"Maman a tort" | ||||||||||
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Single by Mylène Farmer | ||||||||||
from the album Cendres de Lune | ||||||||||
B-side | Instrumental | |||||||||
Released | March 1984 | |||||||||
Format | 7" single, 7" maxi | |||||||||
Recorded | 1984, France | |||||||||
Genre | New wave, synthpop | |||||||||
Length | 3:35 (single version) 4:05 (album version) 3:50 (English version) |
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Label | RCA | |||||||||
Writer(s) | Lyrics: Jérôme Dahan Music: Jérôme Dahan and Laurent Boutonnat |
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Producer(s) | Laurent Boutonnat F. R. David (English version) |
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Mylène Farmer singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Maman a tort" is a 1984 song recorded by French artist Mylène Farmer. It was the debut single from Farmer's first studio album Cendres de Lune, and marked the beginning of her collaboration with her long-time composer, Laurent Boutonnat. With lyrics by Jérôme Dahan, who also helped compose the song with Boutonnat, the song was first released in March 1984. An English-language version, titled "My Mum Is Wrong" and produced by F. R. David, was released in September 1984. "Maman a tort" was deemed as provocative at the time, as its ambiguous lyrics seem to deal with a lesbian love; similarly, the video, which shows Farmer lightly dressed, was often censored on television when it was released. Generally well received by critics, the original French version of the song achieved modest success in comparison with the singer's next singles, while the English-language version was a commercial failure. The song did, however, allow Farmer to launch her singing career and establish her particular artistic style.
In December 1983, Jerôme Dahan and Laurent Boutonnat, two friends, composed a song called "Maman a tort", about lesbian love between a girl committed to a mental hospital and her nurse. To find a performer, they held a casting. A girl aged 15–16 was initially chosen to perform the song, before being rejected because she was too young to sing its sexually ambiguous lyrics. Boutonnat then decided to ask one of his friends, Mylène Gautier, to sing the track. Both composers have said that they thought Gautier seemed psychotic and thus was the ideal person to record the track. Boutonnat said: "As soon as I saw her, with her triangular face, I realized that this would be her and nobody else. She looked crazy, it was perfect." After they decided to work with her, Gautier took the pseudonym of Farmer, as a tribute to actress Frances Farmer.
According to Jean-Claude Déquéant, Farmer showed limited enthusiasm during the demo recordings and declared: "The voice was surprisingly present and she laughed after each take when listening". Dahan was satisfied, because Farmer had a clear and deep voice and could easily reach high notes. Initial rehearsals were held at Dahan's home. Dahan has said of these rehearsals: "There was a large room with a piano and there we repeated the staging of the song. Mylène had a hard time understanding all this, we had to teach her everything, starting with the choreography [...] This probably did not look very professional."