France is a treasure trove for Olivia rarities - following up that incredibly rare release of I Honestly Love You way back in '74, they have been doing rather a nice job recently in releases from Gaia including some real vinyl - haven't seen that for a little while... They keep coming out with new releases in France, so I think this one will keep me busy for a little while! For the moment, these ones will have to do:
- French Wax - vinyl in the Nineties!
- Dance - with Olivia and Francis Lalanne
- Mon Amour, Mon Impossible Amour - I Honestly Love You in French. Or is it?
French Wax - better on vinyl...
From Collector's Corner, March/April 1997
Real collectors hanker after the real thing, and the Real Thing is big and black, not this flimsy 5" silvery stuff. So for all you vinyl junkies feeling starved in recent years here’s something to feed your innermost cravings - a limited edition 12" vinyl single of Don’t Cut Me Down b/w No Matter What You Do from France.
Twelve inches, sexy and black - the MRP 12" single MR10031 limited release, a must have for dedicated followers of vinyl... By the way, has anybody ever seen or heard of a vinyl LP of Gaia? I don’t think one exists in these digital days but I’d like to know!
French Dance...
From Only Olivia May/Jun 96
Yup, an intriguing one this one - Olivia sharing the
polycarbonate on a French Best Of
Dance 4 CD. The last track is the one that we want for Olivia fans -
Olivia and French
singer Francis Lalanne from a duet sand live on TV when she was in
France promoting Gaia
in November 1995.
The CD
pic's a bit boring so we've brought you a picture of Olivia when she
was over there -
thanks to Frédéric for the photo. Come to think of it, thanks
to him for getting
us the sneak preview of the CD and the 12" single above! If you're
driven to
distraction trying to get hold of a copy of this, don't feel you're
missing too much.
Olivia's bit of the duet is okay, but I think Francis needs to practise
a little bit ;-)
photo:Frédéric Brillouet
The French version of "I Honestly Love You" - Mon Amour Mon Impossible Amour
From Collector's Corner, May/June 1997
"Ed: This song is interesting because unlike the German version of Unten Am Fluss, it is not a straight French language translation of I Honestly Love You. While the theme has its similarities, I was surprised at just how different the songs were! Thanks to Kerry from the Internet mailing list for the English translation of the French lyrics:" More details and cover
My Love, My Impossible Love:
I approach the city through a quiet garden,
During the day, I often come through here,
You came this way and then you left,
And since then I have waited for you every day.
My love, my impossible love.
You were alone,
And you obviously knew your way,
Because you walked with a hurried pace.
You glanced at me from the other side,
And for you life was following its course,
My love, my impossible love.
I walk every day through this garden,
In the hopes of seeing you again,
When you pass by near me,
I cry tears of joy,
I love you,
My love, my impossible love.
It’s useless, I know that very well,
And I will never have the courage,
To tempt fate,
And every time you went by,
I kept my message to myself:
I love you,
My impossible love.
My impossible love.
French Version
Mon
amour, mon impossible amour
Il y a dans la ville
Un
jardin tranquille
J'y passe souvent dans la journee
Tu
as pris mon allee
Puis tu t'es en alle
Et depuis, je
t'attends tous les jours
Mon amour, mon impossible
amour
Tu etais seul, sans doute
Tu savais
la route
Car tu marchais d'un pas presse
Tu m'as
regardee de l'autre cote
Et pour toi la vie suivait son cours
Mon
amour, mon impossible amour
Je me promene tous les
jours dans ce jardin
Dans l'espoir de te revoir de loin
Quant
tu passes tout pres de moi
Je pleure des larmes de bonheur
Et
j'ai le vague au coeur
Je t'aime -
mon
amour, mon impossible amour
Ca ne sert a rien
Je
le sais tres bien
Que je n'aurai jamais le courage
De
forcer le hasard
A chaque fois tu pars
J'ai garde
pour moi mon message
Je t'aime -
mon
impossible amour
Mon impossible amour