Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, the son of poor peasants Giuseppina (née Simoni) and Giovanni Livi, a broommaker. Montand's mother was a devout Catholic, while his father held strong Communist beliefs. Because of the Fascist regime in Italy, Montand's family left for France in 1923. He grew up in Marseille, where, as a young man, he worked in his sister's barber shop, and later on the docks. He began a career in show business as a music-hall singer. In 1944, he was discovered by Édith Piaf in Paris and she made him part of her act, becoming his mentor and lover.
Montand went on to international recognition as a singer and actor, starring in numerous films. His recognizably crooner songs, especially those about Paris, became instant classics.
He was one of the most famous performers at Bruno Coquatrix's famous Paris Olympia music hall.
In 1951, he married the actress Simone Signoret, and they co-starred in several films throughout their careers. The marriage was, by all accounts, fairly harmonious, lasting until her death in 1985, although Montand had a number of well-publicised affairs, notably with Marilyn Monroe, with whom he starred in one of her last films, Let's Make Love. During his career, Montand acted in a number of American motion pictures as well as on Broadway. He was nominated for a Cesar Award for "Best Actor" in 1980 for "I comme Icare" and again in 1984 for "Garçon!"
In the French dubbings of Looney Tunes, the character Pepé Le Pew is an Italian skunk named "Pépé le putois". The voice characterization was often based on Montand's performances.
In 1986, after his international box-office draw power had fallen off considerably, the 65-year-old Montand gave one of his most memorable performances, as the scheming uncle in the two-part film: Jean de Florette, co-starring Gérard Depardieu, and Manon des Sources, co-starring Emmanuelle Béart. The film was a worldwide critical hit and raised Montand's profile in the U.S., where he made an appearance on "Late Night with David Letterman."
Montand's only child, Valentin, his son by his second wife Carole Amiel, was born in 1988. In a paternity suit that rocked France, another woman accused Montand of being the father of her daughter and went to court to obtain a DNA sample from him. Montand refused, but the woman persisted after his death. In a court ruling that made international headlines, the woman won the right to have Montand exhumed and a sample taken. It subsequently showed that he was not the girl's father.
Montand embarked on an affair with Marilyn Monroe during filming of the ill fated film Let's Make Love. He had been personally recommended by Arthur Miller after Miller saw him acting in a foreign movie version of his play The Crucible called Les Sorcières de Salem. Montand always expressed regret over the affair as he considered Miller a "good friend".
In his later years he maintained a home in St Paul de Vence, Provence until his death.
Montand died from a heart attack. In an interview, Jean-Jacques Beineix said, "[H]e died on the set [of IP5: The Island of Pachyderms]... On the very last day, after his very last shot. It was the very last night and we were doing retakes. He finished what he was doing and then he just died. And the film tells the story of an old man who dies from a heart attack, which is the same thing that happened!"
He is buried next to Simone Signoret in the Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, France.
In 2004, Catherine Allégret, Montand's stepdaughter and Simone Signoret's daughter from her first marriage, published a book titled World Upside Down (Un monde à l'envers ISBN 2-253-11442-1) in which she contended that Montand had abused her sexually since she was five years old.
L'Addition
Yves Montand Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Des soirs qui tombent, un regard bleu
Plus un sanglot, plus un violon
La vie et tout ce temps cassé
Que l'on appelle le passé
Plus l'avenir en dix leçons
De nos prophètes bénévoles
Et les oiseaux qui chantent après
L' avion ne l'a pas fait exprès
Plus les amis dans la maison
Moins ceux qui pour toujours s'en vont
Les enfants sont déjà devant
Ôté de nous, ôté de moi
Il ne nous reste pas beaucoup
Plus les combats, le cœur qui bat
Les défaites souvent secrètes
Et tous les doutes qu'on redoute
Mas quand on a perdu le nôtre
Il y a encore l'espoir des autres
Multiplié par les idées
Divisé par tous les mots d'ordre
Certains finissent par confondre
Certains ne peuvent pas répondre
Bouche sans cri au bout d'une corde
Et plus la pluie et le bon temps
Et l'herbe qui pousse entre-temps
Plus tous les désobéissants
Qui ne veulent plus se mettre en rang
Les enfants sont déjà devant
Moins ceux qui sont encore à naître
Plus l'inconnu dans la fenêtre
Et plus l'amour de quelques-uns
Et plus ou moins de quelques-unes
Je pose tout, je retiens une
Égale...
Égale un homme en équilibre
Sur trois vers
De Prévert
Mais ce sont des vers libres
In Yves Montand's song L'Addition, the lyrics explore the contrast between happy moments and hard realities that people face in life. The first few lines emphasize the happy memories, such as the presence of a dove, the beauty of a blue gaze, and the absence of tears or violins. However, the lyrics later shift towards darker themes, such as violence caused by bombs in schools, the loss of friends, and secret defeats. The song also touches on the idea of hope, despite the hardships, through the support of loved ones and the possibility of better days.
Line by Line Meaning
Des jours heureux, une colombe
In the past, there were happy days symbolized by a dove
Des soirs qui tombent, un regard bleu
During the sunset, a blue-eyed person reflects on the past
Plus un sanglot, plus un violon
No more tears or melancholic music
La vie et tout ce temps casse
Life itself is broken from the weight of time
Que l'on appelle le passé
The past, a name given to the accumulation of time
Plus l'avenir en dix lecons
The future is condensed into ten lessons
De nos prophetes benevoles
From the benevolent prophets of our time
Plus une bombe sur une ecole
And a bomb exploding in a school
Et les oiseaux qui chantent apres
But the birds still sing afterwards
L'avion ne l'a pas fait expres
It was not the airplane's intention
Plus les amis dans la maison
With more friends in the house
Moins ceux qui pour toujours s'en vont
Fewer people who are gone forever
Les enfants sont deja devant
The children are already ahead of us
Ote de nous, ote de moi
Removed from us, removed from me
Il ne nous reste pas beaucoup
There is not much left for us
Plus les combats, le coeur qui bat
With more battles and a racing heart
Les defaites souvent secretes
Defeats are often kept secret
Et tous les doutes qu'on redoute
And all the doubts that we fear
Mais quand on a perdu le notre
But when we have lost ours
Il y a encore l'espoir des autres
There is still hope from others
Multiplie par les idees
Multiplied by ideas
Divise par tous les mots d'ordre
Divided by all the slogans
Certains finissent par confondre
Some people end up confused
Certains ne peuvent pas repondre
Some people cannot answer
Bouche sans cri au bout d'une corde
A mouth gagged at the end of a rope
Et plus la pluie et le bon temps
With more rain and good weather
Et l'herbe qui pousse entre-temps
And grass growing in the meantime
Plus tous les desobeissants
With all the disobedient people
Qui ne veulent plus se mettre en rang
Who no longer want to line up in ranks
Moins ceux qui sont encore a naitre
Fewer people who are yet to be born
Plus l'inconnu dans la fenetre
With more uncertainty in the future
Et plus l'amour de quelques-uns
And with more love from a few
Et plus ou moins de quelques-unes
And with more or less from a few others
Je pose tout, je retiens une
I let go of everything and hold on to one thing
Egale...
Equals...
Egale un homme en equilibre
Equals a man in balance
Sur trois vers
On three verses
De Prevert
By Prévert
Mais ce sont des vers libres
But these are free verses
Contributed by Stella K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
YOS
cette chanson est merveilleuse elle sera dans mes prochains concerts il me reste plus qua la mettre au point avec beaucoup de travaille le public sera ravi
Gisele LACROIX
"L'addition"Magnifique chanson d' Yves Montand...
Qui ouvre l'extraordinaire Doc
"Montand est à nous"
Diffusé il y a quelques jours à la TV.
Chanson engagée, comme souvent...
Mais cela ne l'empêche pas d'être un show man !
Quel artiste !
Comme il nous manque...
YvesD_fr
Superbe chanson et superbe interprète !
samuel haddab
Magnifique ! Je l'avais entendue quand j'étais enfant... Je crois me souvenir que le texte est signé Jean Loup Dabadie
Pierre Deby
Bien ravis d'une entente scellée par les Mains de L'Esprit , sans cagnottes . . .
D'une trivial appréhension
mais en redites de sauvegarde . . . X)
Khalid al-Masri
we miss you yves!!!!!!!!
Philippe Simon
GÉANT !
Natacha Jarry
💗💗💗💯💯💯👍👍👍
guy janin
Il es inoubliable
guy janin
Et josette