Les Valses de Vienne

"Les Valses de Vienne"
Single by François Feldman
from the album Une Présence
B-side Instrumental (vinyl)
"Longue Nuit", "Pour faire tourner le monde" (CD maxi)
Released November, 1989
Format CD maxi
7" single
7" maxi
Recorded France, 1989
Genre Pop
Length 3:56
Label Phonogram
Writer(s) François Feldman
Jean-Marie Moreau
Producer(s) Jean Fredenucci
Certification Gold France, 1990
François Feldman singles chronology
"Joue pas"
(1989)		 "Les Valses de Vienne"
(1989)		 "C'est toi qui m'as fait"
(1990)

"Les Valses de Vienne" is a 1989 song originally recorded by the French artist François Feldman for his 1989 album, Une Présence and was the second singles release from that album in November of the same year. It achieved great success in France, topping the chart for two months, and remains Feldman's signature song and a classic of 1980s French music.

Song information

The lyrics were written and the music composed by Feldman himself and the famous songwriter Jean-Marie Moreau. According to the expert of French chart Elia Habib, the song is a "romantic ballad, whose identity remains a salve savour in the subject as well as in the musical coloration".[1] The song is based on a pun and all the text is declined as well, juggling with the likeness and the consonance of terms between them (e.g. "dans la Rome antique, errent les romantiques"). The part played by the violins was written by Thierry Durbet.[2]

The song was also included on the singer's best of, Two Feldman.

The music video features Feldman with a young girl who portrayed his daughter and who tries to comfort her father because he is separated from her mother. The cover on the CD maxi and vinyls is a screenshot from the video.

Chart performances

In France, the single started at #38 on 2 December 1989, then climbed quickly and entered the top ten three weeks later. It was blocked for four weeks at #2 by Roch Voisine's huge hit "Hélène". Then it reached #1 for four weeks, was displace by "Hélène" for two weeks, then returned at the top of the list for two additional weeks. Almost continual dropping from the list followed and left the (Top 50) chart after 23 weeks.[3] It achieved Gold status awarded by the SNEP[4] and is currently the 548th best-selling single in French recording history.[5]

In 2003, the French program Top 50: 50 numéros 1 de légende revealed that the song was the 26th best received number-one hit of the Top 50 (SNEP Singles Chart) thanks to the votings of the TV viewers.

Track listings

7" single
  1. "Les Valses de Vienne" — 3:56
  2. "Les Valses de Vienne" (instrumental) — 4:02
7" maxi
  1. "Les Valses de Vienne" (extended version) — 5:08
  2. "Les Valses de Vienne" — 4:02
CD maxi
  1. "Les Valses de Vienne" (single version) — 3:56
  2. "Longue nuit" — 4:39
  3. "Pour faire tourner le monde" — 3:50
  4. "Les Valses de Vienne" (instrumental) — 4:02

Credits

Certifications and sales

Country Certification Date Sales certified Physical sales
France[4] Gold 1990 500,000 506,000[6]

Charts

Chart (1989-1990) Peak
position
French SNEP Singles Chart[3] 1
Preceded by
"Hélène" by Roch Voisine		 French SNEP number-one single (first run)
27 January 1990 – 17 February 1990 (4 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Hélène" by Roch Voisine
French SNEP number-one single (second run)
10 March 1990 – 17 March 1990 (2 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Le Temps des yéyés" by Les Vagabonds

References

  1. ↑ Elia Habib, Muz hit. tubes, p. 176 (ISBN 2-9518832-0-X)
  2. ↑ François Feldman's biography, François Feldman Feldmanfrancois.com (Retrieved 10 December 2008)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Les Valses de Vienne", French Singles Chart Lescharts.com (Retrieved 6 July 2008)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Feldman's certifications in France Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved 6 July 2008)
  5. ↑ Best-selling of all time in France Infodisc.fr (Retrieved 6 July 2008)
  6. ↑ Feldman's certifications and sales in France See: "Les Ventes" => "Toutes les certifications depuis 1973" => "FELDMAN François" Infodisc.fr (Retrieved 6 July 2008)