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.
Mon pot' le gitan
Yves Montand Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Une gueule toute noir, des carreaux tout bleus
Y reste des heures sans dire un seul mot
Assis près du poêle au fond du bistrot
C'gars-là une roulotte s'promène dans sa tête
Et quand elle voyage jamais ne s'arrête
Des tas d'paysages sortent de ses yeux
Mon pot' le gitan, c'est pas un marrant
Et dans notre bistrot personne le comprend
Comme tous ces gars-là il a sa guitare
Une guitare crasseuse qui vous colle le noir
Quand y s'met à jouer la vieille roulotte
Galope dans sa tête, les joueurs de belote
S'arrêtent et plus rien... on a mal en dedans
Mon pot' le gitan c'est pas un marrant
Mon pot' le gitan un jour est parti
Et Dieu seul sait où il ballade sa vie
Ce type là était un grand musicien
Ça j'en étais sûr, moi je l'sentais bien
Le tôlier m'a dit qu'on est venu l'chercher
Un grand music-hall voulait l'acheter
Mon pot' le gitan il a refusé
Un haussement d'épaules et il s'est taillé?
J'ai eu l'impression de perdre un ami
Et pourtant c'gars-là ne m'a jamais rien dit
Mais il m'a laissé un coin de sa roulotte
Et dans ma petite tête j'ai du rêve qui trotte
Sa drôle de musique en moi est restée
Quand je pense à lui, m'arrive de chanter
Toi sacré gitan qui sentait l'cafard
Au fond ta musique était pleine d'espoir.
In Yves Montand's song "Mon pot' le Gitan," the singer describes his friend, a gypsy man who is something of an enigma. He has dark features and wears blue-checked clothing, but he rarely speaks and instead sits for hours on end next to the stove at the back of the bar. According to the singer, the gypsy man has a "wagon" in his head that is always traveling and never stops, with landscapes and images pouring out of his eyes. Although the gypsy man is not particularly outgoing, he has a guitar that he plays with great passion, and when he does, it's as if the wagon in his head takes off and the room is left quiet and transfixed.
The second verse reveals more about the gypsy man. He isn't well-liked in the bar, perhaps because he doesn't talk much, but his playing is captivating. When he strums his guitar, the wagon in his head takes him to another place, and the other patrons feel the same way. The guitar itself is old and worn, and seems to absorb the darkness of the bar. The gypsy man's playing is so emotional that it moves people in a way that they can't quite articulate.
In the final verse, the singer reveals that the gypsy man has left town. He was a talented musician, and a music hall wanted to buy him out, but he refused and simply walked away. The singer feels as though he's lost a friend, even though he never really got to know the gypsy man. He imagines that the wagon in his friend's head is still traveling, and when he thinks about him, he can't help but sing about the gypsy man's unique music, which was melancholic but full of hope.
Line by Line Meaning
Mon pot' le gitan c'est un gars curieux
My friend, the gypsy, is a curious guy
Une gueule toute noir, des carreaux tout bleus
With a face all black and a blue plaid jacket
Y reste des heures sans dire un seul mot
He stays for hours without saying a word
Assis près du poêle au fond du bistrot
Sitting by the stove at the back of the bar
C'gars-là une roulotte s'promène dans sa tête
This guy has a caravan wandering in his head
Et quand elle voyage jamais ne s'arrête
And when it travels, it never stops
Des tas d'paysages sortent de ses yeux
Lots of landscapes come out of his eyes
Mon pot' le gitan c'est un gars curieux
My friend, the gypsy, is a curious guy
Mon pot' le gitan, c'est pas un marrant
My friend, the gypsy, is not a funny guy
Et dans notre bistrot personne le comprend
And no one in our bar understands him
Comme tous ces gars-là il a sa guitare
Like all those guys, he has his guitar
Une guitare crasseuse qui vous colle le noir
A dirty guitar that smears the black
Quand y s'met à jouer la vieille roulotte
When he starts playing the old caravan
Galope dans sa tête, les joueurs de belote
It gallops in his mind, the belote players
S'arrêtent et plus rien... on a mal en dedans
Stop and nothing...we feel pain inside
Mon pot' le gitan c'est pas un marrant
My friend, the gypsy, is not a funny guy
Mon pot' le gitan un jour est parti
My friend, the gypsy, one day left
Et Dieu seul sait où il ballade sa vie
And only God knows where he wanders in life
Ce type là était un grand musicien
This guy was a great musician
Ça j'en étais sûr, moi je l'sentais bien
I was sure of that, I felt it well
Le tôlier m'a dit qu'on est venu l'chercher
The boss told me that someone came to get him
Un grand music-hall voulait l'acheter
A big music-hall wanted to buy him
Mon pot' le gitan il a refusé
My friend, the gypsy, refused
Un haussement d'épaules et il s'est taillé?
A shoulder shrug and he was gone?
J'ai eu l'impression de perdre un ami
I felt like losing a friend
Et pourtant c'gars-là ne m'a jamais rien dit
And yet, he never told me anything
Mais il m'a laissé un coin de sa roulotte
But he left me a corner of his caravan
Et dans ma petite tête j'ai du rêve qui trotte
And in my little head, there is a dream running
Sa drôle de musique en moi est restée
His strange music stayed in me
Quand je pense à lui, m'arrive de chanter
When I think of him, I sometimes sing
Toi sacré gitan qui sentait l'cafard
You, sacred gypsy, who smelled of blues
Au fond ta musique était pleine d'espoir.
In the end, your music was full of hope.
Contributed by Miles F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
PablitoBodhisattva
Beautiful song. Thanks for the upload, pics and subtitles.
aditzulu
Seulement ceux qui parlent francais peuvent entrer dans la profondeur de cette merveilleuse chanson (parce qu il ya plein d'argot - pote, se tailler...). Yves Montand, le grand, le titan. Son vrai nom c etait Ivo Livi, mais il a adopte Montand parce que sa grand mere italienne lui criait "Monta, Ivo!" (Monte,ivo) quand elle l'apellait pour le repas.
Annick Montassier
Oui ! Un sacré personnage… Merveilleux chanteur, mais aussi excellent acteur.
Freddie P
I love this song
Extrodniarrre
Great song!
Amélia Essu
Só Beautiful song kis
Rosemary Heilemann
Merci pour la traduction
pascal mayor
ma jeunesse qui me reviens en mémoire
FOURNIER Michel
Merci internet de pouvoir se rafraîchir la mémoire lorsque elle nous fait défaut .
J'aurais voulu retrouver le texte de J Prévert << mon frère >>
ghislaine nicolas
Toute mon enfance dans cette chanson. N. Ghis.