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.
La goualante du pauvre Jean
Yves Montand Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
La goualante du pauvre Jean
Que les femmes n'aimaient pas
Mais n'oubliez pas
Dans la vie y a qu'une morale
Qu'on soit riche ou sans un sou
Sans amour on n'est rien du tout
Dans la soie et le velours
Il pionçait dans de beaux draps
Mais n'oubliez pas
Dans la vie on est peau d'balle
Quand notre cœur est au clou
Sans amour on n'est rien du tout
Il bectait chez les barons
Il guinchait dans les salons
Et lichait tous les tafias
Mais n'oubliez pas
Rien ne vaut une belle fille
Qui partage votre ragoût
Sans amour on n'est rien du tout
Pour gagner des picaillons
Il fut un méchant larron
On le saluait bien bas
Mais n'oubliez pas
Un jour on fait la pirouette
Et derrière les verrous
Sans amour on n'est rien du tout
Esgourdez bien jeunes gens
Profitez de vos vingt ans
On ne les a qu'une fois
Et n'oubliez pas
Plutôt qu'une cordelette
Mieux vaut une femme à son cou
Sans amour on n'est rien du tout
Et voilà mes braves gens
La goualante du pauvre Jean
Qui vous dit en vous quittant
Aimez-vous....
The lyrics of Yves Montand's song La goualante du pauvre Jean are a cautionary tale about the importance of love and the dangers of pursuing wealth and status above all else. The titular "poor Jean" is a man who lived a life of luxury and privilege but was ultimately unhappy because he lacked love. The song begins by urging the listener to stop and listen to the story of poor Jean, a man whom women did not like. However, the lesson of the song is that in life there is only one moral, whether one is rich or poor, and that is that without love, one is nothing.
The song goes on to describe poor Jean's opulent lifestyle, slept in beautiful linens, dined with aristocrats, and danced in elegant ballrooms. But the song's refrain, "without love, we are nothing," reminds the listener that none of these material pleasures matter if one is not loved. The song also warns of the dangers of abandoning moral principles to pursue wealth, as poor Jean did when he turned to thievery to make a living.
Ultimately, the song ends with a plea to young people to learn from poor Jean's mistakes and seize the opportunities they have in their youth to find love and build a fulfilling life. In the end, the goualante du pauvre Jean is a timeless cautionary tale about the dangers of chasing power, status, and wealth at the expense of love and human connection.
Line by Line Meaning
Esgourdez rien qu'un instant
Listen for just a moment
La goualante du pauvre Jean
The song of poor Jean
Que les femmes n'aimaient pas
That women did not love
Mais n'oubliez pas
But do not forget
Dans la vie y a qu'une morale
In life, there's only one moral
Qu'on soit riche ou sans un sou
Whether you are rich or penniless
Sans amour on n'est rien du tout
Without love, you're nothing at all
Il vivait au jour le jour
He lived day by day
Dans la soie et le velours
In silk and velvet
Il pionçait dans de beaux draps
He slept in fine linens
Mais n'oubliez pas
But do not forget
Dans la vie on est peau d'balle
In life, you're nothing special
Quand notre cœur est au clou
When our heart is sad
Sans amour on n'est rien du tout
Without love, you're nothing at all
Il bectait chez les barons
He dined with the barons
Il guinchait dans les salons
He partied in the salons
Et lichait tous les tafias
And drank all the beer
Mais n'oubliez pas
But do not forget
Rien ne vaut une belle fille
Nothing is better than a beautiful girl
Qui partage votre ragoût
Who shares your stew
Sans amour on n'est rien du tout
Without love, you're nothing at all
Pour gagner des picaillons
To earn some penny
Il fut un méchant larron
He became a wicked thief
On le saluait bien bas
He was greeted very low
Mais n'oubliez pas
But do not forget
Un jour on fait la pirouette
One day, things can turn around quickly
Et derrière les verrous
And behind bars
Sans amour on n'est rien du tout
Without love, you're nothing at all
Esgourdez bien jeunes gens
Listen well young people
Profitez de vos vingt ans
Enjoy your twenties
On ne les a qu'une fois
You only have them once
Et n'oubliez pas
And do not forget
Plutôt qu'une cordelette
Rather than a cheap scarf
Mieux vaut une femme à son cou
It's better to have a woman by your side
Sans amour on n'est rien du tout
Without love, you're nothing at all
Et voilà mes braves gens
And there, my brave people
La goualante du pauvre Jean
The song of poor Jean
Qui vous dit en vous quittant
That tells you as it leaves
Aimez-vous...
Love each other...
Contributed by Penelope F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@jeanpierrezutter587
Belle interprétation de la goualante du pauvre Jean !!
Belle voix !!