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.
metro
Yves Montand Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Montmartre et puis l'quartier Javel
Paris, c'est grand, c'est beau c'est fou
Mais c'est parce qu'il y a dessous
Un brave homme d'employé
Qui l'matin sur le quai
Fait des "huit" compliqués
MÉTRO!
Qu'on lit d'bout en roulant
Gêné par un chapeau
MÉTRO!
C'est la dame qui s'déplace
Pour se voir dans la glace
D'un air indifférent
MÉTRO!
L'chef de train qui s'embête
Et joue sur sa trompette
Un p'tit air rigolo
C'est l'MÉTRO!
Le visage de la Capitale
N'est pas celui d'la rue Pigalle
Ça c'est l'argent, le jeu, l'amour
Mais la vie de tous les jours:
C'est l'monsieur étourdi
Qui s'lève et puis qui crie:
"Bon sang, j'descend ici
Mais attendez, mais attendez! "
C'est à six heures du soir
A la gare Saint-Lazare
La sortie des bureaux
MÉTRO!
Les trottins qui papotent
Les amants qui s'bécotent
La dame et son tricot
MÉTRO!
La fille aux yeux si doux
Qu'on suivrait n'importe où
Mais qui descend trop tôt
C'est l'MÉTRO!
Roule, roule toujours
Tes chagrins, tes amours
Tes joies de tous les jours
MÉTRO!
Emmène au rendez-vous
Les heureux, les jaloux
D'un bout à l'autre bout
MÉTRO!
Qui s'en va, qui revient
C'est le sang parisien
Toujours vif et nouveau
MÉTRO!
Ce qui fait que Paris
Hier comme aujourd'hui
Est toujours aussi beau
C'est l'MÉTRO!
Ce qui fait que Paris
Hier comme aujourd'hui
Est toujours aussi beau
C'est l'MÉTRO!
Les stations, couleurs vives:
Les biscuits, la lessive
Les petits, les grands panneaux
MÉTRO!
Rendez-vous à "Glacière"
Juste en face des premières
A demain mon coco
N'oublie pas!
Tous les yeux du wagon
Fixés sur un g'nou rond
Qui s'découvre un peu trop
MÉTRO!
L'apprenti du plombier
Qui nous pose sur le pied
Son sac de trente kilos
C'est l'MÉTRO!
The song "Métro" by Yves Montand is a tribute to the everyday life of Parisians spent on the underground metro system. The song begins by praising the city of Paris, its grandness, and its beauty, but quickly shifts the focus to the metro system, which is the backbone of the city. The singer praises the hardworking metro employees who make the "huit" movement on the platform every morning. The "huit" is a complex figure-eight gesture that station attendants use to signal the driver of the train that it's safe to leave the station.
As the train starts moving, the song describes the everyday events on the train, such as the commuters reading the newspaper, the ladies looking at their reflection in the mirror, and the conductor playing his funny little tune on the trumpet. The chorus of the song, "Métro, Métro," is a reminder of the omnipresence of this underground network that connects the people of Paris. The song later talks about the famous train station Gare Saint-Lazare, where people rush out of their offices at 6 pm and hop on the metro to go back home. The song concludes with a declaration that Paris is as beautiful today as it was yesterday because of the metro system that makes everything possible.
Overall, "Métro" is a celebration of Paris and its people, but it does not forget the essential role played by the metro system in the lives of Parisians.
Line by Line Meaning
On a chanté la Tour Eiffel
We have sung about the Eiffel Tower
Montmartre et puis l'quartier Javel
Montmartre and the Javel district too
Paris, c'est grand, c'est beau c'est fou
Paris is big, beautiful, and crazy
Mais c'est parce qu'il y a dessous
But that's because underneath
Un brave homme d'employé
There is a brave employee
Qui l'matin sur le quai
Who in the morning on the platform
Fait des 'huit' compliqués
Makes complicated 'eights'
MÉTRO!
METRO!
C'est l'journal à huit francs
It's the eight-franc newspaper
Qu'on lit d'bout en roulant
That we read while rolling
Gêné par un chapeau
Bothered by a hat
MÉTRO!
METRO!
C'est la dame qui s'déplace
It's the lady who moves
Pour se voir dans la glace
To see herself in the mirror
D'un air indifférent
With an indifferent look
MÉTRO!
METRO!
L'chef de train qui s'embête
The bored train conductor
Et joue sur sa trompette
And plays on his trumpet
Un p'tit air rigolo
A funny little tune
C'est l'MÉTRO!
It's the METRO!
Le visage de la Capitale
The face of the capital
N'est pas celui d'la rue Pigalle
Is not that of Pigalle street
Ça c'est l'argent, le jeu, l'amour
That's money, gambling, love
Mais la vie de tous les jours:
But everyday life is:
C'est l'monsieur étourdi
It's the absent-minded man
Qui s'lève et puis qui crie:
Who stands up and then yells:
Bon sang, j'descend ici
Darn it, I'm getting off here
Mais attendez, mais attendez!
But wait, but wait!
C'est à six heures du soir
It's at six in the evening
A la gare Saint-Lazare
At the Saint-Lazare station
La sortie des bureaux
The office workers' exit
MÉTRO!
METRO!
Les trottins qui papotent
The young women who chat
Les amants qui s'bécotent
The lovers who kiss
La dame et son tricot
The lady and her knitting
MÉTRO!
METRO!
La fille aux yeux si doux
The girl with such gentle eyes
Qu'on suivrait n'importe où
Who we would follow anywhere
Mais qui descend trop tôt
But who gets off too soon
C'est l'MÉTRO!
It's the METRO!
Roule, roule toujours
Roll, always roll
Tes chagrins, tes amours
Your sorrows, your loves
Tes joies de tous les jours
Your everyday joys
MÉTRO!
METRO!
Emmène au rendez-vous
Take to the rendezvous
Les heureux, les jaloux
The happy ones, the jealous ones
D'un bout à l'autre bout
From one end to the other end
MÉTRO!
METRO!
Qui s'en va, qui revient
Who leaves, who comes back
C'est le sang parisien
It's the Parisian blood
Toujours vif et nouveau
Always alive and new
MÉTRO!
METRO!
Ce qui fait que Paris
What makes Paris
Hier comme aujourd'hui
Yesterday as today
Est toujours aussi beau
Is always as beautiful
C'est l'MÉTRO!
It's the METRO!
Les stations, couleurs vives:
The stations, bright colors:
Les biscuits, la lessive
The cookies, the laundry
Les petits, les grands panneaux
The small, the large signs
MÉTRO!
METRO!
Rendez-vous à 'Glacière'
Meeting at 'Glacière'
Juste en face des premières
Just in front of the first ones
A demain mon coco
See you tomorrow, pal
N'oublie pas!
Don't forget!
Tous les yeux du wagon
All the eyes in the carriage
Fixés sur un g'nou rond
Fixed on a round knee
Qui s'découvre un peu trop
That's revealed a bit too much
MÉTRO!
METRO!
L'apprenti du plombier
The plumber's apprentice
Qui nous pose sur le pied
Who puts his bag on our foot
Son sac de trente kilos
His thirty-kilo bag
C'est l'MÉTRO!
It's the METRO!
Writer(s): Chuck Loeb
Contributed by Evelyn G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
GET OUT
on Les Amoureux (1952)
pk ya pas ????
GET OUT
on Les Amoureux (1952)
pk ya pas !!