Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)
Encyclopedia
"Where Do You Go To?" is a 1969
song
by Peter Sarstedt
and recorded by renowned producer Ray Singer
. Engineered by John Mackswith
at Lansdowne Recording Studios. It was a #1 hit in the UK charts for four weeks in 1969 and was awarded the 1969 Ivor Novello Award, together with David Bowie
's "Space Oddity". In the United States, the record only reached #61 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles and #70 on the Billboard Hot 100
that May.
, and lives in Paris
. The lyrics describe her from the perspective of a childhood friend; it is left unclear whether they have remained close. The rhetorical question
of the title suggests that her glamorous lifestyle may not have brought Marie-Claire happiness or contentment.
Sarstedt himself was not French, but the song may have benefited from the contemporary awareness in Britain of such singers as Serge Gainsbourg
and Jacques Brel
.
The lyrics contain a large number of contemporary and other references:
There is also a slightly longer version (5.20 as opposed to 4.42) with two extra verses that was apparently banned from radio play due to (then) questionable lyrical content.
magazine
, a women's fashion weekly first published in 1937. One theory says that this song is about the Italian star Sophia Loren
, who was abandoned by her father and had a poverty-stricken life in Naples. Another theory has the song being inspired by singer and actress Nina van Pallandt
. 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).
, and their version has charted in Germany
in 2006 (it is missing the final crucial verse where Marie Claire's origins are revealed). Welfare Heroine also covered the song when they contributed to the NME compilation 'Ruby Trax'. Finnish rock musician Hector
(Heikki Harma) has recorded the song under name "Kuningatar" (The Queen) with Finnish lyrics, with references in the supermodel
business, implying Marie-Claire is a supermodel risen from rags to riches. It was a favourite song of Nikki Sudden
, and his friend Dave Kusworth (of The Jacobites) recorded it for an album released in 2007 — his version appears on Reclaim Bedlam, a free Mad pride
CD put out with the 100th issue of Southwark Mind News in April 2007. The song was also covered by Sandra McCracken
on her 2004 release, Best Laid Plans.
In 1997 Sarstedt recorded a sequel, "The Last of the Breed (Lovely 2)" on his CD England's Lane. This picks up the story of Marie Claire twenty years on, living now in London
. It names more people and places, including Belgravia
, Ballets Russes
, Cape Town
, Claridge's
, Gstaad
, John Galliano
, Harrods
, Jerusalem, Long Island
, Milan
, Rudolf Nureyev
, Palm Beach
, Rio de Janeiro
, and Isabella Rossellini
.
In 2007, the song was prominently used in Wes Anderson
's short film Hotel Chevalier
. The film is a prologue to his movie The Darjeeling Limited
, in which the song also appears.
1969 in music
-Events:Perhaps the two most famous musical events of 1969 were concerts. At a Rolling Stones concert in Altamont, California, a fan was stabbed to death by Hells Angels, a biker gang that had been hired to provide security for the event...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
by Peter Sarstedt
Peter Sarstedt
Peter Eardley Sarstedt is an Anglo-Indian singer-songwriter.-Career:Sarstedt was born in India and attended Victoria Boys' School in Kurseong, in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. His family relocated to England in 1954...
and recorded by renowned producer Ray Singer
Ray Singer
Ray Singer is a British record producer and owner of Singer Records. Singer was instrumental in launching the careers of Peter Sarstedt, David Sylvian, Japan, and Ana Silvera.-Early Years: 1960s - 1970s:...
. Engineered by John Mackswith
John Mackswith
John Anthony Mackswith is a British Sound engineer.Since the late 1960s, he has engineered the recordings of an array of notable performers at Landsdowne Studios & Utopia Studios in London and at various studios in Israel, New York, Canada and the Netherlands....
at Lansdowne Recording Studios. It was a #1 hit in the UK charts for four weeks in 1969 and was awarded the 1969 Ivor Novello Award, together with David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's "Space Oddity". In the United States, the record only reached #61 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles and #70 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
that May.
Lyrics
The song is about a fictional girl named Marie-Claire who grows up to become a member of the jet setJet set
"Jet set" is a journalistic term that was used to describe an international social group of wealthy people, organizing and participating all around the world in social activities that are unreachable to ordinary people...
, and lives in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. The lyrics describe her from the perspective of a childhood friend; it is left unclear whether they have remained close. The rhetorical question
Rhetorical question
A rhetorical question is a figure of speech in the form of a question posed for its persuasive effect without the expectation of a reply. Rhetorical questions encourage the listener to think about what the answer to the question must be. When a speaker states, "How much longer must our people...
of the title suggests that her glamorous lifestyle may not have brought Marie-Claire happiness or contentment.
Sarstedt himself was not French, but the song may have benefited from the contemporary awareness in Britain of such singers as Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg, born Lucien Ginsburg was a French singer-songwriter, actor and director. Gainsbourg's extremely varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorize...
and Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer-songwriter who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following in France initially, and later throughout the world. He was widely considered a master of the modern chanson...
.
The lyrics contain a large number of contemporary and other references:
- Marlene DietrichMarlene DietrichMarlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
: husky-voiced German actress and singer - Zizi JeanmaireZizi JeanmaireZizi Jeanmaire is a ballet dancer and widow of renowned dancer and choreographer Roland Petit. She became famous in the 1950s after playing the title role in the ballet version of Carmen, produced in London in 1949, and went on to appear in several Hollywood films.-Background:Born in Paris,...
: French ballerina - Pierre BalmainPierre BalmainPierre Alexandre Claudius Balmain was a French fashion designer. Known for sophistication and elegance, he once said that "dressmaking is the architecture of movement."...
: French designer of elegant fashions - Boulevard Saint-MichelBoulevard Saint-MichelThe Boulevard Saint-Michel is one of the two major streets in the Latin Quarter of Paris . It is a tree-lined boulevard which runs south from the pont Saint-Michel on the Seine river and the Place Saint-Michel, crosses the boulevard Saint-Germain and continues alongside the Sorbonne and the...
: street in the Latin QuarterLatin QuarterLatin Quarter is a part of the 5th arrondissement in Paris.Latin Quarter may also refer to:* Latin Quarter , a British pop/rock band* Latin Quarter , a 1945 British film*Latin Quarter, Aarhus, part of Midtbyen, Aarhus C, Denmark...
famous for bookshops - The Rolling StonesThe Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
: popular English rock and roll band - Sacha DistelSacha DistelSacha Distel was a French singer and guitarist who had hits with a cover version of the Academy Award-winning "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" , "Scoubidou", and "The Good Life". He was born in Paris.-Career:Sacha Distel, born Alexandre Distel, was a son of Russian White émigré Leonid Distel...
: French singer - SorbonneSorbonneThe Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
: University of Paris - PicassoPablo PicassoPablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
: Spanish pioneer of modern artModern artModern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of... - Juan-les-PinsJuan-les-PinsJuan-les-PinsCountry:Region:Department: Alpes-MaritimesArrondissement: GrasseCanton: Vallauris-Antibes-OuestMunicipality: AntibesPopulation:?Coordinates:Time zone:CET, UTC+1Elevation:10 amslPostal code:06600...
: fashionable beach resort on the French RivieraFrench RivieraThe Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco... - Saint MoritzSt. MoritzSt. Moritz is a resort town in the Engadine valley in Switzerland. It is a municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden...
: fashionable ski resort in the Swiss AlpsSwiss AlpsThe Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position within the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps.... - Napoleon brandy: especially fine aged brandy
- Aga KhanAga Khan IVPrince Karim, Aga Khan IV, NPk, NI, KBE, CC, GCC, GCIH, GCM is the 49th and current Imam of the Shia Imami Nizari Ismaili Muslims. He has held this position under the title of Aga Khan since July 11, 1957, when, at the age of 20, he succeeded his grandfather, Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan...
: World-travelling Islamic leader and racehorse owner
There is also a slightly longer version (5.20 as opposed to 4.42) with two extra verses that was apparently banned from radio play due to (then) questionable lyrical content.
Inspiration
It is often suspected that the name Marie-Claire is inspired by the originally French Marie ClaireMarie Claire
Marie Claire is a monthly women's magazine first published in France but also distributed in other countries with editions specific to them and in their languages. While each country shares its own special voice with its audience, the United States edition focuses on women around the world and...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
, a women's fashion weekly first published in 1937. One theory says that this song is about the Italian star Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
, who was abandoned by her father and had a poverty-stricken life in Naples. Another theory has the song being inspired by singer and actress Nina van Pallandt
Nina van Pallandt
Nina, Baroness van Pallandt is a Danish singer and actress.-Personal life:Born Nina Magdelene Møller-Hasselbalch, she married Frederik, Baron van Pallandt in 1960. They formed a singing duo, Nina & Frederik, and achieved worldwide popularity with their calypso-style songs...
. 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
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
(confirmation of this fact can be found on the CD cover of The Best of Peter Sarstedt, EMI, nr. 8297622, Australian CD).
Covers
The song has been covered by Right Said FredRight Said Fred
Right Said Fred is an English pop band, formed in 1989 by brothers Richard Fairbrass and Fred Fairbrass, later joined by their friend Rob Manzoli. The group is named after a song of the same name which was a hit for Bernard Cribbins in 1962...
, and their version has charted in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 2006 (it is missing the final crucial verse where Marie Claire's origins are revealed). Welfare Heroine also covered the song when they contributed to the NME compilation 'Ruby Trax'. Finnish rock musician Hector
Hector (musician)
Heikki Veikko Harma is a Finnish singer-songwriter who has also distinguished himself as a translator of song lyrics, but has written popular lyrics of his own too...
(Heikki Harma) has recorded the song under name "Kuningatar" (The Queen) with Finnish lyrics, with references in the supermodel
Supermodel
The term supermodel refers to a highly-paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in haute couture and commercial modeling. The term became prominent in the popular culture of the 1980s. Supermodels usually work for top fashion designers and labels...
business, implying Marie-Claire is a supermodel risen from rags to riches. It was a favourite song of Nikki Sudden
Nikki Sudden
Nikki Sudden was a prolific English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He co-founded the post-punk band Swell Maps with his brother Epic Soundtracks while attending Solihull School in Solihull.-Career:...
, and his friend Dave Kusworth (of The Jacobites) recorded it for an album released in 2007 — his version appears on Reclaim Bedlam, a free Mad pride
Mad Pride
Mad Pride is a mass movement of mental health services users and their allies. The first known event specifically organized as a Pride event by people who identify as psychiatric survivors/consumer/ex-patients was in Toronto, Canada when it was called "Psychiatric Survivor Pride Day", held on...
CD put out with the 100th issue of Southwark Mind News in April 2007. The song was also covered by Sandra McCracken
Sandra McCracken
Sandra McCracken is an independent singer-songwriter. She currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband and fellow singer-songwriter Derek Webb.-Background:...
on her 2004 release, Best Laid Plans.
In 1997 Sarstedt recorded a sequel, "The Last of the Breed (Lovely 2)" on his CD England's Lane. This picks up the story of Marie Claire twenty years on, living now in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It names more people and places, including Belgravia
Belgravia
Belgravia is a district of central London in the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Noted for its immensely expensive residential properties, it is one of the wealthiest districts in the world...
, Ballets Russes
Ballets Russes
The Ballets Russes was an itinerant ballet company from Russia which performed between 1909 and 1929 in many countries. Directed by Sergei Diaghilev, it is regarded as the greatest ballet company of the 20th century. Many of its dancers originated from the Imperial Ballet of Saint Petersburg...
, Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, Claridge's
Claridge's
Claridge's is a luxury hotel in Mayfair, central London. It is located at the corner of Brook Street and Davies Street.-History:Claridge's is a traditional grand hotel. Its extensive and old connections with royalty have led to it being referred to as an "extension to Buckingham Palace"...
, Gstaad
Gstaad
Gstaad is a village in the German-speaking section of the Canton of Berne in southwestern Switzerland. Part of the municipality of Saanen, Gstaad is known as one of the most exclusive ski resorts in the world....
, John Galliano
John Galliano
John Charles Galliano CBE, RDI is a Gibraltan-born British fashion designer who was best known as head designer of French haute couture houses Givenchy and Christian Dior , and his own self titled fashion house.-Family:He was born in Gibraltar to a Gibraltarian father, Juan Galliano, and a...
, Harrods
Harrods
Harrods is an upmarket department store located in Brompton Road in Brompton, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. The Harrods brand also applies to other enterprises undertaken by the Harrods group of companies including Harrods Bank, Harrods Estates, Harrods Aviation and Air...
, Jerusalem, Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev was a Russian dancer, considered one of the most celebrated ballet dancers of the 20th century. Nureyev's artistic skills explored expressive areas of the dance, providing a new role to the male ballet dancer who once served only as support to the women.In 1961 he...
, Palm Beach
Palm Beach, Florida
The Town of Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the neighboring cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth...
, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, and Isabella Rossellini
Isabella Rossellini
Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini is an Italian actress, filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and model. Rossellini is noted for her 14-year tenure as a Lancôme model, and for her roles in films such as Blue Velvet and Death Becomes Her.-Background and early life:Rossellini is a...
.
In 2007, the song was prominently used in Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson
Wesley Wales Anderson is an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and producer of features, short films and commercials....
's short film Hotel Chevalier
Hotel Chevalier
Hotel Chevalier is a short film written and directed by Wes Anderson and released in 2007. Starring Jason Schwartzman and Natalie Portman as former lovers who reunite in a Paris hotel room, the 13-minute film acts as a prologue to Anderson's 2007 feature The Darjeeling Limited...
. The film is a prologue to his movie The Darjeeling Limited
The Darjeeling Limited
The Darjeeling Limited is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson, and starring Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Jason Schwartzman. It was written by Anderson, Schwartzman, and Roman Coppola...
, in which the song also appears.