Saturday, November 20, 2010

A year of love

One of the first song composed and recorded by Nino Ferrer was C'est Irréparable. The song didn't gain much success. He was only a few years later that Nino Ferrer became a huge star. The lyrics are about a guy left alone, and who remembers with bitterness the sweetness of this "year of love".

Nino Ferrer - C'est Irréparable (Un an d'amour) (1964)


The following year, this song was covered by the great Italian star Mina, both in Italian and in Spanish. What a voice! The song became a huge hit, in Spain, Italy and in whole Latin America.

Mina - Un anno d'amore (1965)


Then, in 1991, the Spanish singer Luz Casal covered it again, but changed the lyrics. The singing character is still the one left alone, but this time she's warning her lover, that if he left her, he will not be able to forget "the taste of her lips" and that "he'll understand in one moment, what means a year of love". The song was featured in the great Almodovar's movie High Heels. This Spanish movie was a great success in France, and most of the French people discovered this French song only at that time!

Luz Casal - Un año de amor (1991).

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, I'm writing a short film, and one of my characters needs to sing a sad French song. I need this song to be public domain, have words, and be something a man could sing. Some song about longing or loss. Could you help me out?

LFC said...

I didn't check if they are in the public domain, but they are very old (and very famous):

Charles Trenet - QUE RESTE-T-IL DE NOS AMOURS ? (What is left of our loves?) translated there:http://littlewinda.wordpress.com/2009/01/09/que-reste-t-il-de-nos-amours-translated-what-is-left-of-our-loves/

Or maybe, "dis quand reviendras tu" by Barbara (When will you come back?) but it may be too recent.

And the very famous "Les feuilles mortes" (autumn leaves), with lyrics by Prévert is also about nostalgia and loss with beautiful lyrics.