The 15th Anniversary of D'EUX

One of my all-time favorite albums, and evidently, "the best-selling French-language album of all time", is getting re-released on December 1st with remastered tracks and video content.

Originally released in 1995, this album, and particularly the song "Pour Que Tu M'Aimes Encore," were the reason I asked my dad to send me to France to study French. I simply had to learn that seductive language expressed ever so beatuifully in this song. A few months later, I was living in Chambéry, France, studying the language of love. To this day, every time I hear the song (once a month or so) I reminisce about the time I spent in the South of France and all the people I met and the friends I made. More importantly, the song always reminds me of the power of music and its cultural relevance and influence, transcending borders, conflicts and even language.

It's worth mentioning that every single song on this album is amazing. I never really liked Céline's English efforts; She feels cold and unauthentic, maybe because English isn't her native tongue. In French, though, she's brilliant and real. I have all her French albums and none of her English ones. "D'EUX" and "1 Fille & 4 Types" are my favorite, but they're all really great. I headlined my review of "1 Fille & 4 Types" with "A Testament to the Transcendence of Music." This is true of all her French music!

You can pre-order the album on Amazon right now. The Product Description goes as follows:

It's been a decade and a half since the album D'EUX (released March 1995) was written and produced by JEAN -JACQUE'S GOLDMAN for CÉLINE DION! D'eux is the best-selling French-language album of all time, selling 6.5 million copies worldwide and over 700,000 copies in Canada. To commemorate the 15th anniversary, Legacy has created a remastered version with three new demo songs from Jean-Jacques Goldman's personal archives (Pour que tu m'aimes encore, J'irai ou tu iras and Le ballet) plus two PBO versions of Pour que tu m'aimes encore and Vole, new liner notes, a 40-page booklet featuring never-before-released photos and a reproduction of Jean-Jacques Goldman's handwritten lyrics of Pour que tu m'aimes encore. The DVD contains three legendary videos: Pour que tu m'aimes encore, Je sais pas and an alternative version of J'Attendais along with behind-the-scene footage with Jean-Jacques Goldman on Les derniers seront les premiers'Live A Paris.' All this, and a special live-recording of the famous 1995 Spécial Dimanche program (which aired exclusively in Quebec), presented by Sonia Benezra bringing Céline Dion and Jean-Jacques Goldman together for the very first time. On the show Céline delivers live performances of 5 songs (2 of which are duets with Goldman) along with interviews from that era. Sony. 2009.

Here is the lyrics to the song that made me fall in love with the French language:

J'ai compris tous les mots, j'ai bien compris, merci 
Raisonnable et nouveau, c'est ainsi par ici 
Que les choses ont changé, que les fleurs ont fané 
Que le temps d'avant, c'était le temps d'avant 
Que si tout zappe et lasse, les amours aussi passent 

Il faut que tu saches 

J'irai chercher ton cœur si tu l'emportes ailleurs 
Même si dans tes danses d'autres dansent des heures 
J'irai chercher ton âme dans les froids dans les flammes 
Je te jetterai des sorts Pour que tu m'aimes encore 
Pour que tu m'aimes encore 

Fallait pas commencer m'attirer me toucher 
Fallait pas tant donner moi je sais pas jouer 
On me dit qu'aujourd'hui, on me dit que les autres font ainsi 
Je ne suis pas les autres non non non 
Avant que l'on s'attache, avant que l'on se gâche 

je veux que tu saches 

J'irai chercher ton cœur si tu l'emporte ailleurs 
Même si dans tes danses d'autres dansent des heures 
J'irai chercher ton âme dans les froids dans les flammes 
Je te jetterai des sorts Pour que tu m'aimes encore 

Je trouverais des langages pour chanter tes louanges 
Je ferais nos bagages pour d'infinies vendanges 
Les formules les magiques des marabouts d'Afrique 
Je dirais sans remords Pour que tu m'aimes encore

Je m'inventerai reine pour que tu me retiennes
Je me ferai nouvelle pour que le feu reprenne
Je deviendrais ces autres qui te donnent du plaisir
Vos jeux seront les nôtres, si tel est ton desir
Plus brillante et plus belle pour une autre étincelle
Je me changerai en or Pour que tu m'aimes encore.

Comments

[Michael Gaedeke]

O*M*G I can't believe I'm not the only one who absolutely adores d'eux and Celine's complete French repertoire.
This song is, hands-down, my absolute favorite work of hers.
Have you ever heard of "Ne partez pas sans moi"?
I have a little story around that song... Ask me...

[Ismail Elshareef]

I'm sure I have it in my library, but I haven't heard it just yet. What's the story behind it?! :D