"" (; "A beautiful story") is a French song written by

Michel Fugain Michel Fugain (; born 12 May 1942) is a French singer and composer. He was born in Grenoble, Isère. He started composing after quitting medical school, and became a solo artist releasing his first album, ''Je n'aurai pas le temps'', in 1967. T ...

(music) and

Pierre Delanoë Pierre Delanoë (16 December 1918 – 27 December 2006), born Pierre Charles Marcel Napoléon Leroyer in Paris, France, was a French lyricist who wrote thousands of songs for dozens of singers, including Dalida, Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavour, Pet ...

(lyrics). Featured on the 1972 album , it was released as a single that same year, selling over 800,000 copies and topping the charts in France. The lyrics, telling of a brief encounter between two young strangers ("they hid in a large wheat field and let the currents carry them away"), were considered risqué at the time. Fugain initially imagined the action to take place along

U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

, but Delanoë relocated the story in France. "" has been covered in a variety of languages. In 1972,

Franco Califano Franco Califano (14 September 1938 – 30 March 2013) was an Italian lyricist, composer, singer-songwriter, author and actor. During his career he sold about 20 million records. Life and career Born in an airplane above Tripoli, Libya, Califan ...

wrote an Italian version of the song named "" ("One summer ago"), which was first released as a single by the band

Homo Sapiens Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

. In 1973, it was recorded in Dutch as "" ("Like a beautiful story") by Ann Christy and in Turkish as "" ("Who set the lovers apart?") by Tanju Okan, Nilüfer and the Modern Folk Üçlüsü. In 1974, It was recorded in English as "One Lovely Day" by Jay & The October Cherries. In 1978, Japanese chorus group Circus (サーカス) covered this song as Mr. Summer Time (Mr.サマータイム) and topped in Japan.

References

1972 singles French songs Number-one singles in France Songs written by Pierre Delanoë 1972 songs {{1970s-pop-song-stub