Pourvu qu'elles soient douces

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“Pourvu qu'elles soient douces”
Single by Mylène Farmer from the album Ainsi Soit Je...
B-side	"Puisque..."
Released	September 12 1988
Format	CD maxi 7" single 7" maxi Digital download (since 2005)
Recorded	1988
Genre	Synthpop
Length	4:55 (album version) 4:16 (single version)
Label	Polydor
Writer(s)	Text : Mylène Farmer Music : Laurent Boutonnat
Producer	Laurent Boutonnat
Certification	Gold France, 1989
Mylène Farmer singles chronology
"Ainsi soit je... (1988) "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" (1988) "Sans logique" (1989) Alternate covers CD maxi European version Ainsi soit je... track listing "Allan" (3) "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" (4) "La Ronde triste" (5) Les Clips Vol. II track listing "Ainsi soit je..." (2) "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" (3) En concert track listing "Puisque" (7) "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" (8) "Allan" (9) Dance Remixes track listing "Que mon cœur lâche" (1) "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" (2) "Libertine" (3) Music Videos I track listing "Libertine" (2) "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" (3) "Tristana" (4) Les Mots track listing "Ainsi soit je..." (6) "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" (7) "Sans logique" (8) RemixeS track listing "Je t'aime mélancolie" (6) "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" (7) "California" (8)

"Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" is a 1988 synthpop song by the French artist Mylène Farmer. Third single from her second studio album Ainsi soit je..., it was released on September 12, 1988.

[edit] Background and writing

After the minimum cost of "Ainsi soit je...", Farmer chose to release "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" as the third single from the album "Ainsi soit je...". The song was launched in a remixed version.

The song was released under the title "Douces" in Germany and the Netherlands. It was charted in Japan where it was marketed as a promotional 7" with another cover. In 2003, Paul Oakenfold remixed the song which was added on the remix album RemixeS.^[1]

The song was performed on the 1989 tour and included in a medley on the 1999 Mylenium Tour.

[edit] Lyrics and music

The text was written by Mylène Farmer while the music was composed by Laurent Boutonnat.

The music, very dynamic and effective, eclipses the words that are very daring (many people have not yet understood the theme of the song).^[2] In the refrain, Farmer addresses her lover who thinks only of her buttocks.^[3]

The song has been said by fans, critics and Farmer herself to be about sodomy, while some consider it to be a logical sequel to her 1986 hit Libertine which is about prostitution. Farmer explained that "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" is "a pamphlet written as we take revenge on men, taboos, childhood".^[4]

[edit] Music video

Directed by Laurent Boutonnat, the video was shot for seven days in the forest, in Rambouillet (France). It was censored on TV because of its depiction of female nudity - Farmer in particular - and sex. It is entitled "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces - Libertine II" because it was a continuation of "Libertine", and takes place during the Seven Years' War, in the 18th century. Some excerpts were shown in exclusivity on September 12, 1988 in the French TV program Nulle Part Ailleurs, on Canal+. It appeared in the Book of Records in 1989 because it was at the time the videoclip the most expensive - it cost more than 3 million francs (450,000 euros)^[5] -, the longest (17:52) and with the most of extras (about 500).^{[6] [7]}

In the video, the scene takes place on August 18, 1757. A young English drummer discovers the inanimate body of Libertine, covered in blood. He calls William, an older soldier, who believes that Libertine is a man. Soon they realize that she is alive and take her to the camp for treatment. Meanwhile, the captain of the British Army realizes that his troops have taken the wrong road and are in France rather than being in Prussia (the words, in English, are subtitled in French-language). Then, as the song begins, the captain brings a fruit bowl to Libertine who is sleeping in a tent. With his whip, he raises the sheet to look at her buttocks, but the young drummer enters the tent and surprised him doing that. To punish him, the captain flogs him before many other soldiers. He then gives the whip to Libertine for correcting the young boy in turn, but she bangs on the captain's face. In the tent, the man, very angry, throws some clothes to Libertine and looks at her when she undresses. Then she breaks a bottle over his head and runs away on horseback. The captain pursues her, finds her, hurt near a tree, and carries her in his arms until a tent. While they make love, the rival of Libertine, in connivance with the French army, brings prostitutes in the camp to distract the British troops. The next day, the French army bombs the English camp, while the rival fires on the captain and kills him. Libertine, who attends the scene, fights with her and eventually kill her with a bayonet. The camps filled with dead bodies scattered on the ground, Libertine picks up the young drummer, while the soldiers of the French army watch at them leaving on horseback.^[8]

Initially, the video should be shown in preview in movie theatres, but it was eventually cancelled because the film producers were afraid that the video was better than the film aired then.^[9] However, the video was broadcast as an exclusivity on October 6, 1988 on the Champs Elysees.^[5]

The video was nominated at the 1989 Victoires de la Musique, but did not win.

[edit] Covers

The song was covered by Lorie in 2003^[10], by Réjane for a compilation of 1989 hits^[11], and by some contestants of the French show Star Academy 1. The song was parodied by Les Caramels Fous under the name of "Pourvu qu'elles soient grosses". However, these cover versions were not released as singles.

[edit] TV and chart performances

The song was performed in nine TV shows in 1988 : Sacrée Soirée (October 5, TF1), Avis de recherche (October 14, TF1), La Une est à vous (October 22, TF1), Dimanche Martin (November 6, Antenne 2), Jacky Show (November 6, TF1), Cocoparadise (November 16, TF1), Interchallanges (November 20, TF1), Une Soirée pour les restos (December 17, TF1) and Avis de recherche (December 30, TF1).^[3] Farmer also performed the song in a Dutch (on December 2, 1990) and a Danish (in January 1991) programmes. She also sang "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" on September 11, 1999, on Tapis Rouge.^[12]

In France, the single debuted at #34 on October 8, 1988, and progressed on the chart every week, until reaching the first position that it held for five weeks. So it was the first of the four Farmer's number-one in this country. Then, the single dropped slowly and stayed in the chart for a total of 23 weeks, which is the second Farmer's longest running in French Top 50.^[13]

In terms of sales, "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" is the second Farmer's biggest success ever, behind "Désenchantée", selling more than 500 000 copies in France by the time it was released, with 10 000 copies being sold every day.^[14] The single was then exported outside France rebaptised "Douces".

[edit] Formats and track listings

[edit] Versions

Official versions

Unofficial mentionable fan remixes^[15]

• St.Ken's cyber ballad radio remix (4:47)

[edit] B-side : "Puisque..."

The vinyl's B-side contains a new song, "Puisque..."

Composed by Laurent Boutonnat (music) and Mylène Farmer (text), this one is mainly instrumental. As both beautiful and sad, it deals with the issues of depression, anxiety, boredom and the desire to die. It was performed on November 7, 1988 in the programme Du Côté de chez Fred on Antenne 2, as well as during the 1989 tour (on the album En concert, the title doesn't have its ellipsis), but was not included on Ainsi soit je... and on the best of Les Mots (but only available in the long box version of the best of). The song is played in a version instrumental in the closing credits of the video for "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces".^[16]

[edit] Credits and personnel

• Text : Mylène Farmer
• Music : Laurent Boutonnat
• Editions : Bertrand Le Page / Polygram Music
• Recording company : Polydor
• Photography : Marianne Rosensthiel
• Design : Jean-Pauk Théodule

[edit] Chart, certifications, sales