"" (, French for "As usual") is a French song about the setting in of routine in a relationship, precipitating a breakup. It was composed in 1967 by

Jacques Revaux Jacques Abel Jules Revaud (; born 11 July 1940), known as Jacques Revaux (), is a French songwriter, most famous for his 1968 writing collaboration with singer Claude François on the song "", whose text was reworked by Canadian singer-songwriter ...

, with lyrics by

Claude François Claude Antoine Marie François (; 1 February 1939 – 11 March 1978), also known by the nickname Cloclo, was a French pop singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, drummer and dancer. François co-wrote the lyrics of " Comme d'habitude" ( ...

and . In 1969,

Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter and actor. His songs include " Diana", “ You Are My Destiny", “Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also wr ...

wrote English lyrics for the song and gave it the title "

My Way "My Way" is Paul Anka's English-language lyrical adaptation of the French song " Comme d'habitude", released by Frank Sinatra in 1969. The original song was written by Jacques Revaux, Gilles Thibaut, and Claude François, and was first recor ...

", which became one of

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

signature song A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...

Original

In February 1967,

, on holiday in the Hôtel Canada in

Megève Megève (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France with a population of more than 3,000 residents. The town is well known as a ski resort near Mont Blanc in the French Alps. Co ...

, realised that he was overdue to write four songs commissioned by producer , and wrote them all in one morning. One titled "For Me" had English lyrics; it was refused by

Michel Sardou Michel Charles Sardou (; born 26 January 1947) is a French singer and occasional actor. He is known not only for his love songs ("La maladie d'amour", "Je vais t'aimer"), but also for songs dealing with various social and political issues, su ...

Mireille Mathieu Mireille Mathieu (; born July 22, 1946) is a French singer. She has recorded over 1,200 songs in eleven languages, with more than 122 million records sold worldwide. Biography and career Early years Mireille Mathieu was born on July 22, 1946, ...

Hugues Aufray Hugues Jean Marie Auffray (; born 18 August 1929), better known as Hugues Aufray, is a French singer-songwriter. He is known for French-language covers of Bob Dylan's songs. Aufray knew Dylan and his work from his time in New York City,Ian Bel ...

and Claude François before

Hervé Vilard Hervé Vilard (born René Vilard; 24 July 1946 in Paris, France) is a French pop singer, who first became famous in the 1960s. His first single " Capri c'est fini" became an international hit in 1965 and rendered him instantaneously famous. The ...

released a version as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

. Revaux was dissatisfied and visited François at

Dannemois Dannemois () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. Inhabitants of Dannemois are known as ''Dannemoisiens''. Personalities *Claude François, French singer, had a home in Dannemois. See also *Communes of ...

on 27 August 1967 proposing to rework the song for him. François accepted but asked that an underlying theme of a couple in a strained relationship be included, in reference to his recent breakup with fellow French singer

France Gall Isabelle Geneviève Marie Anne Gall (9 October 1947 – 7 January 2018), known professionally as France Gall, was a French ''yé-yé'' singer. In 1965, at the age of 17, she won the Eurovision Song Contest 1965, tenth edition of the Eurov ...

. Revaux agreed and with some rewriting from Gilles Thibaut the song became "Comme d'habitude" in its best-known version in French, which was released by Claude François in 1968.

Notable cover versions

Many artists sang "Comme d'habitude" in French after Claude François's success (and international success through '"My Way"), notably: *

Florent Pagny Florent Pagny (; born 6 November 1961) is a French singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He records his work in French, as well as in Italian, Spanish and English. His greatest hits include "N'importe quoi", "Savoir aimer" and "Ma Liberté de p ...

covered the song in 1989 and released as a single in France. It charted at No. 6 in France's Singles Chart. *Hungarian singer

Jozsef Gregor József Gregor (8 August 1940 - 27 October 2006) was a renowned Hungarian operatic bass who enjoyed success first in Hungary, then in France, Belgium and Canada, and finally in the United States. Gregor was born in Rákosliget, a small town tha ...

recorded the song in 1996 with Hungarian language love-themed lyrics written by Andras Ruszanov. Two years later, Gregor sang this version in one of the most popular TV show in Budapest; since then this version has been permanently on the playlists of numerous radio stations in Hungary.

"My Way"

, after hearing the song while listening to French radio, bought the song's publication and adaptation rights but the original songwriters retained the music-composition half of their songwriter royalties.''Fresh Air'' (radio program produced by WHYY hila., Pa.and syndicated by National Public Radio), "With Paul Anka, 'Rock Swings'" (interview with Paul Anka)
part 1 (August 8, 2005)
an
part 2 (August 10, 2005)
/ref> Anka wrote English lyrics specifically for

, who then recorded a version of it in 1969 under the title "My Way". "My Way" has since been covered by many artists. The lyrics of "My Way" are similar to those of "Comme d'habitude" in terms of structure and

metre The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

, but the meaning is completely different. The French song is about routine in a relationship that is falling out of love, while the English language version is set at the end of a lifetime, approaching death, and looking back without regret.

Others

André Hazes André Gerardus Hazes (30 June 1951 – 23 September 2004) was a Dutch singer and actor. As an accomplished levenslied singer, Hazes recorded 36 studio and live albums, and 55 singles prior to his death in 2004. His music is still well-known in ...

in 1980 released a version with new Dutch lyrics, titled "Waarom" ('Why?'). * Kris Phillips in 1980‘s "夺标", in the album with the same name. *

Gipsy Kings Gipsy Kings (originally Los Reyes) are a musical group founded in 1979 in Arles, France. The band, whose members have Catalans, Catalan heritage, play a blend of Catalan rumba, flamenco, Salsa music, salsa, and Pop music, pop. They perform mos ...

on their eponymous 1987 album included a Spanish version; although the title "A Mi Manera" translates to "My Way", the love-themed lyrics are more reminiscent of the Claude François song. * The

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

for '' Superman IV'' called for a Russian cosmonaut to sing a Russian version of "My Way", but the music supervisor realised that commissioning original Russian lyrics for Revaux' tune would cost much less than acquiring translation rights to Anka's lyrics, and that non-Russophone audiences would not notice the difference. *

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

said that in 1968 – the year before Paul Anka acquired the French song – his publisher asked him to write English lyrics for "Comme d'habitude" but that his version, titled "Even a Fool Learns to Love", was rejected. This work became the starting point for his 1971 song ''

Life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no conclusive evidence of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that ...

''. Chris O'Leary wrote that David Bowie felt "using ''Comme d'habitude'' (...) wasn't theft (...) more a statement of rightful ownership." The phrase "Inspired by Frankie" was written next to the song in the LP liner notes of

Hunky Dory ''Hunky Dory'' is the fourth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released in the United Kingdom on 17December 1971 through RCA Records. Following a break from touring and recording, Bowie settled down to write new songs, composi ...

. * Sex Pistols/ Sid Vicious, 1979, brought a deteriorating performance: Sex Pistols' album, ''The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle'' (1979) and Sid Vicious' album, ''Sid Sings''

References

Claude François – Comme d’habitude
Zicabloc, 20 January 2011 (in French)

External links

{{authority control 1967 songs Songs in French Songs with music by Claude François Songs written by Gilles Thibaut Songs written by Jacques Revaux