Yves Montand (13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991) was an Italian-born French… Read Full Bio ↴Yves Montand (13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991) was an Italian-born French actor and singer.

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.

Les enfants qui s'aiment
Yves Montand Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Les enfants qui s'aiment s'embrassent debout contre les portes de la nuit
Et les passants qui passent les désignent du doigt
Mais les enfant qui s'aiment ne sont là pour personne
Et c'est seulement leur ombre qui tremble dans la nuit,
Excitant la rage des passants
Leur rage, leur mépris, leur rire et leur envie
Les enfants qui s'aiment ne sont là pour personne
Ils sont ailleurs bien plus loin que la nuit

Bien plus haut que le jour
Dans l'éblouissante clarté de leur premier amour.
Ils sont ailleurs bien plus loin que la nuit

Bien plus haut que le jour
Dans l'éblouissante clarté de leur premier amour.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Yves Montand's song "Les enfants qui s'aiment" depict a scene of young lovers embracing against the doors of the night. Despite the disapproval and judgment from the passersby who point at them, these young lovers exist only for each other. They are oblivious to the world around them, with only their trembling shadows in the night exciting the anger of those who observe them. The onlookers display their rage, contempt, laughter, and envy towards these lovers. However, the love between these children remains untainted and unaffected by the opinions of others.

The second stanza reinforces the idea that these children who love each other are in a world of their own, far removed from the constraints of reality. They exist beyond the reach of the night and even higher than the limitations of the day, residing in the dazzling clarity of their first love. Their love transcends time and space, carrying them to a place where their connection is untouchable and pure.

This song beautifully captures the essence of young, innocent love and the powerful impact it can have on individuals. It highlights the contrast between the judgmental nature of society and the unbridled beauty and passion of love.

Line by Line Meaning

Les enfants qui s'aiment s'embrassent debout contre les portes de la nuit
The young lovers embrace while standing against the dark doors of the night

Et les passants qui passent les désignent du doigt
And the passing pedestrians point at them

Mais les enfants qui s'aiment ne sont là pour personne
But the young lovers are not here for anyone else

Et c'est seulement leur ombre qui tremble dans la nuit
And only their shadow trembles in the night

Excitant la rage des passants
Stirring up the anger of the passersby

Leur rage, leur mépris, leur rire et leur envie
Their rage, their disdain, their laughter, and their envy

Les enfants qui s'aiment ne sont là pour personne
The young lovers are not here for anyone else

Ils sont ailleurs bien plus loin que la nuit
They are somewhere far beyond the night

Bien plus haut que le jour
Much higher than the day

Dans l'éblouissante clarté de leur premier amour
In the dazzling brightness of their first love

Ils sont ailleurs bien plus loin que la nuit
They are somewhere far beyond the night