Cécile, ma fille

[Jean Pierre]

Cécile, ma fille is a song by Claude Nougaro, considered by the great French guitarist Roland Dyens to be one of the most famous songs of French chanson.

It's a jazz waltz and I instrumented it with a guitar and my Melodica for the rest drum accordion, bass I called on the excellent musicians of Band in a Box.

Sainte Cécile is the patron saint of musicians

...and of course my daughter's name is ...Cécile

Cécile, ma fille

Elle voulait un enfant
Moi je n'en voulais pas
Mais il lui fut pourtant facile
Avec ses arguments
De te faire un papa
Cécile, ma fille

Quand son ventre fut rond
En riant aux éclats
Elle me dit: "Allons, jubile
Ce sera un garçon"
Et te voilà
Cécile, ma fille

Et te voilà et me voici, moi
Moi, j'ai trente ans, toi, six mois
On est nez à nez, les yeux dans les yeux
Quel est le plus étonné des deux?

Bien avant que je t'aie
De fill's j'en avais eues
Jouant mon coeur à... face ou pile
De la brune gagnée
A la blonde perdue
Cécile, ma fille

Et je sais que bientô"t
Toi aussi tu auras
Des idé,es et puis des idylles
Des mots doux sur tes hauts
Et des mains sur tes bas
Cécile, ma fille

Moi, je t'attendrai toute la nuit
T'entendrai rentrer sans bruit
Mais au matin c'est moi qui rougirai
Devant tes yeux plus clairs que jamais

Que toujours on te touche
Comme moi maintenant
Comme mon souffle sur tes cils
Mon baiser sur ta bouche
Dans ton sommeil d'enfant
Cé,cile, ma fille
Cécile

[Zoltan]

I think i'd survive in France for a hot minute. I mean if things were like in Under Paris. The Netflix movie about shark(s) under the river Seine. The subtitles helped a lot, but i didn't really like the movie.

I do like this song though. There's a lot of gentle frisson in the air in this one. The era authentic sounds that feels both dated and ageless at the sametime are délicieux. The vocals are superb!

[Jean Pierre]

Merci Zoltan, last night i saw the film in question on netflix
if you don't watch it in the second degree...you're screwed!

it's a great turnip film  

I did, however, like the caricature of the Mayor of Paris

In fact, I think I like rock'n'roll, pop music and music from the 50s and 60s, both Anglo-Saxon and French (as long as it's good, of course).
 

[maxit]

hey I saw the movie too, but after spielberg any shark movie gets me bored! Not here to say this though lol, I wanted to say JP I dont' always follow you in your pilgrimages, but this time! It shows it's a special song to you, and one of the sweetest songs ever, a real discover! Thanks JP, regards to cècile!

[Geir]

Lovely performance JP.

[the physics teacher]

Beautiful JP

[StephenM]

i have no idea what the words are... but I love the music and the singing...
the words don't matter just now what they say... the music and singing make me feel joy and I don't want to spoil that with any sort of understanding.

[Jean Pierre]

Merci tous

the music and singing make me feel joy and I don't want to spoil that with any sort of understanding.

Stephen, I completely agree with you...most of the time I don't understand the meaning of the songs I sing in English.
..I choose them above all for their musicality
...but this one, by Claude Nougaro, is worth understanding.
There are many French songs on the theme of fatherhood (there must also be some in English and this could be the theme of an SC festival)...but this one is by far my favourite.

here's a translation



She wanted a child
I didn't want one
But it was easy for her
With her arguments
To make you a father
Cécile, my daughter

When her belly was round
Laughing out loud
She said: "Come on, cheer up
It's going to be a boy".
And here you are
Cécile, my daughter

And here you are and here I am
I'm thirty, you're six months old
We're face to face, eye to eye
Who is the most astonished of the two?

Long before I had you
I had girls of my own
Playing my heart out... heads or tails
From the brunette I won
To the lost blonde
Cécile, my daughter

And I know that soon
You too will have
Ideals, es and then idylls
Sweet words on your tops
And hands on your bottoms
Cécile, my daughter

I'll wait for you all night long
I'll hear you come home without a sound
But in the morning I'll be the one blushing
In front of your eyes, clearer than ever

May we always touch you
Like me now
Like my breath on your lashes
My kiss on your mouth
In your childish sleep
Cé,cile, my daughter
Cécile

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

[StephenM]

that is kind of how I feel about my daughter Melissa.... thanks JP...

c'est un peu ce que je ressens pour ma fille Melissa... merci JP...

[Ray Brookes]

Beautiful recording, JP and very well performed.