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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