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.
Un jour je te dirai
Tino Rossi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Soupirs, baisers frivoles,
De vous je suis las.
D'autres ne voient que cela,
Pour moi l′amour n'est pas là.
Garde ton âme claire et pure
De toutes les souillures,Ô, toi que j'attends,
Toi, ma princesse au cœur dormant,
Toi, mon si doux roman.
Un jour je te dirai:
C′est toi que j′aime,
Alors j'inventerai
D′ardents poèmes.
Pour toi je chanterai
Les mots suprêmes
Lorsque je te dirai:
C'est toi que j′aime.
L'ombre, la nuit sur mes yeux pose
Ce voile qui repose
Du jour trop brutal.
Mon cœur te cherche, j′ai mal,
Quel ciel te garde, quel val?
Tout bas, puisque j'ignore en somme
Le nom dont on te nomme,
Ma lèvre dit: Toi.
Toi, c'est mon rêve, c′est ma foi,
C′est plus que tout pour moi.
Un jour je te dirai:
C'est toi que j′aime,
Alors j'inventerai
D′ardents poèmes.
Pour toi je chanterai
Les mots suprêmes
Lorsque je te dirai:
C'est toi que j′aime.
Lorsque je te dirai:
C'est toi que j'aime.
Tino Rossi's song Un Jour Je Te Dirai is a romantic ballad that expounds on the singer's belief in the purity of love, conveyed through the lyrics' melancholic and hopeful tone. Through the verses and stanzas, the singer expresses frustration with the fleeting nature of many relationships, where promises and kisses are superficial, and the search for true love often leads to disappointment. The use of phrases such as "Phrases, serments qui tôt s′envolent" (Phrases, promises that quickly take flight) and "Soupirs, baisers frivoles" (Sighs, frivolous kisses) amplifies the sentiment of transience and lack of substance in these fleeting romantic encounters.
However, the singer holds steadfast in their belief in true love, offering words of encouragement to the object of their affection: "Garde ton âme claire et pure/ De toutes les souillures" (Keep your soul clear and pure/ Free from all impurities, Oh, you whom I await). The singer then goes on to describe the person they long for as a sleeping princess, a sweet romance, and the ultimate object of their deepest affections: "Toi, ma princesse au cœur dormant, / Toi, mon si doux roman" (You, my sleeping princess,/ You, my sweet romance).
The chorus, "Un jour je te dirai:/ C′est toi que j′aime,/ Alors j'inventerai/ D′ardents poèmes./ Pour toi je chanterai/ Les mots suprêmes/ Lorsque je te dirai:/ C'est toi que j′aime" (One day I'll tell you:/ It's you that I love/ Then I'll invent/ Ardently passionate poems./ For you, I'll sing/ The most sublime words/ When I say to you:/ It's you that I love), is a declaration of the singer's unwavering love and the lengths they will go to express it.
Overall, Un Jour Je Te Dirai is a heartfelt and bittersweet ode to love, with complex themes of transience and purity interwoven with romantic idealism and hopes for the future.
Line by Line Meaning
Phrases, serments qui tôt s′envolent,
Promises and vows that disappear too soon,
Soupirs, baisers frivoles,
Sighs, frivolous kisses,
De vous je suis las.
I am tired of them.
D'autres ne voient que cela,
Others see only that,
Pour moi l′amour n'est pas là.
But for me, love is not there.
Garde ton âme claire et pure
Keep your soul clear and pure
De toutes les souillures,
From all the impurities,
Ô, toi que j'attends,
Oh, you whom I am waiting for,
Toi, ma princesse au cœur dormant,
You, my sleeping princess,
Toi, mon si doux roman.
You, my sweet novel.
Un jour je te dirai:
One day, I will tell you:
C′est toi que j′aime,
It is you that I love,
Alors j'inventerai
Then I will invent
D′ardents poèmes.
Passionate poems.
Pour toi je chanterai
For you, I will sing
Les mots suprêmes
The ultimate words
Lorsque je te dirai:
When I tell you:
C'est toi que j′aime.
It is you that I love.
L'ombre, la nuit sur mes yeux pose
The shadow, the night that lays over my eyes
Ce voile qui repose
This veil that rests
Du jour trop brutal.
From the too brutal day.
Mon cœur te cherche, j′ai mal,
My heart is looking for you, I am in pain,
Quel ciel te garde, quel val?
What sky keeps you, what valley?
Tout bas, puisque j'ignore en somme
Quietly, since I ignore in the end
Le nom dont on te nomme,
The name that you are called,
Ma lèvre dit: Toi.
My lip says: You.
Toi, c'est mon rêve, c′est ma foi,
You, are my dream, my faith,
C′est plus que tout pour moi.
You are everything to me.
Lorsque je te dirai:
When I tell you:
C'est toi que j′aime,
It is you that I love,
Alors j'inventerai
Then I will invent
D′ardents poèmes.
Passionate poems.
Pour toi je chanterai
For you, I will sing
Les mots suprêmes
The ultimate words
Lorsque je te dirai:
When I tell you:
C'est toi que j′aime.
It is you that I love.
Writer(s): Gorni Kramer
Contributed by John L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@galinapungina155
Orcestras- thanks !!! !!! But tenderness of voice is number one !!! !!!❤❤❤
@galinapungina155
Perfection !❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
@galinapungina155
Incomparable !!! !!!❤❤❤love!
@galinapungina155
Everything by TINO is high quality GOLD ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
@galinapungina155
Tino is beloved,darling nitingale !!! French is beautiful ❤❤❤
@galinapungina155
From singers befor & today-only Tino !!! !!! ❤❤
@galinapungina155
Heart breaker-Tino Rossi- love him much !!! ❤❤❤
@galinapungina155
Only Tino Rossi, no one else !!! ❤🎉🎉🎉❤❤
@galinapungina155
Love Tino Rossi madly,insanely❤❤❤❤❤❤
@galinapungina155
Once in awhile such miracle ! ❤❤❤❤❤❤