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.
Quand on s'balade
Yves Montand Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nous deux avec Lily
On joue avec Paris
On joue Paname ? pingeon-vole
Quand on s'balade
On fait claque nos pas
Depuis l'Av'nue du Bois
Jusqu'a Bell'ville, ah! que jaim' ?a!
L'escalier qui dort le long des quais
On cueille un p'tit rien de pervenche
Sous le nez du gardien distrait
Qui nous surveille apr?s!
A la terrasse
Pour voir Paris fl?ner,
Au bord d'un p'tit caf?
Lily commande "deux caf?s-cr?me"
Oh se pr?lasse
On paye, c'est pour la vue
On laiss' passer la rue
Le beau th??tre n'en finit plus ...
?a va, ?a vient, ?a bouge
Et ?a d?file devant nous.
C'est la foul' des amis.
Alors nous ... on la suit ...
Quand on s'balade
Chez les cam'lots d' la rue
On joue au "Plein la vue"
"Messieurs, Mesdames, rien ne va plus"
Et puis quand Paris se repose
Dans le soir qui tombe au fond des cours.
Le toit d' l'Op?ra est tout rose.
On revient vers la fin du jour
Jusqu'a la Tour-Maubourg
C'est au sixi?me
Au nez d' la Tour Eiffel
C'est l? qui est notre H?tel
On voit l'escale des bateaux-mouches
C'est l? qu'on aime
Laisser Paris en bas
Lily me tend les bras
C'est la balade qui s'arr?t l?, voil?
The song "Quand on s'balade" by Yves Montand tells the story of two lovers, Lily and the singer, walking and exploring the vibrant city of Paris. The first verse describes how they play with the city, making it their own by wandering and enjoying each other's company. They take the paths less traveled, enjoying the little things, like plucking a flower, while evading the watchful eye of the guard. The second verse talks about how they observe Paris while sitting at a cafe. The scene is alive with activity, as people come and go in a bustling crowd. The last verse speaks about the couple's time spent at their hotel near the Eiffel Tower, a place where they can watch the boats glide down the river and let Paris pass them by. The song conveys the spontaneity and excitement of being in love, exploring the city and enjoying every moment together.
Line by Line Meaning
Quand on s'balade
When we take a stroll
Nous deux avec Lily
The two of us with Lily
On joue avec Paris
We play with Paris
On joue Paname ? pingeon-vole
We play Paname like a pigeon thief
Quand on s'balade
When we take a stroll
On fait claque nos pas
We make our footsteps clack
Depuis l'Av'nue du Bois
From the Avenue du Bois
Jusqu'a Bell'ville, ah! que jaim' ?a!
All the way to Belleville, ah! How I love that!
On prend les chemins du dimanche
We take the Sunday paths
L'escalier qui dort le long des quais
The staircase that sleeps along the quays
On cueille un p'tit rien de pervenche
We pick a little thing of periwinkle
Sous le nez du gardien distrait
Under the nose of the distracted guard
Qui nous surveille apr?s!
Who watches over us after!
A la terrasse
On the terrace
Pour voir Paris fl?ner,
To see Paris strolling
Au bord d'un p'tit caf?
At the edge of a small café
Lily commande "deux caf?s-cr?me"
Lily orders "two café-crèmes"
Oh se pr?lasse
Oh, we lounge
On paye, c'est pour la vue
We pay, it's for the view
On laiss' passer la rue
We let the street pass
Le beau th??tre n'en finit plus ...
The beautiful theater never ends...
?a va, ?a vient, ?a bouge
It comes, it goes, it moves
Et ?a d?file devant nous.
And it parades in front of us.
C'est la foul' des amis.
It's the crowd of friends.
Alors nous ... on la suit ...
So we... follow it...
Quand on s'balade
When we take a stroll
Chez les cam'lots d' la rue
At the street vendors
On joue au "Plein la vue"
We play "Full of view"
"Messieurs, Mesdames, rien ne va plus"
"Gentlemen, ladies, nothing goes anymore"
Et puis quand Paris se repose
And then when Paris rests
Dans le soir qui tombe au fond des cours.
In the evening falling at the bottom of courtyards.
Le toit d' l'Op?ra est tout rose.
The roof of the Opera is all pink.
On revient vers la fin du jour
We come back towards the end of the day
Jusqu'a la Tour-Maubourg
Up to the Tour-Maubourg
C'est au sixi?me
It's on the sixth
Au nez d' la Tour Eiffel
At the nose of the Eiffel Tower
C'est l? qui est notre H?tel
That's where our hotel is
On voit l'escale des bateaux-mouches
We see the stopover of the sightseeing boats
C'est l? qu'on aime
It's there that we love
Laisser Paris en bas
Leave Paris below
Lily me tend les bras
Lily reaches out to me
C'est la balade qui s'arr?t l?, voil?
This is where the stroll ends, there you have it.
Contributed by Elijah V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@helioliskfire5954
Quand on se balade, nous deux avec Lily
On joue avec Paris, on joue Paname à pigeon-vole
Quand on se balade, on fait claqués nos pas
Depuis l'Avenue du Bois, jusqu'a Belleville, ah ! que j'aime ça !
On prend les chemins du dimanche, l'escalier qui dort le long des quais
On cueille un petit rien de pervenche sous le nez du gardien distrait
Qui nous surveille après !
À la terrasse, pour voir Paris flâner,
Au bord d'un petit café, Lily commande deux cafés crème
On se prélasse, on paye, c'est pour la vue
On laisse passer la rue, le beau théâtre n'en finit plus...
Ça fait des vagues, des remous, ça va, ça vient, ça bouge
Et ça défile devant nous, c'est la foule des amis.
Alors nous... on la suit...
Quand on se balade chez les camelots de la rue
On joue au "Plein la vue, mMessieurs, Mesdames, rien ne va plus"
Et puis quand Paris se repose dans le soir qui tombe au fond des cours.
Le toit de l'Opéra est tout rose, on revient vers la fin du jour
Jusqu'a la Tour-Maubourg, c'est au sixième, au nez de la Tour Eiffel
C'est là qui est notre Hôtel, on voit l'escale des bateaux-mouches
C'est là qu'on aime, laisser Paris en bas
Lily me tend les bras, c'est la balade qui s'arrête là, voilà.