Born Constantino Rossi in Ajaccio, Corsica, France, he became a tenor of French cabaret and one of the great romantic idols of his time. Gifted with an operatic voice, a "Latin Lover" persona made him a movie star as well. Over his career, Rossi made hundreds of records and appeared in more than 25 films, the most notable of which was the 1953 production, Si Versailles m'était conté directed by Sacha Guitry. His romantic ballads had women swooning and his art-songs by Jules Massenet (1842-1912), Reynaldo Hahn (1875-1947), and other composers helped draw sold out audiences wherever he performed.
As a young man, he played guitar and sang at a variety of small venues in his hometown of Ajaccio before going on to perform in Marseilles and at resort clubs along the French Riviera. In the early 1930s he went to Paris and within a few years achieved enormous success, joining a Columbia Records roster that included the biggest stars of the day such as Lucienne Boyer, Damia, Pills et Tabet, Mireille, and Jean Sablon.
Rossi's success was greatly aided by songwriter Vincent Scotto (1876-1952), who wrote his first hits and collaborated with him for many years, composing and arranging many Rossi songs. Prior to World War II. Rossi was a major box office attraction in the French speaking world but expanded his audience to America with a 1938 visit followed up by wartime tours across the USA and Canada. In 1946, his song "Petit Papa Noël" sold more than thirty million copies worldwide. A Christmas classic for the family, the song still sells by the thousands each Yuletide season. The recipient of many musical awards, including the prestigious Grand Prix du Disque, Tino Rossi is the most popular personality to ever come from Corsica other than Napoleon Bonaparte.
In 1947 he married Lilia Vetti, a young dancer he met while making a film. They would have a son together in a marriage that lasted for a lifetime. A star of film and the operetta scene, Tino Rossi's career also evolved into the television era, appearing in a number of popular variety shows. Age, and the advent of rock and roll in the 1960s saw him take backstage with the new generation of music lovers but he remained enormously popular with a following built up over fifty years of performing.
In 1982, for his contribution to France and its culture, President François Mitterrand named Tino Rossi a Commander of the Legion of Honor. That same year Rossi gave his last public performance at the Casino de Paris, a show that popular demand turned into a three month stint.
Tino Rossi died of pancreatic cancer in 1983 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France. His body returned to his native Ajaccio for burial in the family plot at the local cemetery. His hometown named a street and the sailing harbor in his honor and at Nogent-sur-Marne, on the River Marne in Paris, there is a square named Tino Rossi Square.
Écris-Moi
Tino Rossi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
que de toi j'ai garde
Deja toute fanée
dans mes doigts va mourir.
Au cours morne des heures
dans ma triste demeure,
ces pétales m'effleurentComme des souvenirs
Ecris moi, quelques lignes a peine
loin de toi j'ai tant de peine
qu'un mot me consolera.
Ecoute moi sans haine
meme si ta lettre est belle
Ecris moi, ne m'abandonne pas
Qu'il est lourd le silence
de ces nuits ou je pense
a ta chere presence
au doux son de ta voix
lorsqu'apres tant d'ivresse
de bonheur de tendresse
tout mon coeur en détresse
ne sait plus rien de toi
Ecris moi quelques mots peu m'importe
afin que ta lettre apporte
du soleil en mon coeur las
je ne peux plus attendre
sans savoir et sans comprendre
Ecris moi ne m'abandonne pas...
The first verse of Tino Rossi's Écris-Moi is a beautiful and melancholic homage to lost love. The singer speaks of a fragrant rose which he has kept since his loved one's departure. The flower has already begun to wilt and die in his hands, just like his love. The second verse sees Rossi lamenting the dull passage of time in his sombre home, with only the dying rose's petals to give him comfort. They flutter around him like memories, and he is desperate for any kind of communication from his love, as the chorus states.
The chorus of the song sees Rossi pleading with his lover to send him even a few lines of comfort. He is in great pain, and he seeks solace from her words. He begs her to write, even if the message is hateful, so that he can find some peace through her expression. The third verse sees the singer struggling to cope with the silence of the nights without his lover's presence. He longs for her voice and the happiness and tenderness it brings. The song ends on a similarly desperate note, with the singer begging his love to write and to not abandon him.
This song is a heart-wrenching tribute to love and loss, and a testament to the power of communication in a relationship. Even when love dies, the haunting power of written words can provide some kind of solace, even in the darkest of moments.
Line by Line Meaning
Cette rose embaumée
This scented rose
que de toi j'ai garde
that I have kept from you
Deja toute fanée
Already fully withered
dans mes doigts va mourir.
is dying in my fingers.
Au cours morne des heures
During the dull hours
dans ma triste demeure,
in my sad home,
ces pétales m'effleurent
these petals brush past me
Comme des souvenirs
Like memories.
Ecris moi, quelques lignes a peine
Write me just a few lines
loin de toi j'ai tant de peine
I am in so much pain without you
qu'un mot me consolera.
that even one word will bring me comfort.
Ecoute moi sans haine
Listen to me without hate
meme si ta lettre est belle
even if your letter is beautiful
Ecris moi, ne m'abandonne pas
Write me, do not abandon me
Qu'il est lourd le silence
How heavy is the silence
de ces nuits ou je pense
of these nights where I think
a ta chere presence
of your dear presence
au doux son de ta voix
to the sweet sound of your voice
lorsqu'apres tant d'ivresse
when after so much intoxication
de bonheur de tendresse
of happiness and tenderness,
tout mon coeur en détresse
my whole heart in distress
ne sait plus rien de toi
knows nothing more of you.
Ecris moi quelques mots peu m'importe
Write me a few words, it doesn't matter
afin que ta lettre apporte
so that your letter would bring
du soleil en mon coeur las
some sunshine to my tired heart
je ne peux plus attendre
I can't wait any longer
sans savoir et sans comprendre
without knowing or understanding
Ecris moi ne m'abandonne pas...
Write me, do not abandon me...
Contributed by Sadie R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@catherinebertone7507
Cette rose embaumée
Que de toi j'ai gardée
Déjà toute fanée
Dans mes doigts va mourir.
Au cours morne des heures
Dans ma triste demeure,
Ces pétales m'effleurent
Comme des souvenirs
Ecris moi, quelques lignes a peine
Loin de toi j'ai tant de peine
Qu'un mot me consolera.
Ecoute moi sans haine
Même si ta lettre est belle
Ecris moi, ne m'abandonne pas
Qu'il est lourd le silence
De ces nuits ou je pense
A ta chère présence
Au doux son de ta voix
Lorsqu'après tant d'ivresse
De bonheur de tendresse
Tout mon coeur en détresse
Ne sait plus rien de toi
Ecris moi quelques mots peu m'importe
Afin que ta lettre apporte
Du soleil en mon coeur las
Je ne peux plus attendre
Sans savoir et sans comprendre
Ecris moi ne m'abandonne pas...
@XavierLouisdeIzarra
This scented rose
Of yours that I kept,
Already faded,
Is dying between my fingers
Dull, the hours go by
In my sad home,
These petals brush my skin
Like memories.
Write to me, if only a few lines
Far from you, I am so grieved
That a mere word would console me.
Listen to me without hatred
Even if you letter is beautiful
Write to me, do not abandon me.
How heavy the silence is
Of these nights when I think
Of your dear presence,
Of the gentle sound of your voice
When after so much rapture,
Happiness and tenderness,
All my anguished heart
Knows nothing of you any longer.
Write to me, a few words, I don’t mind
So that your letter may bring
Sunshine in my weary heart.
I cannot keep waiting
Without knowing and understanding
Write to me, do not abandon me.
@galinapungina155
Dear Tino ! Do not tired listen-to
@galinapungina155
Heart breaker !!!!!!!
@mimiseki
j'entends encore ma maman la chanter ,et j'ai les larmes aux yeux ,elle me manque
@yvetteprevost1653
J'AIME ... QUE DE BEAUX SOUVENIRS
@forsansdanielle1206
que de chansons ,j'ignorai qu'il y en avait autant elles sont qu'amour et tendresse chaud au cœur
@VIRIATO1942
Cette chanson e cette voix est un vrais merveille; un souvenir d'une age qui a passe et ne retourera jamais.
@jolantapiechaczek7167
Belle Voice.
Merveilleux tango.
Triste chanson.
Cella adoucit mon chagrin at donne
du report a mon lamę passe.
@MaboantoineKeukeu
😂😂6
@fleurette110
pour ma petite mamie partie au paradis elle aimait tant tino rossi
@athenalorthios1061
J'a 43 ans je découvre la chanson en 2016,je l'écoute en boucle intemporelle.Magnifique