Puisque Tu Pars (Since You are Leaving)
Goldman first dropped this song in 1987 on his fifth album that carried the ambiguous title “Entre Gris Clair et Gris Foncé” (“Between Light Gray and Dark Gray”).
Goldman first dropped this song in 1987 on his fifth album that carried the ambiguous title “Entre Gris Clair et Gris Foncé” (“Between Light Gray and Dark Gray”).
Consternation broke out in Goldman fandom: Who was the “tu” in the song’s title who was leaving? Was it an as-yet-unknown secret lover? A close friend about to die? A family member turning their back and going away? A young person leaving the family nest?
The mystery remained until 2011 when French TV ran a documentary on Goldman and the truth emerged. Goldman was addressing the familiar “tu” in the title in homage to his fans themselves who, towards the end of his concerts, customarily began singing the French version of Robert Byrne’s Scottish parting-ritual song “Auld Lang Syne” (“Ce n’est qu’un au revoir”). Goldman didn’t like that song, so he wrote his own anthem. Goldman said his song deals with “departure, separation, and everything it implies,” both the sadness of parting and the positivity of potential opportunity that it brings, much like the difference between "light gray" and "dark gray." Standing back for a look at "chanson" in general, the theme of parting or separation is recurrent. We see it in Charles Trenet's "Que reste-t-il de nos amours," Johnny Hallyday's "Si tu pars," Brel's "Ne me quitte pas," Bécaud's "Et maintenant," and others.
This explanation makes “Puisque Tu Pars” an anchor song in an album that explores the lack of clarity (white and black) and the nuances of gray (“clair” and “foncé”) that predominate in human lives. For Goldman, it became a sort of “swan song” to his fans at the conclusion of concerts. The particular rendition featured below occurred in a 2002 concert towards the end of Goldman’s active performance career. In retrospect and from the fans’ perspective, perhaps the “tu” in the title turned out to have been Goldman himself.
These are some of Goldman's most poetic lyrics, which poses a challenge for translation since their original meaning can be intentionally obscure. Great words of poetry act as a portal to the imagination. The melody had "legs" as well. As discussed below, it re-appeared ten years later with new English lyrics and meaning as the title song in Céline Dion's album "Let's Talk About Love."
|
Puisque l'ombre gagne Puisqu'il n'est pas de montagne Au-delà des vents Plus haute que les marches de l'oubli. Puisqu'il faut apprendre À défaut de le comprendre À rêver nos désirs et vivre des "ainsi soit-il" Et puisque tu penses Comme une intime évidence Que parfois même tout donner N'est pas forcément suffire. Puisque c'est ailleurs Qu'ira mieux battre ton cœur Et puisque nous t'aimons trop pour te retenir Puisque tu pars Que les vents te mènent où d'autres âmes plus belles Sauront t'aimer mieux que nous puisque l'on ne peut t'aimer plus Que la vie t'apprenne Mais que tu restes le même Si tu te trahissais Nous t'aurions tout à fait perdu Garde cette chance Que nous t'envions en silence Cette force de penser que le plus beau reste à venir Et loin de nos villes Comme octobre l'est d'avril Sache qu'ici reste de toi Comme une empreinte indélébile Sans drame, sans larmes Pauvres et dérisoires armes Parce qu'il est des douleurs qui ne pleurent qu'à l'intérieur Puisque ta maison Aujourd'hui c'est l'horizon Dans ton exil essaie d'apprendre à revenir Mais pas trop tard Dans ton histoire Garde en mémoire Notre au revoir Puisque tu pars Dans ton histoire Garde en mémoire Notre au revoir Puisque tu pars Dans ton histoire (dans ton histoire) Garde en mémoire (garde en mémoire) Notre au revoir (notre au revoir) Puisque tu pars (puisque tu pars) J'aurais pu fermer Oublier toutes ces portes Tout quitter sur un simple geste Mais tu ne l'as pas fait. J'aurais pu donner Tant d'amour et tant de force Mais tout ce que je pouvais Ca n'était pas encore assez Pas assez Pas assez Pas assez Yeah, pas assez |
Since darkness wins Since there is no mountain Beyond the winds Higher than the stages of forgetting. Since we must learn Failing to understand To dream our desires but live “Let it be” And since you think Like a privy revelation That sometimes giving everything Is not necessarily enough. Since it is elsewhere That your heart will beat better And since we love you too much to restrain you Since you are leaving May the winds lead you where other kinder souls Will love you better than we Since we can’t love you more. May life teach you Though may you remain the same If you were to betray yourself We would have completely lost you. Cherish this opportunity, That we envy you quietly, The strength to believe the best is yet to come. And, far from us As October is from April Know that here you remain Like an indelible imprint. Without drama, without tears Poor and derisory weapons Because there are sorrows That cry only inside. Because your home Today lies on the horizon In your absence, try to remember to return But not too late In your story Keep in memory Our goodbye Since you are leaving In your story Keep in memory Our goodbye Since you are leaving In your story (chorus: in your story) Keep in memory (chorus: keep in memory) Our goodbye (chorus: our goodbye) Since you are leaving (chorus: since you are leaving) I could have closed up, Forgetting all these doors Leaving everything for a simple gesture But you didn’t do it. I could have given Such love and such strength But everything I could do It was still not enough Not enough Not enough Not enough Yes, not enough |
NB:
- “Les marches de l’oubli:” This line is a puzzler. “Les marches” means “steps” and “l’oubli” means “oblivion,“ forgetting,” or “oversight.” But “steps of oblivion” is unclear. I take a poetic liberty and translate it as “stages of foregetting,” not unlike "stages of grief." In context, Goldman says that there is no mountain higher than the gradual loss of memory of those departing.
- “À rêver nos désirs et vivre des "ainsi soit-il." The phrase “ainsi soit-il” has some baggage. At the end of Catholic prayers, it means “Amen” and in Hebrew “let it be.” Even The Beatles adopted it as the title for an album "Let it Be." Here it means “what must be,” words of acceptance and resignation.
- “Comme une intime evidence.” Although it seems strange in the context of a song, the concept of “intime evidence” refers to legal standards of proof or evidence that differ between common law and statute law cultures. Basically, it means “reasonable” as opposed to “preponderance” of evidence as a standard of proof.
- “Que” is used twice in this song but not in its traditional role as a direct object pronoun or conjunction. When used at the beginning of a sentence, it is an exhortation as in “que la vie t’apprenne…” (“May life teach you”) and carries the subjunctive with it.
Let's Talk About Love
Jean-Jacques Goldman’s 1987 song “Puisque tu pars” provided the melody for Céline Dion’s 1997 song “Let’s Talk About Love.” By that time, Goldman had become a regular collaborator with Dion. Bryan Adams and Eliot Kennedy wrote new lyrics for the song which gave its name to Dion’s 15th studio album that became one of the world’s best-selling albums.
In Adams' and Kennedy’s hands, the song took on a very different meaning. For Goldman, "Puisque tu pars" was a very particular song expressing ambivalence at parting that Goldman played to conclude his concerts for primarily French audiences. Bryan Adams is a British and Canadian singer songwriter, Eliot Kennedy is an English songwriter and record producer, and Céline Dion is a French-Canadian singer. With this cultural background and the entire English-speaking world as their target, they focus on love as a bedrock emotion that ranks as a common unifying denominator for people around the world. Additionally, Goldman's song carries a stronger narrative development, striking images like "les marches de l'oubli" and a more articulated rhyming element. The attachment provides a comparison of the lyrics of the two songs along with an English translation of “Puisque tu pars.” Both Goldman and Dion's songs have a participatory spirit. The video below is from a 1998 performance on CBS.
In Adams' and Kennedy’s hands, the song took on a very different meaning. For Goldman, "Puisque tu pars" was a very particular song expressing ambivalence at parting that Goldman played to conclude his concerts for primarily French audiences. Bryan Adams is a British and Canadian singer songwriter, Eliot Kennedy is an English songwriter and record producer, and Céline Dion is a French-Canadian singer. With this cultural background and the entire English-speaking world as their target, they focus on love as a bedrock emotion that ranks as a common unifying denominator for people around the world. Additionally, Goldman's song carries a stronger narrative development, striking images like "les marches de l'oubli" and a more articulated rhyming element. The attachment provides a comparison of the lyrics of the two songs along with an English translation of “Puisque tu pars.” Both Goldman and Dion's songs have a participatory spirit. The video below is from a 1998 performance on CBS.
Return to Goldman Profile