Un scandale peut en cacher un autre : Sardou, « Le rire du sergent » (1971)

Abstract

Michel Sardou, the undisputed star of French chanson, born in 1947, saw his career punctuated by scandals sparked by his far-right political views. For him, songs were also platforms through which he addressed the public, urging them to take a stand. It is first necessary to restore the coherence of his commitment and to unravel the web of his opinions without anachronism, starting from a song that is difficult to interpret today: “Le rire du sergent” (1971). The aim of this article is to show that neither the tune nor the words of a song can capture the spirit of the times, which is constantly renewed; that scandals follow one another as the reception of the song evolves according to the context and new political priorities. Finally, we will highlight the effectiveness of a recent notion, specific to the analysis of song discourse, the meta-canteur, in order to grasp with finesse the ideological construction of a song, since, obviously, it is most often at the level of the lyrics that the controversies arise.