PEUT-ÊTRE TOI

Peut-être toi is a song from Mylène Farmer’s sixth studio album, Avant que l’ombre … (2005). It is the fifth and last single extracted.

Don’t hold it against me, but when I saw the clip I immediately thought of this interpretation of Catherine Lara’s Nuit Magique (I have always loved the song) Computer game Final Fantasy based music video (which I am sure not uncommon) immediately linked to me with Peut-être toi.

The lyrics to Peut-être toi were written by Mylène Farmer. Mylène seems to have been influenced by Emily Dickinson and the collection Quatrains and other short poems (1858-1864) from which she borrows a few lines:

“If the fault is mine, deny me”
“Absence disembodied”
“And would haunt the universe”
“And open up the universe”

Another possible influence is Michel Eyquem de Montaigne also known as Lord de Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. More precisely, his intense and intimate friendship he is written in 1580 in letters. This text pays tribute to Estienne de La Boétie: writer, poet, and political theorist, a great friend of Montaigne with whom he said he experienced a “fusion of souls”.

“Besides, what we usually call friends and friendships, they are only acquaintances and familiarities formed by some occasion or convenience, by means of which our souls converse. In the friendship of which I speak they are mingled. and fuse one into the other, a mixture so universal, that they erase and no longer find the seam which joined them. If I am urged to say why I loved him, but I feel that it is not going to happen. I can only express it by answering: “Because it was him”. God, how much I love this quote! How much it resonates!

I guess, a million dollar question is why such a love song goes so angry “Shut up! Shut the fuck up!”? Who does she addresses that? Is it to those around her or here is the the thought- maybe, it is to the thoughts inside her head, to her inner critic, to her inner disbeliever? or is it, given the finale of the clip, the challenge to the Fate itself? What do you all think? comment below!

The music for Peut-être toi was composed by Laurent Boutonnat. Three official remixes produced by The Bionix and Chris Cox are offered.

The “Miss Farmer’s Remix” is signed The Bionix . A remix with r’nb tones and starting with a “rap”. Due to the very good reception of the previous remix signed The Bionix for L’Amour est rien … which had been a great success in radio, the “Miss Farmer’s Remix” will be present on the Single Promo CD. Probably a hope of seeing it included in some FM playlists again. In vain this time.

From the discovery of Peut-être toi in 2005 the fans wondered if Mylène pronounced the words “Shut up Farmer” or “Shut the fuck up”. This remix of The Bionix allows us to understand that it is indeed “shut the fuck up” a well-known and very familiar expression. Yes, indeed, especially here in the US 😊

The “Cox’s Remix” is a remix intended for clubs directed by Chris Cox who had already remixed QI and Désenchantée and which proves to be quite effective, only taking up the choruses of the title. The entire song is however well preserved in Chris Cox’s second remix, “Full Vocal Cox’s Remix” which will only be offered on the maxi CD released on August 21st.

One year after its release, the album Avant que l’ombre … is a success with more than 400,000 sales in France. The first four singles have had various trajectories, but none has become a real hit. “L’amour n’est rien…“, the fourth extract released in the bins at the end of March but broadcast since the end of January, on the other hand allowed Mylène to find a little ‘visibility’ on the radios.

At the end of May 2006, the first rumors concerning the fifth single announced “Dans les rues de Londres”. This choice disappoints many fans who, although appreciating this title, for the majority of them hoped for the release of Peut-être toi.But, the rumors are wrong …

June 16, 2006 with this official announcement: the new single will be Peut-être toi. A question: was the rumor about the release of announced “Dans les rues de Londres” just false or did Mylène hear the fans’ wish. Nobody knows 😊

It is June 19, 2006 at 8:40 pm, the precise date of the first radio broadcast of Maybe you on NRJ in its Radio Edit version: a shortened version compared to that of the album with the contribution of some sounds which make it more efficient. Released a few times as a novelty, this title will unfortunately be quickly removed from the NRJ playlist.

The drawing appearing on the Promo CD is signed by Kazuchika Kize of Production IG who produced the music video for the single. Another drawing by Kinu Sekigushi published in 2006 in the fanzine “MF & Vous”: Peut-être toi drawing by Kinu Sekigushi

The first remix of Maybe you unveiled on the net on June 26, 2006 is the “Miss Farmer’s Remix”.

On July 05, 2006, the Radio Edit and Miss Farmer’s Remix versions are available on the download sites. Very average rankings. We discover on July 27, 2006 on the net (thanks to the sending of a maxi 45 rpm promo) a second remix: “Cox’s Remix”.

On August 21, 2006, it is the commercial release of Peut-être toi in three physical media – CD Single Digipack, CD Maxi Digipack and Maxi 45 rpm – announced in limited edition.

Mylène Farmer Maybe You CD Single Digpack Mylène Farmer Maybe you CD Maxi Digipack Mylène Farmer Maybe you Maxi 45 Tours

It will sell around 40,000 copies which is correct given the catastrophic state of the single market, the almost total lack of radio broadcast of the title and non-existent promotion; without forgetting that this is the fifth single from an album being already released for almost a year and a half.

On December 05, 2011, the best-of 2001.2011 album was released on which we can find Maybe you (in its album version). On the other hand, does not appear in the track listing of the best-of Stories album released in 2020.

The first information on the clip of Maybe you are revealed on July 04, 2006 via the site of the production company IG:

“The company PRODUCTION IG has been entrusted with the animation of the new music video for French diva (I really dislike that word) Mylène Farmer. Production IG and Geneon Entertainment (USA) announce the signing of an association creative between the two companies for the creation, development and production of an animated musical video for Mylène Farmer.

From this first participation will be born the next FARMER video, Peut-être toi, which will be fully animated. The creative team includes top creators from  THE INNOCENCE, such as director Kusumi Naoko (Metropolis), director of character design and animation Kazuchika Kise (Otogi Zoshi) and artist Shuichi Hirata (xxxHOLiC – A Midsummer Night’s Dream).

“This joint collaboration between Geneon and the world-famous animation studio of Production IG will have allowed us to maximize our creative strengths, as well as all our resources, while opening the door to the production of other high-quality projects in the world.

According to (false) rumors circulating for years the clip of Peut-être toi was originally intended for the song Fuck them all. We can observe on the booklet of the Music Videos IV DVD the mention ” ℗ 2005 Stuffed Monkey” which appears next to “© 2006 Stuffed Monkey” which could confirm that the clip would have been produced and therefore directed in 2005. This n is that at the last moment that Mylène would have finally decided to call on Agusti Villaronga to make the video for Fuck them all.

Other information does not go in this direction: the clip L’Amour est rien … yet produced in 2006 benefits from the same credits (℗2005 and © 2006); in an interview, the spokesperson for IG Studios specifies that work on the clip began in April 2006 and details the various stages of its development.

For the first time for a single from Mylène, Universal chooses to unveil on July 6, 2006 a 20-second extract of the clip Maybe you on mobile phone through I-Mode of operator Bouygues Telecom. The clip is offered in full on July 08, 2006 by the operator Orange. The clip is released for free on the Yahoo Music site from July 13, 2006.

The clip is broadcast on television from July 19, 2006. It is very quickly programmed by all the music channels.

Peut-être toi is performed live during the thirteen concerts Avant que l’ombre … in Bercy from January 13 to 28, 2006. Arrangements for the stage: Yvan Cassar. It is on the music of Peut-être toi that Mylène makes a masterful entry on stage in her capsule. It is then the first title of the show that Mylène performs alone on stage, in a version quite close to that of the album and without choreography.

On Peut-être toi, guitarists Milton McDonald and Perry Gwynedd, as well as bassist Paul Bushnell were to perform under the stage in the dark. It was only for the next title, XXL, that we found them alongside Mylène.

Peut-être toi is the thirteenth track of the album Avant que l’ombre … The number 13 has definitely an important place for these concerts: thirteen dates, 13,000 spectators each evening, the first show on Friday the 13th, and finally, if we add the numbers making up the first date, 1 + 3 + 0 + 1 + 2 + 0 + 0 + 6, the total is 13.

source: Mylène Farmer, from scene to scene – Editions Hors Collection

and that is, my friends, super cool. The good news just like song L’autre (I wrote about it in details in the dedicated chapter) https://mylenefarmerbook.com/chapters-41-60/lautre-chapter-56-of-155/ being a song #3 from the album #3 and Mylene’s birthday digits are (1+2) = 3 becomes a lucky omen for her. The number 1 is also significant to her and a great energy of any initiation.

If you are curious to know number 13 is considered to be very special in Judaism.

13 signifies the age at which a boy matures and becomes a Bar Mitzvah, i.e., a full member of the Jewish faith (counts as a member of Minyan). According to Rabbinic commentary on the Torah, God has 13 Attributes of Mercy. (Nothing bad btw, nothing unlucky. It all was made up much later.)

But its not all yet. Ready? The 13th letter of Hebrew alphabet is “M”.

Did you know that the number 13 is the number assigned to the holy female? It follows the Twelve, hence the patriarchal image. The 13 is the number of femininity, wise women, the new goddesses and therefore a Venus number. The number 13 is a remarkable force number, which dissolves the structures of the number 12 and creates a transformational leap to the whole new level – and that now makes perfect sense!

For more info read here: https://dreamastromeanings.com/what-does-the-number-13-mean-in-the-bible/

Nearly two decades later, to our collective joy and astonishment, “Peut-être toi” made a triumphant return to the limelight, securing a coveted spot in the setlist of the 2023 NEVERMORE tour. And it wasn’t just any spot; it was the show-stopping opener, seamlessly blending with the opening track “Du Temps.” Talk about kicking things off with a bang! This energizing opener was a jolt of pure adrenaline—I mean, who would’ve thought? Truth be told, with a name like NEVERMORE, I was half expecting a show shrouded in mystery and tinged with foreboding. Instead, Mylène pulled off the ultimate 180-degree pirouette, leaving us all gobsmacked with a performance that was like chugging an energy drink. I swear, the fizz in my blood was bubbling for hours afterward, and “Peut-être toi” was definitely a key ingredient in that effervescent cocktail. Would you agree?

Mylène Farmer, suspended in mid-air above an adoring crowd, serenading us from a crane in a scene reminiscent of the Timeless Tour’s “Bleu Noir” magic. The air was electric, every soul in the stadium joining in a monumental sing-along, creating a tapestry of voices that seemed to lift her even higher. It was as if she was weaving a thank you into the very fabric of the night, a collective gratitude to the grand stadium crowd, yet also an intimate nod to each individual—hinting that “Peut-être toi” (maybe you) played a part in making this spectacular moment a reality.

Describing the magic of that night leaves me at a loss for words. It was an experience that stitched itself into the memory of everyone present, a shared dream we all momentarily lived. If you were there, you know the indescribable feeling. If not, I hold out hope that 2024 might unfold the opportunity for you to bask in the glory of such a moment. It’s an experience so profound, so filled with unity and euphoria, that missing it would be like missing a chance to touch the stars.

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lyrics with translation

Si par mégarde
La faute est mienne
Alors... renie-moi... là
Simplement sache bien
Que saigne
Ce coeur qui bat pour... toi
Et quand l'absence désincarne...
Et hante l'univers
Je n'avais plus qu'à trouver l'âme
Et retrouver peut-être...

Peut-être toi
Peut-être toi
Regarde-moi
Nulle autre n'a...
L'envie de toi
Comme j'ai besoin de toi

Parce que c'est toi
Parce que c'est moi
Regarde-moi
Nulle autre n'a...
L'envie de toi
Comme j'ai besoin de toi

Si nos matins
Semblent poussière
Alors renie-moi ... là
Simplement je n'aurais
Su taire
Le bruit qui est en... toi
Quand la présence d'un vent calme
Entrouvre l'univers
Mon inquiétude d'amour cache
Une envie de bonheur

If by accident
The fault is mine
Then ... deny me ... there
Simply know well
That bleeds
This heart which beats for ... you
And when the absence disembodies ...
And haunts the universe
I had more than to find the soul
And find again ... maybe

Maybe you
Maybe you
Look at me
No one else has…
The desire for you
Like I need you

Because it 'is you
Because it's me
Look at me
No one else has ...
The desire for you
Like I need you

If our mornings
Seem dust
So deny me ... there
I just would have to
Shut up
The noise that is in ... you
When the presence of a calm wind
opens up the universe
My anxiety about love hides
A desire for happiness