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Reprises des chansons anglais/français

Writer: Andrew StarrAndrew Starr

Updated: Mar 7

This blog post is all about cover versions or « reprises », as they would be known in French.

There was a lot of them in the 60s 70s and 80s from English originals to French cover versions, but some went the other way too.


Here are some I have collected together (sometimes the only thing in common is the tune rather than the lyrics!!)


Déprime - Sylvie Vartan. (Literally - Depression)

L'amour, c'est comme une cigarette (really!)

She did loads - but often really changed the song's lyrics...

L'homme en noir

Régine - Je survivrai

Ringo - Qui est ce grand corbeau noir

Mireille Matthieu - Bravo, tu as gagné.

Not quite a cover version... (je tourne en rond!!)

Bonnie Tyler & Kareen Anton - Si remain

Réné SImard - Fernando

The whole of the Mamma Mia songs are in French for the French stage show...

These too can often be found in French - Libérée, Délivrée

A double cover - Claude François did this originally after the original US version. This one was in the 2010s.

Richard Anthony - C'est ma fête

La voix du silence

Tout le monde veut devenir un «cat» - why not «chat»?

Eileen - Ces bottes sont faites pour marcher (Indeed they are!)

Le Penitencier - Johnny Halliday (the French Elvis!)

Les compagnon de la chanson - Le sous marin vert

Dalida - Reviens (Perhaps wait until December!)

Joe Dassin - Marie-Jeanne -- Wow - I was not expecting a French version of this one!)

Philonico - C'est étrange


David Bowie - Heroes


Now for some in the other direction...

Eurythmics - Tous les garçons et les filles de mon âge.

Patricia Kaas - J'ai peur de tout - but who did the English cover??

Jacques Brel - Le Moribond (The Dying Man!) The English Version was relatively different and more upbeat, but it retained the same idea of dying within it. What song is it?

Charles Trenet - La Mer - (Somewhere) Beyond the Sea - Bobby Darrin

Connie Francis - I will wait for you. From the French Musical "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg".

He, too, was quite a prolific singer of songs that were originally in English, but here this song was made far more famous in its English version...

...and this one ... Claude François - Les Moulins de mon Cœur


Some that are all done by one singer on her YouTube Channel (so not necessarily officially released versions)

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