"Comme j'ai toujours envie d'aimer" is a 1970

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

-language single by Canadian singer Marc Hamilton. It reached number 1 on the

French Singles Chart SNEP (, in English National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym SNICOP, the organisation was established in ...

on 12 September 1970 staying on top of the chart for three consecutive weeks. It was also number 1 in Belgium and reached number 2 in Switzerland and number 14 in the Dutch chart. The same year, it was a hit again for French singer Jean-François Michaël in two versions, in French and in an Italian version as "Più di ieri".

Accolades

In 2003, the song was crowned in a list of "Grands Classiques de la chanson québécoise" (Great classics of Quebec songs) by

Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 175,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collect ...

(SOCAN). Société du Droit de Reproduction des Auteurs, Compositeurs et Éditeurs au Canada (SODRAC) considered the song as a great song of Quebec. For commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Quebec flag, the song was picked as one of all-time 50 Quebec songs ever. It was also honored by Quebec Culture Minister

Line Beauchamp Line Beauchamp (born February 24, 1963) is a Canadian politician. She served as the Liberal Member of the National Assembly (MNA) for the Sauvé riding, and for Bourassa-Sauvé at the Quebec National Assembly from November 30, 1998 to May 14, 20 ...

and by la Fondation de la SPAC. On 27 January 2007, it was entered into the

Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame () is a Canadian non-profit organization, founded in 1998 by Frank Davies, that inducts Canadians into their ''Hall of Fame'' within three different categories: songwriters, songs, and those others who have m ...

Covers

With the huge popularity of the song, French orchestra leader and conductor

Paul Mauriat Paul Julien André Mauriat ( or ; 4 March 1925 – 3 November 2006) was a French orchestra leader, conductor of Le Grand Orchestre de Paul Mauriat, who specialized in the easy listening genre. He is best known in the United States for his mill ...

issued an all-musical version of the song in a 1970 album also titled ''Comme j'ai toujours envie d'aimer'' credited to Grand orchestre de Paul Mauriat. Another orchestral rendition was made by Georges Jouvin. The song has been interpreted by dozens of artists and in instrumental versions by renowned orchestras. Notable covers include that of Canadian singer

Roch Voisine Joseph Armand Roch Voisine, (born 26 March 1963) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, actor, and radio and television host who lives in Montreal and Paris. He writes and performs material in both English and French. He won the Juno Award for Male V ...

in the 1993 album '' Chaque feu...''. Although the track didn't appear in the main album releases for 1-CD Canada and European releases, it was included in the 2-CD Special Edition for Canada of the album as one of 6 additional bonus tracks. In 1994, French Canadian singer

Mitsou Mitsou Annie Marie Gélinas (born September 1, 1970, in Loretteville, Quebec) is a Canadian pop singer, businesswoman, television and radio host, and actress. She is credited as Mitsou Gélinas when acting, but records simply as Mitsou (the Fre ...

recorded an up-beat version in a track in her 1994 album ''Ya Ya'' that included cover versions of songs popular in Quebec in the 1960s and 1970s. The single release was accompanied by a

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the song. The music video won

MuchMusic Video Award for Best French Video The MuchMusic Video Award for Best French Video was presented from 1995 to 2007, to a music video by a French language recording artist from Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by ...

in 1995. In 2001, the Belgian singers Bart Kaëll and Vanessa Chinitor revived the song with a new version as the duo Bart & Vanessa. The track was included in their 2001 album ''Costa Romantica''.

Language versions

The song has been translated and interpreted in at least 15 languages. An English-language version was released by Canadian singer Marty Butler as "Time".Quebec Info Musique: Marc Hamilton - Notes biographiques
Ivica Tomović released a Serbo-Croat version under the title "Koliko sam Često Želio da te volim" and it was interpreted in Dutch by Hanny-D titled "Jij leerde mij hoe liefde smaakt".

In popular culture

The song was used in the 1993 film '' La Florida'' where it was performed by Michael Sarrazin aka Romeo Laflamme.

Charts

In France in 1970 the original by Marc Hamilton reached number 1 on the singles sales chart compiled by the Centre d'Information et de Documentation du Disque (CIDD).

Weekly positions

References

{{authority control 1970 songs French-language Canadian songs Number-one singles in France SNEP Top Singles number-one singles Canadian pop songs Quebec songs