A-side Je vole Released 1978 Length 5:02 | B-side 8 jours à El Paso Recorded 1978 | |
Writer(s) Pierre Billon
Michel Sardou | ||
"Je vole" is a 1978 song by French singer Michel Sardou and the title track of the same titled album Je vole by Sardou. The B-side of the single was "8 jours à El Paso". The lyrics of "je vole" were co-written by Michel Sardou and Pierre Billon and the music was composed by Sardou himself. The song was a big commercial success reaching number 3 in France selling approximately 500,000 copies.
Contents
Context
The song is a last silent appeal of an adolescent on the verge of escaping his parents' home (running beyond the Atlantic) or some suggest it is a farewell note for the adolescent on the verge of committing suicide the same day.
The main part of the lyrics is spoken by Sardou as prose, and only the refrain is sung: "Mes chers parents / Je pars / Je vous aime mais je pars / Vous n'aurez plus d'enfant / Ce soir / Je n' m'enfuis pas je vole / Comprenez bien je vole / Sans fumée sans alcool / Je vole je vole" (meaning My dear parents, I leave, I love you so much, but I leave, you won't have a child anymore / Tonight, I am not running away, I am flying, understand me well, I am flying without drugs nor alcohol, I fly I fly).
Tracklist
- "Je vole" (5:02)
- "8 jours à El Paso" (3:07)
Louane Emera's version
The song's subject was adapted for the storyline of the 2014 French film La famille Bélier directed by Éric Lartigau. The story writer Victoria Bedos indicated that she based her story on the song "je vole" as she considered Sardou's songs very inspirational. Particularly the sentiments in "Je vole" deeply touched her. So she submitted a film project to the producers based on this youth character with a spirit of emancipation as expressed in the song.
"Je vole" is performed on the soundtrack of the film by Louane (full name Louane Emera), a singer in Top 8 of season 2 of the French The Voice: la plus belle voix picked for the lead actress in the film.
The text of the song were slightly changed but keeping the general meaning and even phraseology. Only the refrain is kept intact word for word. Another striking difference is that the whole song is sung by Louane, whereas in the original, Sardou spoke the lyrics and only sings the refrain. Several other songs of Sardou are also used in the soundtrack for the film.