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.
J'attendrai
Tino Rossi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Le jour et la nuit, j'attendrai toujours
Ton retour
J'attendrai
Car l'oiseau qui s'enfuit vient chercher l'oubli
Dans son nid
Le temps passe et court
En battant tristement
Et pourtant, j'attendrai
Ton retour
Les fleurs palissent
Le feu s'éteint
L'ombre se glisse
Dans le jardin
L'horloge tisse
Des sons très las
Je crois entendre ton pas
Le vent m'apporte
Des bruits lointains
Guettant ma porte
J'écoute en vain
Helas, plus rien
Plus rien ne vient
J'attendrai
Le jour et la nuit, j'attendrai toujours
Ton retour
J'attendrai
Car l'oiseau qui s'enfuit vient chercher l'oubli
Dans son nid
Le temps passe et court
En battant tristement
Dans mon cur si lourd
Et pourtant, j'attendrai
Ton retour
The lyrics to Tino Rossi’s “J’attendrai” are about a person waiting for someone they love to return. The main character in the song spends his days and nights waiting, hoping that his love will come back to him. The lyrics make use of extended metaphors to convey the singer's feelings of sadness and despair.
The first stanza speaks of the singer waiting day and night for their love to come back to them. He compares his love to a bird who has flown away to seek comfort in its nest. Despite the passage of time, the singer still waits for his love.
The second stanza talks about the passing of time and the singer's loneliness. He speaks of how flowers wilt, fires go out, and shadows invade his garden. The ticking of the clock only reminds the singer of the time that has passed. He listens for his love, but alas, nothing comes.
The chorus repeats the same sentiment expressed in the first stanza. The singer says that he will continue to wait, just as the bird who seeks refuge in its nest. He acknowledges that time passes slowly and heavily in his heart, yet he still waits for his love to return.
Overall, the lyrics to "J'attendrai" are a poignant expression of longing and the desire to reconnect with someone who was once an important part of your life.
Line by Line Meaning
J'attendrai
I will wait
Le jour et la nuit, j'attendrai toujours
Day and night, I will always wait
Ton retour
For your return
Car l'oiseau qui s'enfuit vient chercher l'oubli, Dans son nid
Because the bird that flies away seeks forgetfulness in its nest
Le temps passe et court, En battant tristement
Time passes and flows, beating sadly
Dans mon cur si lourd, Et pourtant, j'attendrai
In my heavy heart, and yet, I will wait
Les fleurs palissent
The flowers fade
Le feu s'éteint
The fire goes out
L'ombre se glisse, Dans le jardin
The shadow slips into the garden
L'horloge tisse, Des sons très las
The clock weaves very tired sounds
Je crois entendre ton pas
I think I hear your footsteps
Le vent m'apporte, Des bruits lointains
The wind brings me distant sounds
Guettant ma porte, J'écoute en vain
Watching my door, I listen in vain
Helas, plus rien, Plus rien ne vient
Alas, nothing anymore, nothing comes
Contributed by Callie A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Back2Basix
ENGLISH LYRICS
I'll wait
Day and night, I will always wait
Your return
I'll wait
For the bird that flees comes to seek oblivion
In its nest
Time passes and runs
By beating sadly
In my heavy heart
And yet, I will wait
Your return
Flowers pallize
The fire goes out
The shadow creeps in
In the garden
The clock weaves
Very weary sounds
I think I hear your step
The wind brings me
Distant noises
Watching for my door
I listen in vain
Alas, nothing
Nothing comes anymore
I'll wait
Day and night, I will always wait
Your return
I'll wait
For the bird that flees comes to seek oblivion
In its nest
Time passes and runs
By beating sadly
In my heavy heart
And yet, I will wait
Your return
FRENCH LYRICS
J'attendrai
Le jour et la nuit, j'attendrai toujours
Ton retour
J'attendrai
Car l'oiseau qui s'enfuit vient chercher l'oubli
Dans son nid
Le temps passe et court
En battant tristement
Dans mon cœur si lourd
Et pourtant, j'attendrai
Ton retour
Les fleurs palissent
Le feu s'éteint
L'ombre se glisse
Dans le jardin
L'horloge tisse
Des sons très las
Je crois entendre ton pas
Le vent m'apporte
Des bruits lointains
Guettant ma porte
J'écoute en vain
Helas, plus rien
Plus rien ne vient
J'attendrai
Le jour et la nuit, j'attendrai toujours
Ton retour
J'attendrai
Car l'oiseau qui s'enfuit vient chercher l'oubli
Dans son nid
Le temps passe et court
En battant tristement
Dans mon cœur si lourd
Et pourtant, j'attendrai
Ton retour
@solem2562
J′attendrai
Le jour et la nuit, j'attendrai toujours
Ton retour
J′attendrai
Car l'oiseau qui s'enfuit vient chercher l′oubli
Dans son nid
Le temps passe et court
En battant tristement
Dans mon cœur plus lourd
Et pourtant, j′attendrai
Ton retour
Les fleurs palissent
Le feu s'éteint
L′ombre se glisse
Dans le jardin
L'horloge tisse
Des sons très las
Je crois entendre ton pas
Le vent m′apporte
Des bruits lointains
Guettant ma porte
J'écoute en vain
Helas, plus rien
Plus rien ne vient
J′attendrai
Le jour et la nuit, j'attendrai toujours
Ton retour
J'attendrai
Car l′oiseau qui s′enfuit vient chercher l'oubli
Dans son nid
Le temps passe et court
En battant tristement
Dans mon cœur plus lourd
Et pourtant, j′attendrai
Ton retour
@phchoucri1
Paroles :
J'attendrai
Le jour et la nuit, j'attendrai toujours
Ton retour
J'attendrai
Car l'oiseau qui s'enfuit vient chercher l'oubli
Dans son nid
Le temps passe et court
En battant tristement
Dans mon cœur plus lourd
Et pourtant, j'attendrai
Ton retour
Les fleurs palissent
Le feu s'éteint
L'ombre se glisse
Dans le jardin
L'horloge tisse
Des sons très las
Je crois entendre ton pas
Le vent m'apporte
Des bruits lointains
Guettant ma porte
J'écoute en vain
Helas, plus rien
Plus rien ne vient
J'attendrai
Le jour et la nuit, j'attendrai toujours
Ton retour
J'attendrai
Car l'oiseau qui s'enfuit vient chercher l'oubli
Dans son nid
Le temps passe et court
En battant tristement
Dans mon cœur plus lourd
Et pourtant, j'attendrai
Ton retour
@bertiepinchera3940
Lyrics:
J'attendrai le jour et la nuit
j'attendrai toujours
ton retour
j'attendrai car l'oiseau qui s'enfuit
Vient chercher l'oubli
dans son nid.
Le temps passe et court
en battant tristement
dans mon coeur si lourd
et pourtant
j'attendrai ton retour.
Le fleurs palissent
le jeu s'éteint
l'ombre glisse
Dans les jardins
l'horloge tisse
des sons tres lents
je crois entendre ton pas
Le vent m'apporte
des bruits lointains
Devant ma porte
j'écoute en vain
helas, plus rien, plus rien me vient
I will wait the day and the night
I will always await
your return
I will wait because the bird which flees
Comes to seek the lapse of memory
in its nest.
Time passes and runs
while beating sadly
in my so heavy heart
and yet
I will await your return.
The flowers train
the play dies out
the shade slips
Into the gardens
the clock weaves
very slow sounds
I believe to hear your step
the wind brings
remote noises to me
In front of my door
I listen in vain
alas, nothing, nothing comes me
@MRMOTIVATR
I first hear this in 1939 in Belgium...just months before the Holocaust began and our family ran.I was 7 years old. Still my favorite of all time!
@paultrigo5401
I wish you the best for your life. I hope the next generations will never forget.
@joaquimalbareda5013
;
@CheonMaJossa
Long live to you kind sir
@tholamchan7824
At least you have left something to cherish and remember the time of happiness
@fritzmasten7675
Wow!!
@jackmorris4821
i am 94 and have loved this song all my life!
@johnblasiak607
Long may you live Sir 😊🙏
@mbd6054
How wonderful. May you long continue to enjoy it, Mr. Morris.
@bope1617
How are you, sir. You have good taste.