Nina Simone, “Ne me quitte pas” (Jacques Brel)
If you think that French culture is old-school and can’t cross the borders, we are sorry to say that you are totally wrong. The peeps at the Institut francais in Edinburgh have take on the challenge to show you just how inspirational French songs can be for Anglophones singers.
Some say “Ne me quitte pas” is the story of a poor lonesome singer (Jacques Brel) left by his mistress. Others such as Jacques Brel himself and his wife at the time, Miche Brel, deny this ‘autobiographic’ version and claim it’s just a “song about a coward suffering from his pain”.
We don’t actually know whom Nina Simone sang this song for. But we are pretty sure of three things:
1. She was a fan of Jacques Brel’s music;
2. She was fond of France and did her best to sing in proper and understandable French (don’t read any patriotism in this but she actually spent years in France and finished her life in the South part of France, near Montpellier);
3. We are absolutely crazy about this cover that give us goose bumps like the original (even if the salsa version by Yuri Buenaventura or the almost-perfect-but-oh-so-serious cover by Sting are charming too).