Is this song French? It doesn't seem so... by Nofar Israel

This is the story of two French hits that most people don't even know are French...

There are many French songs that are known all over the world, such as La Vie En Rose, Ne Me Quitte Pas, Les Feuilles Mortes…

But in the 1973s, two slightly different songs came out, in the sense that they were born in France, came to the United States, and after both Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley sang them live from Hawaii in XNUMX, they were translated into almost every language, and played so much all over the world that they forgot that they even started their journey in France.
Did you remember?

And now – (Et maintenant) Gilbert on the line

https://youtu.be/5WGeRtLgr-8

 

Et maintenant que vais-je faire?
De tout ce temps que sera ma vie
De tous ces gens qui m'indifférent
Now that you're gone

 

In 1961, Gilbert Boc flew from Paris to Nice and on the plane he befriended the girl sitting next to him: an actress who was flying to meet her fiancé. Gilbert Boc flew back to Paris two days later – and there she was, the actress again! But this time, she looked broken: her fiancé had broken up with her. Gilbert Boc invited her to have breakfast with him. During the meeting, she leaned against the piano and whispered: “Et maintenant, que vais-je faire?” – “And now, what will I do?” Gilbert Boc waited for her to leave so he could rush to his piano to compose the music. He also called Pierre Delanoë to write the lyrics. He told him – “I have the beginning of a song”… The song was ready in a day! It was played a lot on the radio and became a hit in France. A year later, Gilbert Boc sang Carl Sigman's translation of "What Now My Love" in English, and the song became a hit in England as well. Five years later, the song crossed the ocean thanks to the performance by Sonny & Cher and also conquered the United States. In 5, Elvis Presley sang it in Hawaii on a live broadcast in front of about a billion viewers...

Today it is one of the most well-known songs in the world and has been performed by over 200 singers from all over the world.

“As Usual” (Comme d'habitude) by Claude Francois

Comme d'habitude, toute la journée
I will play pretend
Comme d'habitude je vais sourire
Comme d'habitude je vais même rire
Comme d'habitude, enfin je vais vivre
As usual

Claude Francois was a huge fan of music from the United States. He built his success on translations of American hits… In 1962, his hit, Belles! Belles! Belles!

Which is actually a pretty faithful translation of the song (Girls, Girls, Girls Made to Love) by the Everly Brothers:

After this first success, Claude François continues to translate, sing and succeed. Moreover, he is the first to bring the American style to France: the girls in the sexy costumes, the choreography, the orchestra in the background…

Suddenly, in 1967, the situation turns around. Claude François didn't know it when France Gal broke up with him. Yes, France Gal, the famous singer who won Eurovision thanks to Serge Gainsbourg's song Poupée de Cire, Poupée de Son, the same France Gal who had a three-year relationship with Claude François, a relationship with many ups and downs, with many breakups and reconciliations. But in 1967 she leaves him and this is their last breakup. Claude François is sad and disappointed. Three weeks after the breakup, the song Comme d'habitude – “As usual” – was born, which tells of the slow indifference to which love progresses at the end of its path.

בFrance, the song is relatively successful. But it is almost forgotten until the singer's father Paul Anke hears it by chance during his stay in Paris. He likes the song and plays it to his son. Paul Anke decides to adopt him, but writes lyrics for him with a different meaning. Thus was born the song My Way.

When he returned to the United States, Paul Anke offered the song to Frank Sinatra. In December 1968, Claude François received an unexpected telegram: Frank Sinatra was going to record the American version of the song Comme d'Habitude!

Thanks to Frank Sinatra's performance, the song becomes one of the biggest international hits of all time: to this day it is one of the songs with the most performances (over 1000). After most of Claude François' hits were translations of American songs, the situation turned around thanks to this song. The song My Way was so successful worldwide that to this day, even in France itself, many people think that it is the original version and that Comme d'habitude is the translation!

What about you? Did you know that these two songs were born in France? Or did this reminder surprise you?

A few words about Nofar Israel:

Nofar Israel is a Frenchwoman who immigrated to Israel from Belgium and completed her doctorate in Israel on Quebec literature (from Canada).
Confusing? You are welcome to follow her on her Facebook page where she writes mainly about French songs – French is poetry.You are also invited to join a conversation session or picnic in French that she holds on a regular basis in Tel Aviv (details on the Facebook page).

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