Ne Me Quitte Pas - If You Go Away

by Volker Weber

Originally written by Jacques Brel, this song was performed by many musicians, including and not limited to: Acker Bilk, Al Hirt, Alfred Janson, The Bartlebees, Boister, Clara Adams, Claudia Beechman, Damita Jo, Dawn, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Dusty Springfield, Eileen Mager, Frank Sinatra, George Davidson, Giacome Aula, Glen Campbell, Helen Merrill, Jack Jones, Julio Inglesias, Juañares, Marlene Dietrich, Miguel Bosé, Natacha Atlas, Neil Diamond, Nina Simone, Olivier Laurent, Paul Mauriat, Rod McKuen, Sandler & Young, Sheena Easton, Shirley Bassey, Toots Thielemas, Ute Lemper. Terry Jacks' interpretation may be the best known one, but I am currently enjoying Cyndi Lauper. Who would have thought she could do much, much better than Girls Just Wanna Have Fun?

And before you wonder: No one is leaving here at vowe's magic flying circus. :-)

Comments

Sorry Volker but "Ne me quitte pas" in French is "don't leave me"...

Your French needs some polishing?

Pieter Lansbergen, 2005-11-14

My french needs a lot of polishing. In this case however, "Ne Me Quitte Pas" is the original song as written by Jacques Brel, and "If You Go Away" is the title for the english lyrics.

Volker Weber, 2005-11-14

... and the Sandler & Young version was both ("If You Go Away/Ne me quitte pas" -- Tony Sandler singing the Brel lyrics of the verses with Frank Young answering in Rod McKuen's insipid English version). Okay, maybe that's being a bit hard on Mr. McKuen. His versions of the Brel classics were not nearly as bad as what Terry Jacks did to "Le Moribond" ("Seasons in the Sun").

And yes, Ms. Lauper has a pretty decent instrument when she uses it.

Stan Rogers, 2005-11-14

Actually Cindy Laupers did a pretty decent job when she covered of "The World is Stoned" a few years ago. That was also originally a French song, from the Starmania musical. If your French is half reasonable, the whole thing is starting to show its age, but it's still quite a gem.

Tristan Woerth, 2005-11-15

The latest Cindy Lauper album "Body Acoustic" has obviously not been released in Germany (or it will be released later). "At Last" has been one of my favorites for quite a while...

Thomas Cloer, 2005-11-15

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