Rien dans les mains, rien dans les poches is a French popular song composed in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

Henri Betti Henri Betti, born Ange Betti (24 July 1917 – 7 July 2005), was a French composer and a pianist. Pianist and composer of Maurice Chevalier from 1940 to 1945, Henri Betti is best known for composing the music of the songs '' C'est si bon'' (lyr ...

with the lyrics by

André Hornez André Hornez (12 May 1905 – 9 March 1989) was a French lyricist and screenwriter. Lyricist of Paul Misraki in the years 1930–1940 for which he writes many songs lyrics like ''Qu'est-ce qu'on attend pour être heureux?'' (1937), André Horn ...

Story

In 1948,

Paul Misraki Paul Misraki (28 January 1908 – 29 October 1998) was a French composer of popular music and film scores. Over the course of over 60 years, Misraki wrote the music to 130 films, scoring works by directors like Jean Renoir, Claude Chabrol, Ja ...

and Ray Ventura were invited by

Bruno Coquatrix Bruno Coquatrix (; 5 August 1910, Ronchin, Nord – 1 April 1979) was a French record producer, the owner and manager of Olympia in Paris from 1954 until his death in 1979. Career Coquatrix was first known as a song and music writer. He wrot ...

to discuss a lawsuit that was declared by Eudore Rancurel for the music of the song ''

Boléro ''Boléro'' is a 1928 work for large orchestra by French composer Maurice Ravel. It is one of Ravel's most famous compositions. It was also one of his last completed works before illness diminished his ability to write music. Composition T ...

'' that was composed by Paul Durand. At the end of the discussion, Henri Betti played on the piano the seven notes of the

musical scale In music theory, a scale is "any consecutive series of notes that form a progression between one note and its octave", typically by order of pitch or fundamental frequency. The word "scale" originates from the Latin ''scala'', which literal ...

and asked the others who was the author. Nobody answered him and Henri Betti declared that he appropriated them and that he will write a song. He used the

Foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a time ...

genre that was fashionable to fit the seven musical notes then André Hornez will write the lyrics. On December 10, 1948,

Yves Montand Ivo Livi (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), better known as Yves Montand (), was an Italian-born French actor and singer. He is said to be one of France's greatest 20th-century artists. Early life Montand was born Ivo Livi in Stignano, a ...

recorded the song with Bob Castella and his Orchestra. On the other side of the disk, he recorded another song composed by

: '' Maître Pierre'' (lyrics by

Jacques Plante Joseph Jacques Omer Plante (; January 17, 1929 – February 27, 1986) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. During a career lasting from 1947 to 1975, he was considered to be one of the most important innovators in hockey. He played ...

) but with an orchestra conducted by

himself.''Encyclopédisque''
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Cover versions

On December 28, 1948, the Sœurs Étienne recorded the song with Raymond Legrand and his Orchestra. In 1994, they sang the song with Jean Sala and his Orchestra at the TV show '' La Chance aux chansons'' hosted by

Pascal Sevran Pascal Sevran (16 October 1945 – 9 May 2008) was a French TV presenter and author. Biography Son of a communist taxi driver, and a Spanish seamstress, Pascal Sevran was born on 16 October 1945 in Paris. His real name was Jean-Claude Jouhaud. He ...

. On January 4, 1949,

Émile Carrara Émile Carrara (11 January 1925 – 28 April 1992) was a French professional road and track cyclist. On the track, he notably won a total of nine six-day races as well as the national pursuit championships in 1947. On the road, his biggest victory ...

recorded the song with his Orchestra. On February 3, 1949,

Pierre Mingand Pierre Mingand (2 June 1900 – 19 August 1982) was a French singer and film actor. He was known for his impersonations of Maurice Chevalier at the Folies Bergère, something he reprised in Billy Wilder's 1934 film ''Mauvaise Graine''.Phillips p.1 ...

recorded the song with

Émile Stern Émile Stern (28 April 1913 – 14 January 1997), best known under his artistic pseudonym Emil Stern, was a French composer, pianist and conductor of Romanian descent. He was born in Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List o ...

and his Orchestra. On March 20, 1949,

Luc Barney Luc or LUC may refer to: Places * Luc, Hautes-Pyrénées, France, a commune * Luc, Lozère, France, a commune * Le Luc, France, a commune * Luč, Baranja, Croatia, a settlement People and fictional characters * L.U.C., stage name of Łukasz Rost ...

recorded the song with Daniel White and his Orchestra. On February 8, 1950,

performed the piano song on the radio show ''Gala de Bernay''. The same year,

Jula De Palma Iolanda Maria Palma (born 21 April 1931 in Milan), known as Jula De Palma, is an Italian singer. Biography De Palma began her career in the early 1950s as a radio singer, collaborating with pianist, composer, and showman Lelio Luttazzi. Initia ...

recorded the song with

Bruno Quirinetta Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters * Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne ...

and his Orchestra with which she recorded two other hits by

: '' C'est si bon'' (lyrics by

) and '' Maître Pierre'' (lyrics by

Yvonne Blanc Yvonne is a feminine given name, the female form of Yvon, which is derived from the French name Yves and Yvette. It is from the French word ''iv'', meaning "yew" (or tree). Since yew wood was used for bows, Ivo may have been an occupational nam ...

recorded the song this year as well. In 1955, Fred Ermelin and his quintet play music in a medley for the album ''Festival Dancing'' where he also plays the music of '' C'est si bon''. In 1957, Louise Étienne sang the song with Georges Derveaux and his Orchestra at the TV show '' 36 Chansons'' hosted by

Jean Nohain Jean Nohain nicknamed Jaboune (né Jean Marie Pierre Legrand; 16 February 1900 - 25 January 1981) was a French playwright, lyricist, and screenwriter, and a radio and television producer and presenter. He was the son of the librettist Franc-Nohai ...

. In 1985, Dominique Val sang the song with Robert Quibel and his Orchestra at the TV show '' Thé Dansant'' hosted by

Charles Level Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

Filmography

In 1949,

Félix Marten Félix Paul Gabriel Marten (29 October 1919 – 20 November 1992) was a German-born French film actor. He was born in Remagen to a Finnish father, and his family fled Germany following the Nazi takeover. He is one of a number of actors to play L ...

sang the song with Camille Sauvage and his Orchestra in the short film '' Hôtel des Artistes : Saisie'' directed by

Jean Perdrix Jean Perdrix was a French film director who was a member of the committee for short films at the Festival de Cannes in 1955 and 1956. Filmography ;Director * 1951 : ' (short film) * 1952 : ''Mort en sursis'' (short film) * 1949 : ''L'Enfer des ...

. In 1954, the melody of the song is played in ''

L'Œil en coulisses ''L'ŒIL'' (French: ''The Eye'') is a French magazine created by Rosamond Bernier (née Rosenbaum) and her second husband, Georges Bernier, in 1955 to celebrate and reflect contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art ...

'' directed by

André Berthomieu André Berthomieu (; 16 February 1903 – 10 April 1960) was a French screenwriter and film director. He was married to the actress Line Noro. Selected filmography Director * '' Not So Stupid'' (1928) * '' The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard'' (1929) ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rien dans les mains, rien dans les poches 1948 songs Yves Montand songs French songs Songs with music by Henri Betti