Ne Me Quitte Pas (Caro Emerald song)
| "Ne me quitte pas" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Jacques Brel | |
| from the album La Valse à Mille Temps | |
| Published | 1959 |
| Released | 1959 |
| Recorded | 11 September 1959 |
| Length | 3:52 |
| Label | Philips |
| Songwriter(s) | Jacques Brel |
"Ne me quitte pas" ("Don't leave me") is a 1959 song by Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel. It has been covered in the original French by many artists and has also been translated into and performed in many other languages. A well-known adaptation, with English lyrics by Rod McKuen, is "If You Go Away".
"Ne me quitte pas" is considered by some as "Brel's ultimate classic". It was written after Brel's mistress "Zizou" (Suzanne Gabriello) threw him out of her life. Zizou was pregnant with Brel's child, but Brel refused to acknowledge the child as his own. Zizou later had an abortion due to Brel's actions. Brel first recorded the song on 11 September 1959, and it was released on his fourth album La Valse à Mille Temps. It was published by Warner-Chappell Publishing. In 1961 a Dutch-language version sung by Brel was released on the Philips label; entitled "Laat me niet alleen", with lyrics by Ernst van Altena, it was a B-side to Marieke (also a Dutch-language version). Brel recorded "Ne me quitte pas" again as the title track of his 1972 album.
In a 1966 interview, Brel said that "Ne me quitte pas" was not a love song, but rather "a hymn to the cowardice of men", and the degree to which they were willing to humiliate themselves. He knew, he said, that it would give pleasure to women who assumed it was a love song, and he understood that.
The lyrics "Moi, je t'offrirai des perles de pluie venues de pays où il ne pleut pas" ("I'll offer you rain pearls from lands where it does not rain") are sung to a theme borrowed from the second part, Lassan (Andante), of the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 by the composer Franz Liszt.
The pop standard "If You Go Away", with lyrics by Rod McKuen, has been covered by many artists including Ray Charles. Different lyrics by Momus render the song as "Don't Leave" for his 1986 album Circus Maximus. American duo the Black Veils translate the song as "Don't Leave Me" on their 2009 album Troubadours, which includes translations of six other French chansons. Sang by Holcombe Waller in Ryan Trecartin's "Sibling Topics (section a)" at 23:10.
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