Ainsi soit je... (song)

Single infobox |
Name = Ainsi soit je...


Artist = Mylène Farmer
from Album = Ainsi soit je...
Released = March, 1988 (single version)
August 20, 1997 (live version)
Format = CD single
CD maxi
7" single
7" maxi
Digital download (since 2005)
Recorded = 1988 (single version)
1997 (live version)
Genre = Pop
Length = 4:30 (single version)
6:22 (album version)
4:39 (live version)
Label = Universal Records
Writer = Text : Mylène Farmer
Music : Laurent Boutonnat
Producer = Laurent Boutonnat
Certification =
Chronology = Mylène Farmer singles
Last single = "Sans contrefaçon"
(1987)
This single = "Ainsi soit je..."
(1988)
Next single = "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces"
(1988)Extra chronology
Last single = "La Poupée qui fait non"
(1997)
This single = "Ainsi soit je... (live)"
(1997)
Next single = "L'Âme-stram-gram"
(1999)Extra album cover
Upper caption = Alternate covers
Background = khaki


Lower caption = CD maxiExtra album cover
Background = khaki


Lower caption = Live versionExtra tracklisting
Album = Ainsi soit je...
Type = album
prev_track = "La Ronde triste"
prev_no = 5
this_track = "Ainsi soit je..."
track_no = 6
next_track = "Sans logique"
next_no = 7Extra tracklisting
Album = Les Clips Vol. II
Type = Video
prev_track = "Sans contrefaçon"
prev_no = 1
this_track = "Ainsi soit je..."
track_no = 2
next_track = "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces"
next_no = 3Extra tracklisting
Album = En concert
Type = live
prev_track = "Tristana"
prev_no = 4
this_track = "Ainsi soit je..."
track_no = 5
next_track = "Libertine"
next_no = 6Extra tracklisting
Album = Dance Remixes
Type = compilation
prev_track = "Allan"
prev_no = 5
this_track = "Ainsi soit je..."
track_no = 6
next_track = "Plus grandir"
next_no = 7Extra tracklisting
Album = Live à Bercy
Type = live
prev_track = "Tomber 7 fois..."
prev_no = 7
this_track = "Ainsi soit je..."
track_no = 8
next_track = "La Poupée qui fait non"
next_no = 9Extra tracklisting
Album = Music Videos I
Type = Video
prev_track = "Sans contrefaçon"
prev_no = 5
this_track = "Ainsi soit je..."
track_no = 6
next_track = "Sans logique"
next_no = 7Extra tracklisting
Album = Music Videos II & III
Type = Video
prev_track = "Innamoramento"
prev_no = 10
this_track = "Ainsi soit je... (live)"
track_no = 11
next_track = "La Poupée qui fait non"
next_no = 12Extra tracklisting
Album = Les Mots
Type = compilation
prev_track = "Sans contrefaçon"
prev_no = 5
this_track = "Ainsi soit je..."
track_no = 6
next_track = "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces"
next_no = 7

"Ainsi soit je..." is a 1988 song recorded by the French artist Mylène Farmer. The song was released as a single twice : as the second single from her second studio album "Ainsi soit je...", in March 1988, and as the second single in a live version from her second live album "Live à Bercy", on August 20, 1997. Both versions achieved a relative success on the charts, failing twice to reach the top ten.

Background and writing

After the huge success of "Sans contrefaçon", Boutonnat and Farmer decided to release as a new single the title "Ainsi soit je...", just one month before the album's release. Not only the title of the single is similar to that of the album, but the cover, which was created by a Farmer's friend, Elsa Trillat, is almost identical (but without the puppet which featured in the video "Sans contrefaçon"). The single has been marketed under the traditional formats (vinyls) but also CD maxi and, for the first time, CD video. The single was also released in Japan."Ainsi soit je..." [http://www.sans-logique.com/mylene-farmer/discographie/singles/single.php?single=ainsi-soit-je Sans-logique.com] (Retrieved February 5, 2008)]

As for all her songs from "Tristana", Farmer wrote the text. Nevertheless, the first words of the couplets "bulle de chagrin, boule d'incertitude" were written by Marie, a singer unknown to the general public who died not long before. In this way, Farmer pays tribute to her. ["Ainsi soit je..." [http://www.mylenefarmeriscalled.net/ainsisingleglob.html Mylenefarmeriscalled.net] (Retrieved February 5, 2008)]

The song was performed at three of the four series of Farmer's concerts : at the concert tours of 1989, 1996 and 2006. However, during this last tour, Farmer has sung "Ainsi soit je..." only at certain evenings (she had difficulty in singing in the high notes) and the song "L'Autre" was chosen instead of it to appear on the concert's CD and DVD.

Lyrics and music

In this song, Farmer "reveals her loneliness, her pain of living and her great lucidity", and deals with the theme of existentialism (also present in "A quoi je sers..."). This suggests that "the singer's single religion is despair, sadness and great lucidity on the future". She speaks to someone to warn him against her own solitude. The same semantic field is used as in "Regrets" : cold, winter, time."Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer", Benoît Cachin, 2006, Tournon Ed., p. 26-31]

The notes are high, giving thus a "nagging nostalgia" to the song. ["L'Intégrale Mylene Farmer", Erwan Chuberre, 2007, City Ed., p. 26-27 (ISBN 978-2-35288-108-7)]

The song's title refers to the formula which ends Christian prayers ('Amen' i.e. 'Ainsi soit-il' or 'So be it' in English), but here it is spelled 'Ainsi soit je...' (instead of 'Ainsi sois-je'), showing that the 'Je' (or 'I' in English) is personified.

Music video

; 1988 versionThe video, whose length was 5:23, was directed by Laurent Boutonnat who also wrote the screenplay. This Requiem Publishing production was shot for two days in studios of Stains (France), and cost about 30,000 euros only (money was saved for the following video, "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces"). It is a small tribute to Walt Disney's animated feature, "Bambi". ["Mylène Farmer Influences", Benoît Cachin, 2006, Mascara Ed., p. 14,15 (ISBN 978-2351440261)]

The video, the Farmer's favourite at the time, ["Salut", December 1988, "Mylène Farmer" [http://www.devant-soi.com/Monde-de-Myl%E8ne/presse/articles-presse/1989/SALUT_1288.jpgDevant-soi.com] (Retrieved March 30, 2008)] was presented for the first time in the TV show Top 50 on Canal + a few weeks after the single's release. The scene of the drowning, shot in the same pond as in "Plus grandir", was very difficult to film because Farmer was then afraid of the water. ["Ainsi soit je...", videoclip [http://www.mylenefarmeriscalled.net/ainsisingleclip.html Mylenefarmeriscalled] (Retrieved February 4, 2008)]

At the beginning of the video, the snow falls on a black background. An owl appears on a tree while the full moon illuminates the scene. Farmer has a go on a swing, while a deer looks at her. A drop of water falls into a puddle reflecting the moon. Then dressed in a long black coat, the singer walks in the snow. Lying on the floor next to the deer, she gets up and looks at the animal. When the refrain begins, Farmer, denuded and in profile, falls back several times. Then she goes down again next to the deer and gets up with the face covered with mud. She is then in the water in which she performs a gruesome dance (this dance was also performed in "Pardonne-moi""La part d'ombre", Caroline Bee, Antoine Bioy & Benjamin Thiry, 2005, Archipel Ed., p. 140-141] ) and eventually drowns. At the end of the video, the owl flies and the snow starts again to fall."Ainsi soit je...", videoclip [http://www.sans-logique.com/mylene-farmer/clips/clip.php?clip=ainsi-soit-je Sans-logique.com] (Retrieved February 5, 2008)]

This is the only Farmer's video in sepia tone. It could evoke the life cycle. The "melancholy tone is accentuated by the cold colours". The "owl could refer to a double meaning : the first is the idea of wisdom and a guiding presence in the black ( [i.e.] the melancholy of ideas sung by the artist), but [the second is the idea of] an animal that opens eyes to the harshness of life and the temporary nature of things".

; 1997 versionThe video for the 1997 single's release was made with images taken from the 1996 tour.

Critical reception

According to "Compact", "Ainsi soit je..." is a sweet ballad, but that may tire the listener because of it is too repetitive. However, it stated that the song is really a "hit" thanks to its music video which is composed of "sublime images" and made with "extreme delicacy". The song draws its musical influences from France Gall, Jane Birkin and Françoise Hardy and is a "success". ["Ainsi-soit-je...", "Compact", 1988 [http://www.devant-soi.com/Monde-de-Myl%E8ne/presse/articles-presse/1988/COMPACT_0988.jpgDevant-soi.com (1)] [http://www.devant-soi.com/Monde-de-Myl%E8ne/presse/articles-presse/1988/COMPACT_88a.jpgDevant-soi.com (2)] (Retrieved May 15, 2008)]

TV performances

Farmer performed the song in ten TV shows in 1988 : "Les Uns les autres" (TF1, April 22), "Jacky show" (TF1, April 24), "Fête comme chez vous" (Antenne 2, May 5), "La Une est à vous" (TF1, May 7), "Sacrée Soirée" (TF1, May 18), "Top 50" (Canal +, June 26), "Mon Zénith à moi" (Canal +, June 18), "À la folie pas du tout" (TF1, June 19), "Les Dicos d'or sous le soleil du Québec" (FR3, August 21), "Lahaye d'honneur" (TF1, August 24). She also performed the song in 1997 to promote the live version : "Les Enfants de la lune" (TF1, June 6). ["Ainsi soit je...", TV performances [http://www.sans-logique.com/mylene-farmer/tv/index.php?chanson=ainsi-soit-je Sans-logique.com] (Retrieved February 4, 2008)] On this occasion, she wore a dress made of feathers - the same as for the video "Souviens-toi du jour" -, and performed the song in an almost acoustic live version with a music of piano.

In most of her performances, Farmer wore a large white wedding dress. In the show "Sacrée Soirée", she sang "Ainsi soit je..." surrounded by stuffed animals and she cried in the heat of emotion.

Chart performances

In France, the single in its original version was listed for 14 weeks, from April 30 to July 30. Since no videoclip was directed in the first weeks, the show Top 50, which presented the singles chart every Saturday, broadcast Farmer's performance in "Sacrée Soirée" to promote the song. The single debuted at number 31 and reached its peak position, #12, in its sixth week."Ainsi soit je...", French Singles Chart [http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Myl%E8ne+Farmer&titel=Ainsi+soit+je%2E%2E%2E&cat=s Lescharts.com] (Retrieved January 10, 2008)] The single also peaked at #8 on Ultratop, the Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart, and at #23 in Switzerland.

The live version released in 1997 didn't meet the same success and charted in low positions : it peaked at number 27 in French SNEP Singles Chart, in its second week, on August 30, and remained on the chart for only five weeks"Ainsi soit je... (Live)", French Singles Chart [http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Myl%E8ne+Farmer&titel=Ainsi+soit+je%2E%2E%2E+%28Live%29&cat=s Lescharts.com] (Retrieved January 10, 2008)] ; in Belgium, the song went to #22, its highest position, on September 6, before dropping the three weeks after."Ainsi soit je... (Live)", Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart [http://www.ultratop.be/fr/showitem.asp?interpret=Myl%E8ne+Farmer&titel=Ainsi+soit+je%2E%2E%2E+%28Live%29&cat=s Ultratop.br] (Retrieved January 10, 2008)]

Cover versions

In 2003, the song was covered by Michal Kwiatkowski, a contestant of the French show Star Academy 3, and his version features on the album "Les Meilleurs Moments du Prime". [Star Academy 3, "Les Meilleurs Moments du Prime" [http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Star+Academy+3&titel=Les+meilleurs+moments&cat=a Lescharts.com] (Retrieved February 5, 2008)] The French singer Marie Laforêt had planned to cover the song at her concerts at the Bouffes Parisiens in 2005 (as a tribute to Farmer who had performed Laforêt's song "Je voudrais tant que tu comprennes" at the time of the 1989 tour), but eventually cancelled this project.

Formats and track listings

; Studio version

;; 7" single - France
# "Ainsi soit je..." — 4:30
# "Ainsi soit je..." (lamentations) — 4:45

;; 7" maxi - France
# "Ainsi soit je..." (maxi remix) — 7:10
# "Ainsi soit je..." (classic bonus beat) — 6:22

;; CD maxi - France
# "Ainsi soit je..." (maxi remix) — 7:10
# "Ainsi soit je..." (lamentations) — 4:45
# "Ainsi soit je..." (classic bonus beat) — 6:22

;; CD maxi - Video - France
# "Ainsi soit je..." (maxi remix) — 7:10
# "Ainsi soit je..." (lamentations) — 4:45
# "Ainsi soit je..." (classic bonus beat) — 6:22
# "Ainsi soit je..." (video)

;; 7" single - Promo - FranceA-side :
# "Ainsi soit je..." — 4:30B-side :
# "Ainsi soit je..." — 4:30

;; CD maxi - Long box - Japan
# "Ainsi soit je..." (maxi remix) — 7:10
# "Ainsi soit je..." (lamentations) — 4:45

;; Digital download
# "Ainsi soit je..." (album version - "Ainsi soit je...") — 6:18
# "Ainsi soit je..." (album version - "Les Mots") — 4:45
# "Ainsi soit-je..." (1989 live version) — 7:42
# "Ainsi soit je..." (1996 live version) — 5:00
# "Ainsi soit je..." (maxi remix) — 7:10

; Live version

;; CD single - France
# "Ainsi soit je..." (live version) — 4:39
# "Et tournoie" (live version) — 4:30

;; CD single - Promo - Digipack - France
# "Ainsi soit je..." (live version) — 4:39

;; VHS - Promo - France
# "Ainsi soit je..." (video)

Versions

; Official versions

References