Tuesday 7 September 2010

Beautiful and sad




I was sent a video by my friend Rehan today on You Tube, a wonderful song called Where do you go to my lovely? It’s both beautiful and sad, particularly the last few lines. I’ve been listening to it on and off for most of the day.

You talk like Marlene Dietrich
And you dance like Zizi Jeanmaire
Your clothes are all made by Balmain
And there’s diamonds and pearls in your hair, yes there are.

You live in a fancy apartment
Off the Boulevard of St. Michel
Where you keep your Rolling Stones records
And a friend of Sacha Distel, yes you do.

You go to the embassy parties
Where you talk in Russian and Greek
And the young men who move in your circles
They hang on every word you speak, yes they do.

But where do you go to my lovely
When you're alone in your bed
Tell me the thoughts that surround you
I want to look inside your head, yes i do.

I've seen all your qualifications
You got from the Sorbonne
And the painting you stole from Picasso
Your loveliness goes on and on, yes it does.

When you go on your summer vacation
You go to Juan-les-Pines
With your carefully designed topless swimsuit
You get an even suntan, on your back and on your legs.

And when the snow falls you're found in St. Moritz
With the others of the jet-set
And you sip your Napoleon Brandy
But you never get your lips wet, no you don't.

But where do you go to my lovely
When you're alone in your bed
would you Tell me the thoughts that surround you
I want to look inside your head, yes I do.

You're in between 20 and 30
A very desirable age
Your body is firm and inviting
But you live on a glittering stage, yes you do, yes you do.

Your name is heard in high places
You know the Aga Khan
He sent you a racehorse for Christmas
And you keep it just for fun, for a laugh ha-ha-ha

They say that when you get married
It'll be to a millionaire
But they don't realize where you came from
And I wonder if they really care, or give a damn

But where do you go to my lovely
When you're alone in your bed
Tell me the thoughts that surround you
I want to look inside your head, yes i do.

I remember the back streets of Naples
Two children begging in rags
Both touched with a burning ambition
To shake off their lowly brown tags, they try

So look into my face Marie-Claire
And remember just who you are
Then go and forget me forever
But I know you still bear
the scar, deep inside, yes you do

I know where you go to my lovely
When you're alone in your bed
I know the thoughts that surround you
`Cause I can look inside your head.


19 comments:

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  3. It's the meancholy that I find most appealing...and all of those lovely cultural references. :-)

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  5. Hello Ana ... God, you're young. Of course you wouldn't remember Peter Sarstedt. Strange that he never became a big star ... he is known for this song alone.

    I see there are a couple of 'extra' verses that didn't make the recorded version ... probably so that it wouldn't be too long for radio play.

    I wish I had a euro for every pub session where I joined in the singing of this song. Yes, it has a lovely melancholy feel and a very 'European' sound, with the accordeon.

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  6. Hi, Brendano. No, I'd never heard of the man. I did think of posting a picture, but he's got an awful seventies Afro-style hairdo and a big droopy moustache, all too much for me. :-))

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  7. Those were hazards of the seventies that I managed to avoid. :-)

    I tried to submit another clip I thought you might like (from around the same time, melancholy feel also), but I'm not sure that the system accepted it.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ61su9H5RU

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  8. I'll have a look at the link. Thanks.

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  9. I really enjoyed that. It's now been added to my YouTube favourites. I have a feeling that father has some Cohen 'albums' - the big black vinyal things - so I must have a look. The problem is he tends to get a tad edgy if I go anywhere near his collection, preserved lovingly since his schooldays. :-))

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  10. That's good. I had Cohen albums back in the day ... I went to see him last month; he was brilliant. 75 years old now; a novelist before he took up music.

    Songs of Leonard Cohen is an excellent early album; I'm You Man is more recent and very good.

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  11. Thanks again, Brendano; I love new discoveries. Speaking of which, I've almost finished The Collected Stories of William Trevor, which I will review here in due course. What a wonderful teller of tales he is, one with a deep understanding of the twists and turns of the human personality, of the whole comic drama of existence.

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  12. I read some of Trevor's stories a long time ago ... he's certainly an excellent writer. I look forward to reading your review. :-)

    I often think that life is essentially funny.

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  13. Brendano, funny and tragic, tragically funny. It's a panorama created by the Greek gods to stop them getting bored on Olympus. :-)

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  14. Thanks, Mr Lonley. I'll come as soon as I am able then perhaps you won't be so lonely. :-)

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