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.
Le moulin de magali
Tino Rossi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Quand Paris est sans soleil ,
J'ai pour rêver une escale,
Un petit coin sans pareil.
Là-bas, où chantent les cigales ,
Là-bas, où le ciel est vermeil...
Refrain :Car j'ai laissé mon coeur dans ma Provence
Tout mon amour est resté là-bas dans mon Midi.
Dans un hameau où chante la Durance,
Où l'olivier semble toujours fleuri.
Un vieux moulin sème au vent des poèmes,
Dans ce moulin il y a Magali...
Elle a des yeux plus bleus que le ciel même
Et c'est elle que j'aime, elle que je chéris.
Qu'il est joli le Moulin de Magali.
Un beau soir de clair de lune, j'ai fait un rêve joli
Et j'allais tenter fortune au tourbillon de Paris.
Paris, tu n'es rien sans ma brune,
Paris, ne vaut pas Magali...
Refrain
Car j'ai laissé mon coeur dans ma provence
Tout mon amour est resté là-bas dans mon midi;
dans un hameau où chante la Durance,
où l'olivier semble toujours fleuri.
un vieux moulin sème au vent des poèmes,
dans ce moulin il y a Magali...
Elle a des yeux plus bleus que le ciel même
Et c'est elle que j'aime, elle que je chéris.
Qu'il est joli le Moulin de Magali.
The lyrics to Tino Rossi's song "Le Moulin De Magali" depict the singer's longing for his homeland, Provence, while he finds himself in a gray and sunless Paris. He yearns for a place where he can escape and dream, a little corner that is unparalleled. The song highlights the beauty and charm of Provence, where the cicadas sing and the sky is crimson. The refrain emphasizes the singer's heart and love remaining in Provence, specifically in a hamlet where the Durance River flows and the olive tree always seems to be in bloom. In this place, there is an old mill that spreads poems to the wind, and it is here that Magali resides. The singer describes Magali as having eyes bluer than the sky itself, and it is she who he loves and cherishes. The song concludes with the assertion that Paris is nothing without his beloved Magali.
Line by Line Meaning
Quand le ciel est gris et sale,
When the sky is gray and dirty,
Quand Paris est sans soleil ,
When Paris is without sun,
J'ai pour rêver une escale,
I have, for dreaming, an escape,
Un petit coin sans pareil.
A unique little place.
Là-bas, où chantent les cigales ,
Over there, where the cicadas sing,
Là-bas, où le ciel est vermeil...
Over there, where the sky is crimson...
Refrain :
Chorus:
Car j'ai laissé mon coeur dans ma Provence
Because I left my heart in my Provence
Tout mon amour est resté là-bas dans mon Midi.
All my love remains there in my Midi.
Dans un hameau où chante la Durance,
In a hamlet where the Durance river sings,
Où l'olivier semble toujours fleuri.
Where the olive tree always seems in bloom.
Un vieux moulin sème au vent des poèmes,
An old mill scatters poems in the wind,
Dans ce moulin il y a Magali...
In this mill, there is Magali...
Elle a des yeux plus bleus que le ciel même
She has eyes bluer than the sky itself
Et c'est elle que j'aime, elle que je chéris.
And it is her that I love, her that I cherish.
Qu'il est joli le Moulin de Magali.
How lovely is the Mill of Magali.
Un beau soir de clair de lune, j'ai fait un rêve joli
On a beautiful moonlit evening, I had a beautiful dream
Et j'allais tenter fortune au tourbillon de Paris.
And I was going to try my luck in the whirlwind of Paris.
Paris, tu n'es rien sans ma brune,
Paris, you are nothing without my brunette,
Paris, ne vaut pas Magali...
Paris is not worth Magali...
Refrain
Chorus
Car j'ai laissé mon coeur dans ma provence
Because I left my heart in my Provence
Tout mon amour est resté là-bas dans mon midi;
All my love remains there in my Midi;
dans un hameau où chante la Durance,
in a hamlet where the Durance river sings,
où l'olivier semble toujours fleuri.
where the olive tree always seems in bloom.
un vieux moulin sème au vent des poèmes,
an old mill scatters poems in the wind,
dans ce moulin il y a Magali...
in this mill, there is Magali...
Elle a des yeux plus bleus que le ciel même
She has eyes bluer than the sky itself
Et c'est elle que j'aime, elle que je chéris.
And it is her that I love, her that I cherish.
Qu'il est joli le Moulin de Magali.
How lovely is the Mill of Magali.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, LES NOUVELLES EDITIONS MERIDIAN
Written by: CHARLES BOREL-CLERC, RENE SARVIL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@elianechaussinand7596
Pour mon PAPA , toi qui l'a chantait si bien .
@richardmeunier6718
Le moulin de Magali - Tino Rossi 1937 (Sarvil - Borel-Clerc)
Quand le ciel est gris et sale
Quand Paris est sans soleil
J’ai pour rêver une escale
Un petit coin sans pareil
Là-bas où chantent les cigales
Là-bas où le ciel est vermeil
R. Car j’ai laissé mon cœur dans ma Provence
Tout mon amour est resté là-bas dans le Midi
Dans un hameau où chante la Durance
Où l’olivier semble toujours fleuri
Un vieux moulin sème au vent des poèmes
Dans ce moulin, il y a Magali
Elle a des yeux plus bleus que le ciel même
Et c’est elle que j’aime, elle que je chéris
Un beau soir de clair de lune
J’ai fait un rêve joli
Et j’allais tenter fortune
Au tourbillon de Paris
Paris, tu n’es rien sans ma brune
Paris ne vaut pas Magali
R.
Qu’il est joli, le moulin de Magali !