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.
Chanson Aux Nuages
Tino Rossi Lyrics
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Nuages là-haut dans le vert qui vous mène,
Ecoutez !
Rivières et ruisseaux qui courez dans la plaine
Ecoutez !
Je chante ma peine
Aux horizons mêmes
Que celle que j'aimeA quittés.
O vous, les oiseaux
Dans le coeur du grand chêne,
Ecoutez !
Et vous, les échos qui dansez sur la plaine,
Ecoutez!
Ohé, ohé, qu'elle revienne,
Et que revienne l'été.
Ainsi chante sur la grand' route
Un pauvre garçon sans sa belle,
Mais rien autour de lui n'écoute
Que les nuages dans le ciel.
Il marche, suivi de son rêve,
Nu-tête malgré les saisons,
Et voici qu'à nouveau s'élève
Cette chanson :
Refrain
The lyrics of Tino Rossi's "Chanson Aux Nuages" (Song to the Clouds) speaks of the singer's yearning for his love who has left him. He calls out to the clouds in the sky, the rivers and streams in the plain, the birds in the great oak tree, and the echoes that dance in the plain, all as a way to express his sadness and longing for his beloved. The singer is alone on the road without his beloved, and though he continues to walk towards his dreams, he finds solace in the beauty of nature surrounding him. In the refrain, he repeats his plea for his love to return, and for the summer to come once again.
The song is one of romantic melancholy, with the singer using nature as a way to convey his emotions. The clouds, rivers, birds, and echoes serve as metaphors for his longing and the beauty of the natural world around him. The repeated use of "Ecoutez!" (Listen!) throughout the song shows the singer's hope that someone or something will listen to his pain and bring his love back to him. The last line, "Et que revienne l'été" (And may summer come again), serves as a reminder of the brief moments of happiness and warmth that he shared with his love and a hope that it can be experienced once more.
Line by Line Meaning
Nuages là-haut dans le vert qui vous mène,
Clouds up high in the green that leads you,
Ecoutez !
Listen!
Rivières et ruisseaux qui courez dans la plaine
Rivers and streams that run through the plain
Ecoutez !
Listen!
Je chante ma peine
I sing of my sorrow
Aux horizons mêmes
To the very horizons
Que celle que j'aime
That the one I love
A quittés.
Has left.
O vous, les oiseaux
Oh you, birds
Dans le coeur du grand chêne,
In the heart of the great oak
Ecoutez !
Listen!
Et vous, les échos qui dansez sur la plaine,
And you, echoes that dance on the plain,
Ecoutez!
Listen!
Ohé, ohé, qu'elle revienne,
Hey, hey, for her to come back,
Et que revienne l'été.
And for summer to come back.
Ainsi chante sur la grand' route
Thus sings on the big road
Un pauvre garçon sans sa belle,
A poor boy without his beautiful one,
Mais rien autour de lui n'écoute
But nothing around him listens
Que les nuages dans le ciel.
Except for the clouds in the sky.
Il marche, suivi de son rêve,
He walks, followed by his dream,
Nu-tête malgré les saisons,
Bare-headed despite the seasons,
Et voici qu'à nouveau s'élève
And here again rises up
Cette chanson :
This song:
Lyrics © SEMI, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: FRANCIS BLANCHE, FRANCIS LOPEZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind