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.
Le chant des partisans
Yves Montand Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ami, entends-tu les cris sourds du pays qu'on enchaîne ?
Ohé, partisans, ouvriers et paysans, c'est l'alarme.
Ce soir l'ennemi connaîtra le prix du sang et les larmes.
Montez de la mine, descendez des collines, camarades !
Sortez de la paille les fusils, la mitraille, les grenades.
Ohé, les tueurs à la balle et au couteau, tuez vite !
C'est nous qui brisons les barreaux des prisons pour nos frères.
La haine à nos trousses et la faim qui nous pousse, la misère.
Il y a des pays où les gens au creux des lits font des rèves.
Ici, nous, vois-tu, nous on marche et nous on tue, nous on crève...
Ici chacun sait ce qu'il veut, ce qu'il fait quand il passe.
Ami, si tu tombes un ami sort de l'ombre à ta place.
Demain du sang noir sèchera au grand soleil sur les routes.
Chantez, compagnons, dans la nuit la Liberté nous écoute...
Ami, entends-tu ces cris sourds du pays qu'on enchaîne ?
Ami, entends-tu le vol noir des corbeaux sur nos plaines ?
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh...
Yves Montand's song "Le chant des partisans" is a rousing anthem of resistance against oppression and injustice. The lyrics vividly capture the desperation and determination of the partisans in their fight for freedom. The opening lines, "Ami, entends-tu le vol noir des corbeaux sur nos plaines?" ("Friend, do you hear the black flight of ravens over our plains?"), serve as a stark reminder of the death and destruction wrought by those in power. The cries of an enslaved nation are heard in the lines, "Ami, entends-tu les cris sourds du pays qu'on enchaîne?" ("Friend, do you hear the muffled cries of the country that is being chained?") The use of the word "sourd," or "muffled," is especially powerful in evoking the sense of oppression and the struggle to be heard.
The call to action comes with the rallying cry of "Ohé, partisans, ouvriers et paysans, c'est l'alarme" ("Hey, partisans, workers and peasants, it's the alarm"). The urgency of the situation is palpable in the line, "Ce soir l'ennemi connaîtra le prix du sang et des larmes" ("Tonight the enemy will know the price of blood and tears"). The verses that follow call for action, urging comrades to "Montez de la mine, descendez des collines, camarades" ("Rise up from the mines, come down from the hills, comrades") and to arm themselves with grenades and rifles.
The song's final verse is an ode to the power of unity and the human spirit. The singer acknowledges the difficult conditions of their struggle, describing the "hate at our heels" and the misery of hunger and poverty. Yet, the singer also paints a picture of hope, where individuals stand up for themselves and their communities against oppressive powers. The last lines, "Chantez, compagnons, dans la nuit la Liberté nous écoute" ("Sing, comrades, in the night, Liberty is listening to us"), are a clear call for solidarity and a refusal to back down.
Overall, "Le chant des partisans" is a rallying cry for resistance against oppressive regimes. It speaks to the power of collective action and the human spirit's unending quest for freedom.
Line by Line Meaning
Ami, entends-tu le vol noir des corbeaux sur nos plaines ?
Friend, do you hear the dark flight of the ravens over our plains?
Ami, entends-tu les cris sourds du pays qu'on enchaîne ?
Friend, do you hear the muffled cries of the country that we are enslaving?
Ohé, partisans, ouvriers et paysans, c'est l'alarme.
Hey, partisans, workers and peasants, it's the alarm.
Ce soir l'ennemi connaîtra le prix du sang et les larmes.
Tonight the enemy will know the price of blood and tears.
Montez de la mine, descendez des collines, camarades !
Climb out of the mines, come down from the hills, comrades!
Sortez de la paille les fusils, la mitraille, les grenades.
Take out the guns, the bullets, the grenades from the straw.
Ohé, les tueurs à la balle et au couteau, tuez vite !
Hey, killers with guns and knives, kill quickly!
Ohé, saboteur, attention à ton fardeau : dynamite...
Hey, saboteur, be careful with your load: dynamite...
C'est nous qui brisons les barreaux des prisons pour nos frères.
It is us who break the prison bars for our brothers.
La haine à nos trousses et la faim qui nous pousse, la misère.
Hatred on our tails and hunger that drives us, misery.
Il y a des pays où les gens au creux des lits font des rèves.
There are countries where people dream in their beds.
Ici, nous, vois-tu, nous on marche et nous on tue, nous on crève...
Here, do you see, we march and we kill, we die...
Ici chacun sait ce qu'il veut, ce qu'il fait quand il passe.
Here, everyone knows what they want and what they do as they pass.
Ami, si tu tombes un ami sort de l'ombre à ta place.
Friend, if you fall, a friend will come out of the shadows to take your place.
Demain du sang noir sèchera au grand soleil sur les routes.
Tomorrow black blood will dry in the hot sun on the roads.
Chantez, compagnons, dans la nuit la Liberté nous écoute...
Sing, comrades, in the night, Liberty is listening to us...
Ami, entends-tu ces cris sourds du pays qu'on enchaîne ?
Friend, do you hear the muffled cries of the country that we are enslaving?
Ami, entends-tu le vol noir des corbeaux sur nos plaines ?
Friend, do you hear the dark flight of the ravens over our plains?
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh...
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh...
Contributed by Reagan O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
jacques lustik
Un chant qui devrait être l'hymne de la France. Toujours aussi bien interprété par un Grand de la chanson française.
Leticia MARTIN-PEÑASCO
tout à fait d'accord
Domie Kumba
Toujours aussi émue quant j'écoute cette chanson, je pense à mes grands-parents et à tous les résistants qui ont donné leur vie avec courage pour sauver des vies et la France.
jpcperso
Moi aussi.
Lola P
Le chant de mes parents eux au moins avaient du COURAGE
dolores martinez
Mon père y était et avant en Espagne dans une autre guerre. Le bruit des bottes fait toujours aussi peur et il n est pas si loin qu on le croit malheureusement. Nécessaire, ce chant.
janick haudrechy
Oui ces vrai pour qo'n soit libre ona eu un bon général à l'époque lui cetai la France on 'e rêvera plus ca tous veuille limitez i ne seront jamais. A la. Hauteur 🇫 du 80🇷
Eric Bizat
Toujours d'actualité.. hélas !
Alain Navaron
A chaque fois que j ecoute ce petit bijou j en ai des frissons dans le dos ,je pense a mon papa qui était rentre dans le maquis a 17 ans
Jean Pierre
Magnifiquement interpréter par Montand, j’ai toujours autant la chair de poule quand j’écoute ce chant quand on c’est ce qu’il représente