JE T’AIME MÉLANCOLIE

“Je t’aime mélancolie” (English: “I Love You Melancholy”) is a 1991 song recorded by Mylène Farmer. The song was released as the third single from her third studio album L’Autre…, in December 1991. Characterized by its gloomy lyrics and its music video shot on a boxing ring, it achieved success, becoming a top ten hit in France and Belgium.

The lyrics as expected were written by Mylène Farmer, music – by Laurent Boutonnat.

In late 1991, “Pas de doute” was chosen to be the third single from L’Autre…. However, “Je t’aime mélancolie” was finally released instead.

If you recall it is about that time a deranged fan killed the receptionist in Polydor Jean-François Pigaglio, her recording company in Paris back then, shooting him with a rifle because he refused to give him the singer’s address. RIP dearest soul🙏. Thanks to his bravery, we have Mylene with us all this years. Everything might turned out very differently if Mylene was found by this sick criminal. After the tragedy, Mylene Farmer went into exile in the U.S. (For the very first time it is)

The single was released in France and Germany, and for the first time, among the formats available for the single, there was a voluminous promotional object, namely a carton pyramid containing the visual of the 12″ maxi with at its base the promotional CD in a digipack case. The four 1991 remixes were all produced by Thierry Rogen.

The radio stations aired one of these remixed versions, shorter, instead of the single version. The song was eventually released on 15 December 1991, including as CD maxi which contained a then unreleased song entitled “Mylène Is Calling“.

In 2003, the song was remixed by the famous DJ Felix Da Housecat for the remixes compilation RemixeS. This version was even released as a second single from this album in November that year; it was not aired on radio but was successful in nightclubs.

The song deals with melancholy and even suicide. “Je t’aime mélancolie” is also the singer’s ironic response to journalists who criticize her because of her image of sad singer and her great success. In this song, Farmer “acts as an observer of her own life”, and “claims her love for melancholy, sadness and loneliness”. The singer demonstrates “the important role that takes the pain in life”, as she confesses: “Melancholy is one of my favorite topics. I love this bittersweet state, even if it is somewhat painful.”

According to author Sophie Khairallah, the notes are “low, dark and jerky” in the couplets, which suggests “a submission to melancholy”. However, the refrains are “lighter”. The fact that Farmer is singing in low notes in the verses, like on “Porno graphique” and “C’est dans l’air“, is deemed by the psychologist Hugues Royer as a sign of humor…hmm…. The psychoanalysis cracks me up every time 😊 I bet, Mylene gets a big kick out of it too…

The video was directed by Laurent Boutonnat who also wrote the screenplay. This Requiem Publishing and Heathcliff SA production cost about 75,000 euros and was shot in Los Angeles for four days: two for the fight in the boxing ring, and the two others for the choreography. The sexy clothes that Farmer and her dancers wear – notably black garter belts – while they are on the boxing ring in the video were made by the French fashion designer and lifelong friend Jean-Paul Gaultier.

Farmer was forced to take an intensive physical preparation for two days for the video and had a sports coach to be more credible, although the sports scenes were performed by a stunt woman. (the name is unknown) The man with whom she boxes is Croatian dancer and choreographer Emil Matešić.

I loved how the video ends with the same “howling” background sound like Sans Logique and somewhat Sans Contrefacon leading us away from the main melody into the “parallel” universe of the clip context…the notes are heart breaking and force you to feel something painful deeply in your core. Those notes pierce me every time.

The video was acclaimed by the lesbians and feminist movements because it showed that women could surpass men.

Mylene was never shy to show a role model of a strong capable woman but this clip perhaps did lay the foundation of the future “feministic” videos: FUCK THEM ALL, CALIFORNIA to name a few.

According to biographer Bernard Violet, the colors chosen to highlight the flamboyant hair of the singer which contrast with her very white face. Unlike Farmer’s previous videos, this one is very simple and deals with a story in which everyone can find a moral and metaphysical duality between Good and Evil. French magazine Ciné Télé Plus stated that the video “cultivates ambiguity and provocation”. The most likely interpretation of this video might make reference to the confrontational relationship between Farmer and the media. The fight would be the symbol of the singer’s defense regarding her right to suffer and to talk about it in her songs. This video may also mean that Farmer “crushes the masculinity”, symbol of authority.

Farmer performed her song in playback in three French television shows: Sacrée Soirée (Décember 1991, TF1), Tous à la Une (27 December 1991, TF1; she also sang “L’Autre”), and Stars 90 (13 January 1992, TF1). She also appeared in a German television program in which she sang “Je t’aime mélancolie”, as the song was recorded in the country too: Ein Kessel Buntes in March 1992.

These performances were accompanied by a choreography made for the first time in Farmer’s career by the singer herself. She wore black and red clothes on these occasions, while her dancers wore the reverse.

“Je t’aime mélancolie” was performed during the 1996 and 2006 series concerts at Bercy and was thus included on the live albums and VHS or DVD Live à Bercy and Avant que l’ombre… à Bercy. In the choreographed performance of 1996, Farmer wore a red shirt, pants and bra, the male dancers were dressed with clear pants and shirt, and the female dancers had a kimono in brown satin. During the musical bridge, all dancers performed rhythmical steps under a play of lights. At the beginning of the 2006 performance, the main stage was illuminated and had five large white borders. Farmer, accompanied by four female dancers, sang with a choreography, first elevated and behind a clear sail, then, during the second chorus, before the sails that began to constantly up and down. The song was also performed three evenings during the 2000 Mylenium Tour in Russia, instead of “Beyond My Control”, and during the 2009 tour in Saint-Petersburg, instead of “Je te rends ton amour”, but does not appear on the live albums recorded during these tours.

The song was also performed on the singer’s Timeless 2013 tour and is included in the home DVD/Blu-Ray release and the accompanying live album.

In France, the single remained on the top 50 for a total of 17 weeks, eight of them in the top ten. It debuted at number 15 on 14 December 1991 and reached a peak at number three on 1 February 1992. The single sales were roughly equal to that of the previous single, “Regrets”, but it was not certified by French certifier SNEP. In April 2018, the song was re-edited under new formats then re-entered the chart at number nine.

“Je t’aime mélancolie” entered the Belgian (Wallonia) chart at number 20 and reached a peak of number seven three weeks later, and eventually remained for a total of 15 weeks in the top 30. The song was also charted in Canada where it peaked at number 12 and achieved moderate success in Germany where it was only number 70 and remained on the chart for six weeks.

The song was covered by Valli for a 1992 French compilation named 1992 – Les Plus Belles Chansons françaises. In 2003, Biba Binoche, a young woman who had participated in the European reality show Big Brother, and most known under the pseudonym BB, covered the song in various techno and electro version. She released “Je t’aime mélancolie” as single in Belgium and the latter had managed to appear on the Ultratop 40 Singles Chart for seven weeks in 2003, peaking at number 35. It is surprisingly good! It has just enough of the MF flair in the techno wrapper to make it a hit.

The song was available in three formats: CD single (electro radio edit, groove radio edit, trance radio edit), CD maxi (6 versions: electro radio remix, trance radio edit, electro extended mix, trance extended remix, Frank Trauner electro wave, funked lounge version, groove XL remix), and 12″ maxi (5 versions: electro extended mix, Frank Trauner electro wave, funked lounge version, groove XL remix, trance extended version).

By choosing this title, Mylène seems to want to move away temporarily from only dark texts and highlight not only another facet of her character but also the richness of her pen. Lots of humor in these words with an obvious reference to the media, in particular to the press which would not give her a break for years with unfounded rumors and often brutal criticism.

“It is true that melancholy is one of my favorite themes. The state of melancholy is something bittersweet. I tried to develop this idea … I like these states even if they are sometimes a little painful. We can let ourselves be rocked a little in these states even if it leads to tears. But tears, I like that too … “(Mylène Farmer – Podium – September 1991). And yes, we see it very often during her live performances: those tears have power to open our hearts widely and fill us with compassion and love. Those are the best tears.

the one she cries so vulnerably and that’s what wins our hearts over. The bottom line: we do want to FEEL. And she gives it to us year after year. Feelings are not meant to be only joyful; they are fortunately much more multicolored and bring all spectrum of humanness in us. The worst thing that our modern culture does is condemns us for not feeling the mainstream “happy-pappy” ways. I am not at all against the happiness and feeling good, but I am very much against faking the joy by disrespecting all the richness of our human emotional fabric. I see so many shallow “happy” folks who smile and always feeling “fine” but underneath it all they are measurable humans who are divorced from their true feelings and using booze, joints or pills just to get by.

I mentioned you before that I have suffered depression for many-many years. And I didn’t get better by denying and criticizing my sadness, my melancholy. Only by turning my face towards it with love and compassion, only by facing the truth with acceptance, I have shifted to much sunnier place. It is just brilliant that she declared her love to the melancholy, to sadness, to the emotional lows in such young age. It is a healing place. I vouch that!

The music for Je t’aime mélancolie was composed by Laurent Boutonnat. Very early 90s feisty Boutonnat I must say. Great melody, great rhythm and great overall production. The first notes are legendary. It is so recognizable; it creates a wave of excitement during concerts of the bet. How wonderful it must feel for Mylene – to see such reaction! WOW! 😊 I think it remains one of my favorite songs and of course a very dear memory of my very VHS tape with Mylene’s clips. I think I watched it so many times, the tape started to wear out 😊

The verses, more spoken than sung, which can evoke a form of rap are then very avant-garde at the time, especially for a mainstream singer like Mylène.

“I don’t have a precise memory of this musical choice. I think Mylène wanted to have a little fun and experiment with other ways, hence the idea of ​​doing this deep voice, a little rap. For the rhythm, I remember being influenced by a Jackson 5 track, “Lovely one.” And I definitely feel the inspiration from it. Do you?

There was a lot of fun during that track. It was light and it came after DEsenchantee, like a rest stop! Easy to mix, we had a lot of fun. It was daring to release Je t’aime mélancolie as a single, but there was a hell of a chorus all the same! never had a limitation. That’s what I love about those days, there was less formatting so more creativity. “(Thierry Rogen – Styx Special Magazine The Other … – 2011).

The album L’Autre , released in the first half of 1991, is a real triumph for Mylène. It has already sold nearly a million copies at the end of 1991.

The first single extracted, Désenchantée, has become a hymn for fans but also an essential and eternal hit for the general public.

The duet with Jean-Louis Murat, Regrets, chosen to become the second single, also met with great commercial and critical success.

For the third single, the choice falls on a rhythmic and very dancing title: Je t’aime mélancolie

Beginning of November 1991, a promo CD is sent to radio stations. And, for the first time for a single from Mylène, a “luxury” promo is created by Henry Neu: a 3D pyramid. Very rare, it is therefore a new version mixed by Laurent Boutonnat and Thierry Rogen which is offered to the radio stations, a shorter version (shortened introduction), more dynamic and even more effective than that of the album. The single was released on November 19, 1991. Four supports are available: a 45 rpm, a maxi 45 rpm, a CD maxi and a single audio cassette.

The unpublished photo used to illustrate the covers of these different media is by Marianne Rosenstiehl. They offer quite varied contents which will make  the collectors happy. Fans also have the joy of discovering an unreleased track, Mylene is calling , only on the Maxi France CD. This song, which is one of the most “experimental” titles of the Farmer / Boutonnat duo, loops a message that Mylène would have left on the Boutonnat’s answering machine.

The song was intended for a foreign promotion but no such luck again.

Unfortunately, the title will go rather unnoticed, even in Germany where Mylène will nevertheless perform a televised performance (he will still rank 70th in the German top singles).

On December 3, 2003, release of the album RemixeS ( I loved loved loved that album! Worked out with it for years) . Je t’aime mélancolie is one of the unreleased remixes offered on the compilation. Felix Da Housecat’s remix is ​​chosen to become the second single from the album. Only a maxi 45 rpm is offered. Nice success on the dance floors, this remix ranking 24th in the ranking of club broadcasts. Released on April 06, 2018 of a reissue of the Maxi 45 Tours. Release on March 5, 2019 of a Maxi 45 Tours Collector Rose. On December 4, 2020 , the best-of Histoire de, which features Je t’aime mélancolie, is released in its live version Timeless 2013 .

Je t’aime mélancolie was sung live for the first time during the 1996 Tour from May 25 to December 15, 1996 .

Arrangements for the stage: Laurent Boutonnat. Choreography: Mylène Farmer.

Note that the choreography is close to that proposed during the televised performances and the version a little modified compared to that of the single with a more important part left to the guitars and the piano.

For the Mylenium Tour, this song is only performed on the three dates in Russia in March 2000 in a version almost identical to that of 1996.

During the thirteen concerts of 2006, Avant que l’ombre…à Bercy , Mylène sang again Je t’aime melancholy from January 13 to 28, 2006 .

Stage arrangements: Yvan Cassar.
Choreography: Mylene Farmer.
We find Je t’aime mélancolie on the live album and the film of the show, Avant que l’ombre… à Bercy , released on December 4, 2006 .

For the 2009 Tour, only interpretation during the first Russian date in St Petersburg on June 28, 2009.

The title will not be performed on the second date in Russia in Moscow or during other concerts in France, Switzerland or Belgium.

Je t’aime melancholy was performed on all the dates of the 2013 Timeless concerts in this particular version from September 7 to December 6, 2013.

Arrangements for the stage: Yvan Cassar. Choreography: Mylène Farmer and Christophe Danchaud. The stage images were created by Eve Ramboz for La Maison. (video)

Three references in these scene images: the spirit of the Swiss plastic artist Jena Tinguely who unfortunately passed away in the year of the song release. In a way, it is a tribute., in particular for the images of the bottle crushing machine, the music video for the song (with the boxing gloves) and the pyramid of Cheops.

Laurent Boutonnat and Thierry Rogen offered – a few different versions of the “Radio Remix” with minimal differences and the “Smooth Mix” which in fact corresponds to an edit version of the album version – two other remixes clearly intended for clubs: the ” Extended Club Remix “and the ‘Insane Dance Remix”.

reaction

MY POETRY INSPIRED BY THE SONG

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lyrics with translation

Je te guette
Tu me donne
Ton ivresse
Comme personne
Je te guette
Tu me donne
Ton ivresse
Comme personne
J'ai comme une envie de voir ma vie au lit
Comme une idée fixe chaque fois que l'on me dit
La plaie c'est ça: c'est qu'elle pousse trop vite
La mauvaise herbe nuit
C'est là qu'il me vient une idée pouvoir m'apitoyer
C'est bien ma veine
Je souffre en douce
J'attends ma peine
Sa bouche est si douce
J'ai comme une envie de voir ma vie au lit
Comme une idée fixe qui me poursuit la nuit, la nuit, la nuit
Je savoure la nuit l'idée d'éternité
La mauvaise herbe nuit car elle ne meurt jamais
Quand tout est gris, la peine est mon amie
Un long suicide acide, je t'aime mélancolie
Sentiment qui me mène à l'infini
Mélange du pire, de mon désir, je t'aime mélancolie
Quand tout est gris, la peine est mon amie
J'ai l'âme humide aussi, tout mon être chavire
Oh, viens, je t'en prie, c'est ton amie aussi
C'est l'élixir de mes délires, je t'aime mélancolie
J'ai comme une envie de voir ma vie en l'air
Chaque fois que l'on me dit c'est de la mauvaise herbe
Et moi je dis qu'une sauvage née vaut bien d'être estimée
Après tout elle fait souvent la nique
Aux trop bien cultivées, et toc
C'est bien ma veine
Je souffre en douce
J'attends ma peine
Sa bouche est si douce
J'ai comme une idée de la moralité
Comme une idée triste mais qui ne meurt jamais
En somme c'est ça: our plaire aux jaloux il faut être ignorée
Mais là, mais là, mais là, pour le coup
C'est Dieu qui m'a plantée, alors?
Quand tout est gris, la peine est mon amie
Un long suicide acide, je t'aime mélancolie
Sentiment qui me mène à l'infini
Mélange du pire, de mon désir, je t'aime mélancolie
Quand tout est gris, la peine est mon amie
J'ai l'âme humide aussi, tout mon être chavire
Oh, viens je t'en prie, c'est ton amie aussi
C'est l'élixir de mes délires, je t'aime mélancolie
Quand tout est gris, la peine est mon amie
Un long suicide acide, je t'aime mélancolie
Sentiment qui me mène à l'infini
Mélange du pire, de mon désir, je t'aime mélancolie
Quand tout est gris, la peine est mon amie
J'ai l'âme humide aussi, tout mon être chavire
Oh, viens je t'en prie, c'est ton amie aussi
C'est l'élixir de mes délires, je t'aime mélancolie
Quand tout est gris, la peine est mon amie
Un long suicide acide, je t'aime mélancolie
Sentiment qui me mène à l'infini
Mélange du pire, de mon désir, je t'aime mélancolie


I'm watching you
You give me
Your drunkenness
Like no one else
I'm watching you
You give me
Your drunkenness
Like no one else
I want to see my life in bed
As an obsession every time I am told
The plague is that: it grows too fast
The night weed
This is where I have an idea to be able to feel sorry for myself
It's my luck
I'm suffering
quietly I'm waiting for my pain
Her mouth is so sweet
I have like a desire to see my life in bed
Like an obsession that pursues me at night, at night, at night
I savor the idea of ​​eternity at
night The weed at night because it never dies
When everything is gray, pain is my friend
A long acid suicide, I love you melancholy
Feeling that leads me to infinity
Mixture of the worst, of my desire, I love you melancholy
When everything is gray, pain is my friend
I have a wet soul too, my whole being capsizes
Oh, come on, please, it's your friend too
It's the elixir of my delusions, I love you melancholy
I want to see my life in the air
Every time someone tells me it's a weed
And I say that a born savage is well worth being esteemed
After all, she often does the "nique"
To the too well cultivated, and toc
It's my luck
I'm suffering
quietly I'm waiting for my pain
Her mouth is so sweet
I have like an idea of ​​morality
Like a sad idea but which never dies
In short, that's it: to please the jealous, you have to be ignored
But there, but there, but there, for once
It is God who planted me, then?
When everything is gray, pain is my friend
A long acid suicide, I love you melancholy
Feeling that leads me to infinity
Mixture of the worst, of my desire, I love you melancholy
When everything is gray, pain is my friend
I have a wet soul too, my whole being capsizes
Oh, please come on, it's your friend too
It's the elixir of my delusions, I'm love melancholy
When everything is gray, pain is my friend
A long acid suicide, I love you melancholy
Feeling that leads me to infinity
Mixture of the worst, of my desire, I love you melancholy
When everything is gray, pain is my friend
I have a wet soul too, my whole being capsizes
Oh, please come on, it's your friend too
It's the elixir of my delusions, I'm love melancholy
When everything is gray, pain is my friend
A long acid suicide, I love you melancholy
Feeling that leads me to infinity
Mixture of the worst, of my desire, I love you melancholy