Chanson.
Artist Biography by Jason Birchmeier (Allmusic)
Best known for his 1965 hit single "Aline," Christophe is a French singer/songwriter whose recording career spans several decades. His career underwent ups and downs over the years, and his style changed from decade to decade. After falling out of favor in the late '60s once the success of "Aline" had receded, Christophe made a comeback in the 1970s on the label Motors. Then after falling out of favor once again in the '80s, he made another comeback the following decade with Bevilacqua (1996), and his recording career carried on well into the next century.
Born Daniel Bevilacqua on October 13, 1945, in Juvisy-sur-Orge, a suburb of Paris, he was interested in music at a young age. His influences include chanson (Edith Piaf, Gilbert Bécaud), blues (Robert Johnson, John Lee Hooker), and rock & roll (Little Richard, Elvis Presley). In 1963, before billing himself as Christophe, he made his recording debut as Daniel Bevilacqua with the four-track EP Reviens Sophie on the label Golf Drouot. After nothing came of that release, the young singer changed his billing to simply Christophe and scored the career-defining hit single "Aline" in 1965. The anthem of the summer, "Aline" was succeeded by a series of follow-up singles, including "Les Marionnettes" (1965), "J'ai Entendu la Mer" (1966) and "Excusez-Moi Monsieur le Professeur" (1966). By the end of the 1960s, however, Christophe had more or less disappeared from the French hit parade. In 1973 he mounted a comeback, changing his style and releasing Les Paradis Perdus, his first of several albums for Motors over the next ten years. Subsequent albums on Motors include Les Mots Bleus (1974), Live à l'Olympia (1975), Samouraï (1976), La Dolce Vita (1977), Le Beau Bizarre (1978), Pas Vu, Pas Pris (1980), and Clichés d'Amour (1983). In addition, "Aline" was revived as a hit single in 1979 after a reissue on Motors.
By the end of the '80s, however, Christophe had once again disappeared from the French hit parade. For roughly ten years he released no music at all. Yet in 1996 he mounted another comeback, changing his style once again and releasing Bevilacqua (1996), an experimental, electronic-tinged album on which he wrote all of the songs himself, many of them personal. Subsequent albums include Comm' Si la Terre Penchait (2001), Olympia 2002 (2002), and Aimer Ce Que Nous Sommes (2008). Produced by Christophe Van Huffel from the group Tanger, Aimer Ce Que Nous Sommes was a Top Five hit on the French albums chart.
He died after being in critical condition due to COPD on April 16, 2020.
The song:
"Aline" is a single by French singer Christophe. The song became one of the two big hits in France during the summer of 1965 along with "Capri c'est fini" of Hervé Vilard. It sold one million records. The song was produced by the Disc'AZ label. The song is about a man begging his woman to come back and has been described as a "slow, romantic ballad". On 25 September 1965 it reached number one in Belgium's top 10, surpassing "Capri c'est fini" which came in second place, becoming a "substantial hit" in that country according to Billboard magazine. In October 1966 it became the number one hit in Israel. The song was composed by Christophe and arranged by Jacques Dejean. "Aline" is Christophe's favourite song.
Christophe composed the song while visiting his grandmother for lunch. He did not immediately have a name for the song. However, on a visit to the dentist, he asked the assistant what her name was, to which she replied Aline. He so liked the sound that he decided to use it as the name for the new song. "Aline" is the second record of Christophe and his first great success. His first record "Elle s'appelait Sophie" had sold only 27 records. In an interview with Le Point, Christophe chose "Aline" "without hesitation" as his favourite a song and "he still sings [it] with the same pleasure for 50 years".
Son doux visage qui me souriait
Puis il a plu sur cette plage
Dans cet orage, elle a disparu
Et j'ai crié, crié,
Aline, pour qu'elle revienne
Et j'ai pleuré, pleuré,
oh, j'avais trop de peine.
Je me suis assis près de son âme
Mais la belle dame s'était enfuie
Je l'ai cherchée sans plus y croire
Et sans un espoir, pour me guider.
Et j'ai crié, crié,
Aline, pour qu'elle revienne
Et j'ai pleuré, pleuré,
oh, j'avais trop de peine.
Je n'ai gardé
que ce doux visage
Comme une épave
sur le sable mouillé.
Et j'ai crié, crié,
Aline, pour qu'elle revienne
Et j'ai pleuré, pleuré,
oh, j'avais trop de peine.
Et j'ai crié, crié,
Aline, pour qu'elle revienne
Et j'ai pleuré, pleuré,
oh, j'avais trop de peine.
I had drawn upon the sand
her sweet smiling face
when it rained upon the beach
and in the storm, she vanished
and I cried, I cried,
"Aline!" that she might return
and I wept, I wept,
oh! how I ached
I sat myself beside her soul
but the lovely figure had fled
I searched for her in vain
and without a single hope to guide me
and I cried, I cried,
"Aline!" that she might return
and I wept, I wept,
oh! how I ached
I have nothing left but this sweet face
cast upon the wet sand like a shipwreck
and I cried, I cried, "Aline!" that she might return
and I wept, I wept, oh! how I ached
and I cried, I cried, "Aline!" that she might return
and I wept, I wept, oh! how I ached
Thanks to petitbalperdu on LyricsTranslate.