où ça se trouve moi Zanzibar
I don't even know where Zanzibar is
Au fond je m'en fous comme du tiers et du quart
Deep down I don't care at all
Y a quelques cendrillons
There are a few Cinderellas
Qui recousent leurs haillons
Who mend their rags
Qui attendent leur carrosse
Who wait for their carriage
Loin de leurs cauchemars de gosse
Far from their childhood nightmares
Des artistes de toute sorte
Artists of all kinds
Le regard sur la porte
Looking at the door
Qui attendent le talent
Who wait for talent
Ou l'improbable agent
Or the improbable agent
Des peintres à court d'idées
Painters out of ideas
Qui ont tout inventé
Who have invented everything
Des leaders sans la lutte
Leaders without the struggle
Des ténors sans le contre-ut
Tenors without a counter-tenor
Des Rimbaud sans Verlaine
Rimbauds without Verlaines
Des Stone sans leur Charden
Stones without their Chardens
Et des metteurs en scène
And stage directors
Qui refont la bête humaine
Who remake the human beast
Des nobles encanaillés
Nobles who slum it
Qui redorent leur pedigree
Who restore their pedigree
Et des rois sans couronne
And kings without crowns
Qui veulent fausser, la donne
Who want to change the game
Des loosers magnifiques
Magnificent losers
Qui régalent toute la clique
Who entertain the whole crowd
Des Crésus en goguette
Rich men out on a spree
Qui pleurent pour une soubrette
Who cry for a chorus girl
Des menteurs résignés
Resigned liars
Retrouvent leur vérité
Find their truth
Des magiciens ringards
Outdated magicians
Se perdent dans leur foulard
Lose themselves in their scarf
On traîne sa solitude
We drag along our solitude
Comme un chien fatigué
Like a tired dog
Et quand elle se dénude
And when it is bared
On lui file un coup de pied
We give it a kick
Y a même des musiciens
There are even musicians
Qui viennent mine de rien
Who come unnoticed
Jouer des airs fantasques
Playing fantastical tunes
Qui font tomber les masques
That make the masks fall
Jusqu'au bout du voyage
Until the end of the journey
Ils bercent les naufrages
They rock the shipwrecks
Il n'est jamais trop tard
It's never too late
Mais noir pour noir
But black for black
C'est plus facile de l'être à Zanzibar
It's easier to be that in Zanzibar
Au bar le Zanzibar
At the Zanzibar bar
Au bar le Zanzibar
At the Zanzibar bar
Au bar le Zanzibar
At the Zanzibar bar
Contributed by Elizabeth F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.