After acting school he was discovered by Jean Cocteau and appeared in a wartime production of Les parents terribles ("The Terrible Parents"). His first feature film came in 1946 with his role in Les portes de la nuit ("The Doors of the Night"). He later went on to perform in 80 films including The Pianist (1998).
In 1965 he began a second career as a singer, with the help of Simone Signoret and her husband Yves Montand. Reggiani became one of the most acclaimed performers of French "Chanson" ("song") and although he was in his 40s, his bad-boy image made him popular with both young and older listeners. His best known songs include "Les loups sont entres dans Paris" ("The Wolves Have Entered Paris") and "La femme qui est dans mon lit." ("The Woman Who Is In My Bed").
In later life he became a painter and gave a number of exhibitions of his artwork.
Serge Reggiani died of a heart attack at the age of 82, one day after the death of another well known French singer Sacha Distel. He is interred in the Cimetière du Montparnasse.
Et puis
Serge Reggiani Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Et j'allais dire déjà
L'enfance se fait lointaine
Comme un pays d'où l'on s'en va
Je ne vois plus qu'à peine
Le rivage
Mon amour, mon amour
Avec toi j'appareille alors
Pour autre part, our autre chose, à bord
De ma quarantaine
Et je t'emmène
Là-bas dans une image
Je t'aime
Toi qui ne seras jamais
Une grande personne
Ne me quitte jamais
Je t'aime
Et puis...
Comme on va en province
Quand on aura fait la vie
Nous irons à la soixantaine
Dans la maison que j'aime
En Provence
Mon amour, mon amour
Nous aurons fait l'amour et puis
D'autres garçons bien avant les vieux jours
Et les vieilles nuits
Si tu es sage
Tu auras des images
Je t'aime
Toi qui ne seras jamais
Une grande personne
Ne me quitte jamais
Je t'aime
Et puis...
Mais ce n'est pas demain
Il faudra que le soir vienne
Je m'en irai sur le chemin
Où nous attend la chienne
Un par un
Mon amour, mon amour
Quand je serai dans les nuages
C'est autre part, c'est autre chose, encore
Mais sans toi, tu sais
Je serai seul
Là-bas dans l'autre image
Je t'aime
Moi qui ne serai jamais
Une grande personne
Ne me quitte jamais
Je t'aime...
The lyrics of Serge Reggiani's "Et Puis" convey a poignant reflection on the passage of time and the inevitable march toward old age and death. The opening line, "Et puis," which translates to "And then," signals the singer's contemplation of life's inevitable progression. He then notes how childhood seems distant, "comme un pays d'où l'on s'en va" (like a country we're leaving behind), and how he can barely see the shore anymore. But he is not alone in this journey; he invites his beloved to join him on his metaphorical boat, as he sets out for "autre part, autre chose," (somewhere else, something else) in the middle of his life.
The singer then paints a picture of a future in which he and his lover will go to the French region of Provence when they reach their sixties. There, they will make love and forge memories together. However, he acknowledges that, in the end, he will have to depart alone, leaving behind his loved one, who will never have the chance to become a "grande personne," (a grown-up), but who is nonetheless his treasured companion.
Overall, Reggiani's haunting lyrics and delivery evoke a sense of the fleeting nature of life, and the bittersweet beauty of love that can sustain us throughout its ups and downs.
Line by Line Meaning
Et puis...
And then...
Et j'allais dire déjà
And I was about to say already,
L'enfance se fait lointaine
Childhood becomes distant,
Comme un pays d'où l'on s'en va
Like a country we're leaving behind,
Je ne vois plus qu'à peine
I can barely see
Le rivage
The shore
Mon amour, mon amour
My love, my love
Avec toi j'appareille alors
With you, I set sail then
Pour autre part, our autre chose, à bord
To somewhere else, or something else, on board
De ma quarantaine
From my forties
Et je t'emmène
And I take you with me
Là-bas dans une image
Over there in an image
Je t'aime
I love you
Toi qui ne seras jamais
You who will never be
Une grande personne
A grown-up
Ne me quitte jamais
Never leave me
Et puis...
And then...
Comme on va en province
Like when we go to the countryside
Quand on aura fait la vie
When we've lived our lives
Nous irons à la soixantaine
We'll go to our sixties
Dans la maison que j'aime
In the house I love
En Provence
In Provence
Mon amour, mon amour
My love, my love
Nous aurons fait l'amour et puis
We'll have made love, and then
D'autres garçons bien avant les vieux jours
Other boys long before our old age
Et les vieilles nuits
And the old nights
Si tu es sage
If you're obedient
Tu auras des images
You'll have memories
Je t'aime
I love you
Toi qui ne seras jamais
You who will never be
Une grande personne
A grown-up
Ne me quitte jamais
Never leave me
Et puis...
And then...
Mais ce n'est pas demain
But it's not tomorrow
Il faudra que le soir vienne
The evening will have to come
Je m'en irai sur le chemin
I'll go along the path
Où nous attend la chienne
Where the female dog is waiting for us
Un par un
One by one
Mon amour, mon amour
My love, my love
Quand je serai dans les nuages
When I'll be in the clouds
C'est autre part, c'est autre chose, encore
It's somewhere else, something else, again
Mais sans toi, tu sais
But without you, you know
Je serai seul
I'll be alone
Là-bas dans l'autre image
Over there in the other image
Je t'aime
I love you
Moi qui ne serai jamais
Me who will never be
Une grande personne
A grown-up
Ne me quitte jamais
Never leave me
Je t'aime...
I love you...
Contributed by Declan G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.