J’avais oublié que tu m’aimais autant
​Dominique A

J’avais oublié que tu m’aimais autant
​(“I had forgotten that you were loving me so much”)
Album: La fragilité, 2018
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La Fragilité

​This is not a “chanson” with a parsimonious title, such as those for many songs we see on this website (e.g. “Hier encore,” “Avec le temps,” “Hors saison,” “Chanter”).  It is also not a “chanson” with a dramatic event driving the narrative.

​But--the title does demonstrate subtle differences in the use of French past-tense verb forms. “J’avais oublié que…” (“I had forgotten that…”) is the “plus-que-parfait” (“past perfect”) compound tense. It expresses an action that precedes another action or situation but does not continue. It is past and over. As such, it provides a slim opening for the guilty party who now remembers to claim absolution. Unfortunately, that ship has sailed. The past failure to remember his partner’s love (“quelque chose d’évident”) led it to slip quietly away through alleyways and windy fields where it was lost in the ditches and grass. 
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Perdu dans les fossés, Égaré dans l'herbe des champs


“Tu m’aimais autant,” on the other hand, is the “imperfect” (“imparfait”) verb tense (“You were loving me”) and indicates an ongoing activity of indefinite duration. The time disparity between his memory lapse and her ongoing love lurks as a likely source of endless remorse.
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Image description
​Details are sparse. We have only the sketchy text, the music, and the video images as guides. Barely creased white sheets drape the silent bed. Our imagination takes over. One assumes the bed is empty. One wonders why. There are no signs of anger or other passion--only absence, silence and a consequent sense of loss and missed opportunity that arises from poor communication. The exquisite spareness of the text matches that of the relationship it describes and sparks a moment for contemplation.
​The short song (2m39) has five 4-line verses plus two 2-line repetitions of the title that serves as refrain and repeats 5 times: “Et j'avais oublié que tu m'aimais autant.” The music is as economical as the text, with 3 chords that repeat. The rhyme sequence depends on the organization of the lines, but there are only 2 distinct end-of-line sounds in the entire song: “ant/ent” and “é.” The rhyme sequence in the arrangement presented below is highly symmetrical: AA, A, AA, A, BABABA, AA, AA, AA. The lovely musical arrangement seems strangely upbeat with vocals that occasionally fade out from apparent resignation.
FRENCH LYRICS
​Le lit était muet pourtant
À peine froissés les draps blancs

Et j'avais oublié, Que tu m'aimais autant
 
Pas de signe d'emportement
Ni de regard au firmament

Oui, j'avais oublié, Que tu m'aimais autant
 
Dans les ruelles abandonnées
Dans l'enclos ouvert à tout vent
J'avais laissé filer
Quelque chose d'évident
C'était perdu dans les fossés
Égaré dans l'herbe des champs


Oui, j'avais oublié, Que tu m'aimais autant
Oui, j'avais oublié, Que tu m'aimais autant
 
Le lit était muet pourtant
À peine froissés les draps blancs

Et j'avais oublié, Que tu m'aimais autant
Oui, j'avais oublié, Que tu m'aimais autant

TRANSLATION (PENDERGAST)
​The bed was silent however 
The white sheets barely wrinkled 
 
And I had forgotten, That you loved me so much 
 
No sign of passion 
Nor heavenly gaze 
 
Yes, I had forgotten, That you loved me so much 
 
In the abandoned alleyways 
In the enclosure open to every wind 
I had let slip away 
Something obvious 
It was lost in the ditches 
Misplaced in the grass of the fields 
 
 
Yes, I had forgotten, That you loved me so much 
Yes, I had forgotten, That you loved me so much 
 
The bed was silent however 
The white sheets barely wrinkled 
 
And I had forgotten, That you loved me so much 
Yes, I had forgotten, That you loved me so much

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