please press the play button below to listen to this incredibly beautiful version of ne me quitte pas. It says its sung by Edith Piaf but this song was never sung by Edith as far as we know, and French Boy and I can’t figure out who sings this one but I adore it.
Be warned, you may shed tears…
Mireille Mathieu ?
May 20th, 2009 | #
bonjour matthieu! oui, peut-etre!
May 20th, 2009 | #
hi! i know who sings that version of “Ne me quitte pas”. Actually i have it and love it as well. Have spent entire days playing on repeat mode!! 🙂
It’s by Maysa Mataroso!
Love your blog. It’s inspiring to come here every single time…
May 20th, 2009 | #
sorry, i spelled it the wrong way… it’s Maysa Matarazzo. She was a brazilian singer.
May 20th, 2009 | #
Thank you for the intro to a new chanteuse. I am totally addicted to Nina Simone’s version but I’m biased because I clean my house to Nina every week. But my heart still belongs to Jacques Brel, flawed, ugly and extraordinary.
May 20th, 2009 | #
I’m totally with you jo – my heart belongs to jacques brel too, and i’ve looked at all different versions and nothing compares. But I do like Nina Simone, and now this one too.
Hi Carolina, thanks for solving the mystery! But I looked at maysa’s you tube versions and I couldn’t hear that one in particular. I will continue the search though.
px
May 20th, 2009 | #
Oooh Brel with english subtitles for those who have cried but never really knew why.
May 20th, 2009 | #
that version appears in “la ley del deseo” de Pedro Almodovar and i got to know her ’cause i have a P.Almodovar film’s soundtrack CD. Good luck with your search. If i find it online, i’ll send you the link to it.
PS – i hate the Nina Simone version. (although i love almost everything else by her). Maybe because i heard this version first and also because of that horrible french accent of her!! 🙂
May 20th, 2009 | #
My only experience with Ne me quitte pas has been Jacques Brel whom I love, as midcenturyjo says, in all his flawed, ugly and extraordinary brilliance. Thanks for another version and the ensuing conversations – it’s wonderful to know about Maysa Matarazzo.
May 20th, 2009 | #
Hello Pia!
I also believe this version is by Maysa. It played on the Brazilian TV for a while, during the “Presenca de Anita” mini-series which was an adaptation of “Lolita” . On You Tube, I’ve found Maysa singing it but live, so, not the same. But there is a “slide” of the TV series here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzI8UwuPDhs. That version is much closer to yours.
May 20th, 2009 | #
i love this song! have you heard the english version by emiliana torrini?
May 20th, 2009 | #
Just beautiful.
May 20th, 2009 | #
Here is an English translation.
Ne Me Quitte Pas (=If you go away)
If you go away on this summer’s day,
Then you might as well take the sun away
All the birds that flew in the summer sky
When our love was new and our hearts were high
When the day was young and the nights were long
And the moon stood still for the night bird’s song
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away.
But if you stay, I’ll make you a day
Like no day has been, or will be again
We’ll sail on the sun, we’ll ride on the rain
And talk to the trees and worship the wind
But if you go, I’ll understand
Leave me just enough love to fill up my hand
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away.
If you go, as I know you will
You must tell the world to stop turning
Till you return again, if you ever do,
For what good is love without loving you?
Can I tell you now, as you turn to go
I’ll be dying slowly till the next hello
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away.
But if you stay, I’ll make you a night
Like no night has been, or will be again
I’ll sail on your smile, I’ll ride on your touch
I’ll talk to your eyes that I love so much
But if you go, I won’t cry
Though the good is gone from the word goodbye
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away.
If you go away, as I know you must
There is nothing left in this world to trust
Just an empty room, full of empty space
Like the empty look I see on your face
I’d have been the shadow of your shadow
If you might have kept me by your side
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away.
May 20th, 2009 | #
I have loved that song for along time.
May 20th, 2009 | #
I had to keep your post open all day to keep listening to this gorgeous song. Trying to download it so if anyone knows where to find it, that would make my cycling playlist all the better!
May 20th, 2009 | #
um, but what about my dying peony?
May 20th, 2009 | #
:))) lovely!
May 20th, 2009 | #
That’s definitely Maysa!
I was all excited that I could tell you who it was only to find out that a couple of people had already recognized her voice! 🙂
Thanks for sharing that. Really beautiful!
Maysa was know for singing “fossa” songs, which translates into something like “Heartbreak”. You can feel the broken heart when you hear her voice…
May 20th, 2009 | #
i am shedding many beautiful tears. Thank you pia. : ) Your have put your flower in such a pretty vase, it’s hard to see it’s fading.
xo
May 20th, 2009 | #
One of my favorite songs! our dying peony is wonderful, too. I just discovered your blog this week and love it. Y
May 20th, 2009 | #
I also found a version by Barbara – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monique_Serf – similar but not the same.
May 20th, 2009 | #
I LOVE that dying peony photo!! It is SO beautiful!!
Oh yes, I actually wrote you a long email, and i wondered why you never got back to me! Hope you receieved it!!?????? x
May 20th, 2009 | #
Hi Pia,
Do you know the version by Wende Snijders? She is a Dutch singer, and I have been to her performance in the Paradiso a few years ago. This was so beautiful…..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HDAu56Ur5w
May 20th, 2009 | #
Oh my goodness!! These are the most beautiful photos. That top one is so gorgeous- I just don’t have words. Not sure there is anything more beautiful than a dying flower!!:)
May 21st, 2009 | #
the song together with the dying flower is so sad. It remembers me a lot the film about edith Piaf. I cried a lot…
May 21st, 2009 | #
Beautiful… Thank you.
May 22nd, 2009 | #
Diana Piedade, an Idol contestant in Portugal sung it beautifully! As well as many other songs. check her on youtube!
November 27th, 2010 | #