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"Là-bas" is a 1987 song recorded as a
duet A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...
by the French singer
Jean-Jacques Goldman Jean-Jacques Goldman (; born 11 October 1951) is a retired French singer-songwriter and record producer whose work remains hugely popular in the French-speaking world. Since the death of Johnny Hallyday in 2017, he has been the highest-grossing ...
and the British-born artist Sirima. It was the second single from Goldman's 1987 double album '' Entre gris clair et gris foncé''. It was a smash hit in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and became a popular song throughout the years.


Background, lyrics and music

In 1987, Goldman had finished composing the song but had not yet found a female voice to record the duet with him. Philippe Delettrez, Goldman's saxophonist, met Sirima who sang in a
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
ian metro, and suggested that Goldman meet her. After several takes in studio, Goldman finally decided to record the duet with her. Composed by Jean-Jacques Goldman, the song deals with "the need of escape and the dilemma between a vital renewal and the loss of one's roots". Goldman and Sirima sing the song as a fictional couple from an unidentified country, described as poor and socially rigged. While the man wants to go away to start a more fruitful life in the country of his dreams (also unidentified and thus acting as a universal metaphor), the woman, who personifies "stability, rooting and habit", warns him about all kinds of dangers he could encounter and begs him to stay with her and start a family. The song is built as a dialogue that ends with two
monologue In theatre, a monologue (also known as monolog in North American English) (in , from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts ...
s in which "one is decided, while the other begs". The song was also released under the title "Over there" to win over the anglophone countries. On Radio Canada, it was awarded best francophone song of the year thanks to the votes of listeners. He had already explored a similar theme in the 1975 Tai Phong song "Going Away" (where the protagonist is alone), and would again in his 1997 song "On ira" (which is sung from the perspective of a man to an unnamed woman). In an interview, Goldman pointed out that the latter song made direct reference to "Là-bas" by borrowing a line from it : "Ici tout est joué d'avance", meaning "Here everything is set from the beginning", became "Même si tout est joué d'avance", meaning "Even if everything is set from the beginning" (suggesting this time that the male protagonist, presumably more mature and fatalist, and in a reversed socio-economic context, i.e. living in a rich country and longing for a more meaningful life outside of his suffocating comfort, is aware that there is not much to be gained "out there" but still has the urge to go anyway; and this time he is the one begging for the woman to go with him, as it doesn't make sense for him to go alone).


Chart performances

In France, the song charted for 21 weeks on the top 50, from 5 December 1987 to 23 April 1988. It entered at number 17 and reached the top ten three weeks later. It peaked at number two for five non consecutive weeks, but was unable to dislodge
Guesch Patti Patricia Porrasse (born 16 March 1946), known professionally as Guesch Patti, is a French singer. Biography Early life Patti was born in Paris, France. She chose her artist name, ''Guesch'', from the nickname she had as a child. ''Patti'' is ...
's "
Étienne Étienne, a French analog of Stephen or Steven, is a masculine given name. An archaic variant of the name, prevalent up to the mid-17th century, is Estienne. Étienne, Etienne, Ettiene or Ettienne may refer to: People Artists and entertainers * ...
", then Sabrina's " Boys (Summertime Love)" which topped the chart then. After 12 weeks in the top ten, the single dropped on the chart. It achieved
Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
status awarded by the
Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique SNEP (, in English National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym SNICOP, the organisation was established in ...
in 1988. On the
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately f ...
, it entered at number 43 on 12 December 1987, reach a peak of number 6 four weeks later, and fell off the chart after 18 weeks, seven of them in the top ten. It also charted for 11 weeks on the European Ariplay Top 50, with a peak at number 33 in its ninth week, on 27 February 1988.


Cover versions

The song was covered by many artists throughout the years, including Michel Delpech in 1996, Murray Head and Lio, Corey Hart and Julie Masse in 1998, Renaud Hantson and Nourith, Michel Leclerc (instrumental version) in 2000,
Florent Pagny Florent Pagny (; born 6 November 1961) is a French singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He records his work in French, as well as in Italian, Spanish and English. His greatest hits include "N'importe quoi", "Savoir aimer" and "Ma Liberté de p ...
and Natasha St-Pier in 2002 (available on St-Pier's album '' De l'amour le mieux''), Philippe Heuvelinne and Marc Rouvé in 2003, Humana, Prise 2 Son (released as a single, the second track of the CD "Un Autre Monde, number 45 in France) in 2004, Opium du Peuple, and
Grégory Lemarchal Grégory Jean-Paul Lemarchal (13 May 1983 – 30 April 2007), known professionally as Grégory Lemarchal, was a French singer who rose to fame by winning the fourth series of the reality television show ''Star Academy (French TV series), Star Aca ...
and the 500 choristers in 2007 (available on his posthumous album '' La Voix d'un ange''). All these versions were recorded on an album or a single. Jean-Jacques Goldman re-recorded the song as a duet with
Céline Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the " Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had a significant impact on popular musi ...
for the Les Enfoirés' 1996 album ''La Compil. In 1992, he performed the song with Carole Fredericks and Michael Jones for the live album '' Sur scène''. The song was performed on several French TV programmes, such as ''Tapis Rouge à Notre-Dame de Paris'' (
France 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...
, 15 April 2000) by Hélène Ségara and Bruno Pelletier, ''Tubes d'un jour, tubes de toujours'' (
TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is part ...
, 27 December 2002) by Daniel Lévi and Cécilia Cara. The song was also performed in
Dutch-language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language and is the List of languages by total number of speak ...
by Erik Mesie and Nadieh under the title "Ik sta". In 2012, Marie-Mai and Baptiste Giabiconi covered the song on the number one album '' Génération Goldman''. Jean-Jacques Goldman and Michael Jones made an English version of the song called "On my way home" interpreted by Joe Cocker (album '' No ordinary world''). As often with English translations of French songs in general (as exemplified by " My Way", based on Claude François' " Comme d'habitude", or "Only The Very Best" from Tycoon, based on Starmania's "SOS d'un terrien en détresse"), and Goldman songs in particular, the lyrics are not a literal translation of the original (on my way home versus leaving) but remain true to the overall theme (tribulation).


Formats and track listings

* 7" single # "Là-bas — 4:46 # "À quoi tu sers ?" — 5:29 * 12" maxi # "Là-bas" (extended version) — 6:08 # "À quoi tu sers ?" (vocal) — 5:29 * CD single # "Là-bas — 4:46 # "À quoi tu sers ?" — 5:29 # "Entre gris clair et gris foncé" — 7:19


Charts and certifications


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:La-Bas (Song) 1987 singles Jean-Jacques Goldman songs Pop ballads Male–female vocal duets Songs written by Jean-Jacques Goldman