Where Do You Go To (My Lovely) Lyrics
And you dance like Zizi Jeanmaire
Your clothes are all made by Balmain
And there’s diamonds and pearls in your hair, yes there are.
Off the Boulevard of St. Michel
Where you keep your Rolling Stones records
And a friend of Sacha Distel, yes you do.
Where you talk in Russian and Greek
And the young men who move in your circles
They hang on every word you speak, yes they do.
When you're alone in your bed
Tell me the thoughts that surround you
I want to look inside your head, yes I do.
You got from the Sorbonne
And the painting you stole from Picasso
Your loveliness goes on and on, yes it does.
You go to Juan-les-Pines
With your carefully designed topless swimsuit
You get an even suntan, on your back and on your legs.
With the others of the jet-set
And you sip your Napoleon Brandy
But you never get your lips wet, no you don't.
When you're alone in your bed
would you Tell me the thoughts that surround you
I want to look inside your head, yes I do.
A very desirable age
Your body is firm and inviting
But you live on a glittering stage, yes you do, yes you do.
You know the Aga Khan
He sent you a racehorse for Christmas
And you keep it just for fun, for a laugh ha-ha-ha
It'll be to a millionaire
But they don't realize where you came from
And I wonder if they really care, or give a damn
When you're alone in your bed
Tell me the thoughts that surround you
I want to look inside your head, yes i do.
Two children begging in rags
Both touched with a burning ambition
To shake off their lowly brown tags, they try
And remember just who you are
Then go and forget me forever
But I know you still bear
the scar, deep inside, yes you do
When you're alone in your bed
I know the thoughts that surround you
`Cause I can look inside your head.
I have always loved this song, but have seen it differently from other people who have commented here. Whilst I have always seen it as a love song, it has seemed to me to be a quite angry song in that the girl as managed to "shake off her lowly born rags" and join "the jet set", the boy she grew up with in "the back streets of Naples" hasn't risen as far, and he seems very bitter about this fact. He has lost the love of his life to a materialistic world of European money, and desperately wants to confront her to tell her how much he loved her all those years ago, but he also wants to hurt her in that he wants to force her to "remember just who she is" and that she is not any better than him, just because of the world she now lives in. I love this song because there are so many emotions rolled into it, both good and bad. I know Peter Sarstedt has said that he didn't have anyone in mind when he wrote it, but I find that hard to believe due to the real feeling in the lyrics. All in all one of my favourie songs of all time, a great tune with haunting and thought provoking lyrics.
Old post, I know...but if anyone's interested, according to wiki: "...In reality, Peter Sarstedt wrote the song about a girl he fell madly in love with in Vienna in 1965. She died in a hotel fire. The song was written in Copenhagen (confirmation of this fact can be found on the CD cover of The Best of Peter Sarstedt, EMI, nr. 8297622, Australian CD)."
Old post, I know...but if anyone's interested, according to wiki: "...In reality, Peter Sarstedt wrote the song about a girl he fell madly in love with in Vienna in 1965. She died in a hotel fire. The song was written in Copenhagen (confirmation of this fact can be found on the CD cover of The Best of Peter Sarstedt, EMI, nr. 8297622, Australian CD)."
thats exacty what the song is about and thats exactly how the man feels in it spot on
thats exacty what the song is about and thats exactly how the man feels in it spot on
Sophia Loren has always been thought of as the subject of this song, but she is not. Peter himself stated in an interview once sometime ago, that the song was about a girl he knew in Denmark... Not Loren at all...
[Edit: QfiC]
In the first three verses the narrator (who I'm guessing is a man, although it may be a woman) is describing Marie-Claire's lifestyle and he seems to imply that she is living in a materialistic and superficial fashion. however in the chorus the narrator implies that her background is very different from her present situation, and with the words 'I want to look inside your head' I think he means he wants to know if she can remember the past, and also, is she any happier now than she was then. In the fourth verse the narrator tells us that the two of them grew up together in a poor part of Naples, but they both hated the stigma attached with being poor - so they tried hard to 'better' themselves. In the fifth verse, the narrator meets Marie Claire and looks into her eyes. He then knows that she does remember the past and that she is in a constant state of denial about the past. Hence the lyric 'then go and forget me forever'. Becase she is in a constant state of denial she cannot be happy ('But I still know you bear the scar, deep inside'). After all, she goes to bed alone and is not married. And also, she surrounds herself with people who are superficial who don't really care about her: 'But they don't care where you came from. And I wonder if they really care, or give a damn.'
I think the song is about the importance of being true to your roots, and not forgetting about those who one knew and loved you. Marie Claire seems to be ashamed of her roots, which means she doesn't have a firm sense of her own identity and will struggle to find happiness.
ohhhhhhhhh! I always wondered about the two children begging in rags part. So that was them was it? Very good.
can anyone tell me who this song is about?
for corroboration: http://www.inthe00s.com/index.php/topic,2663.0.html http://www.pophistorynow.com/popculturefiles/askmrpophistory_q154.htm
"And i wounder if they really care..." I have always thought it was that they thought she was so perfect and it didn´t really matter where she came from.
wes anderson used this song in his short film, "hotel chevalier." it's quite perfect: http://www.hotelchevalier.com/
This was so great on Hotel Chevalier and The Darjeeling Limited. I can't get it out of my head, which is a good thing...
has anyone noticed so far how perfectly the last line fits with the whole movie "hotel chevalier"? I'm referring to the scene, where jack and his ex-gf talk about the bruises on her legs - and, between the lines, of course, about the bruises and scars in their souls... just a great song. by the way, i love paris and this song always reminds me of it...
Surely it should be 'their lowly BORN RAGS, not lowly brown rags, whatever they might be?