Fascination (A French Love Song)

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Fascination (A French Love Song)

By Thomas Keyes
Dec. 3, 2008

Fascination is a beautiful French love song by F. D. Marchetti with lyrics by Maurice de Féraudy. It appeared in 1932 and was used in the films Love in the Afternoon and La Vie en Rose . It has absolutely nothing to do with some later songs that go by the same name or similar names.

French songs are much more likely to be about lovers than about girlfriends, sweethearts, fiancées or wives, but, if we overlook the cultural gap, we can still appreciate this flowing melodious song,

I have merely copied the French lyrics from the website below, where the song can also be heard sung by Jacqueline François, with her lovely voice. The lyrics as they are posted there are for a male singer. However, Jacqueline sings only the first stanza, in which the gender difference is very slight.

http://www.geocities.com/tvng3/fascination.html

Fascination

Je t’ai reencontrée simplement,
Et tu n’as rien fait pour chercher à me plaire
. Je t’aime pourtant,
D’un amour ardent,
Dont rien, je le sens, ne pourra me défaire.
Tu seras toujours mon amante
Et je crois à toi comme au bonheur suprême.
Je te fuis parfois, mais je reviens quand même.
C’est plus fort que moi : Je t’aime.

Lorsque je souffre, il me faut tes yeux
Profonds et joyeux
Afin que j’y meure
Et j’ai besoin pour revivre, amour,
De t’avoir un jour,
Moins qu’un jours, une heure !,
De me bercer un peu dans tes bras,
Quand mon coeur est las,
Quand parfois je pleure.
Ah ! Crois-le bien, ma chérie, mon aimée, ma reine,
Je n’ai de bonheur qu’avec toi.

Je t’ai rencontrée simplement.
C’est toi la amie quand est mort l’espoir,
Dont on rêve un soir,
Et que l’âme implore,
L’amie fidèle et jamais constante,
Et la seule pourtant qu’un homme adore !
Sous tes baisers les chagrins passés
Sont vite effacés
Et l’on s’aime encore !
Ah ! Crois-le bien, ma chérie, mon aimée, ma reine,
Je n’ai de bonheur qu’avec toi.

Reviens-moi ! Reprends-moi !

Below I have added my more-or-less literal translation, where I have deviated a little in a couple of places to make it make sense in English. I haven't tried to fit the words to the melody or to wax artistic.

Fascination

I met you casually,
And you did nothing to seek to please me.
I love you nonetheless,
With an ardent love
From which nothing, I feel, will deliver me.
You will always be my lover
And I regard you as my supreme happiness.
I flee you at times but still I return.
It’s stronger than I: I love you!

When I suffer, I need your eyes,
Deep and joyous,
So that I may die in them,
And i need to live again, my love,
To have you for one day,
Less than a day, one hour!,
To rock myself a little in your arms,
When my heart is weary,
When sometimes I weep.
Ah! Believe it truly, my dear, my beloved, my queen,
I have no happiness but with you.

I met you casually.
You are a friend when hope is dead,
The one I dream of in the evening
And for whom my soul begs,
The faithful friend and never constant,
The only thing though that a man adores !
With your kisses, the old griefs
Are soon assuaged,
And I fall in love again.
Ah! Believe it truly, my dear, my beloved, my queen,
I have no happiness but with you

Return to me ! Come back to me !

The following line puzzles me:

The faithful friend and never constant,

It would seem to me that always (toujours) constant would make more sense than never (jamais) constant . I took this up with the French-speakers at www.wordreference.com, but the result of the discussion was inconclusive one way or the other.

There was an English-language version, with entirely unrelated lyrics by Dick Manning:

Fascination

It was fascination, I know,
And it might have ended right there at the start,
Just a passing glance, just a brief romance,
And I might have gone on my way empty-hearted.

It was fascination, I know,
Seeing you alone with the moonlight above.
Then I touched your hand and next moment I kissed you.
Fascination turned to love.

It was fascination, I know,
Seeing you alone with the moonlight above.
Then I touched your hand and next moment I kissed you.
Fascination turned to love.

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About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far.

I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents.

Visit my website here.

Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com

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