"Don't Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas)" is a song by

Regina Spektor Regina Ilyinichna Spektor (, ; born February 18, 1980) is a Russian Americans, Russian-born American singer, songwriter, and pianist. After self-releasing her first three records and gaining popularity in New York City's Indie music scene, in ...

, from her 2012 album ''

What We Saw from the Cheap Seats ''What We Saw from the Cheap Seats'' is the sixth studio album by American alternative singer-songwriter Regina Spektor. On November 21, 2011, Spektor posted on her Facebook page that the album had been recorded with Mike Elizondo in Los Angel ...

''. It was released as the album's second single on March 26, 2012. Although a handful of critics assumed this was an English-language

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world ...

's song "

Ne me quitte pas "Ne me quitte pas" (''"Don't leave me"'') is a 1959 song by Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel. It has been covered in the original French by many artists and has also been translated into and performed in many other languages. A well-known ...

", Spektor's song is different in every way except the title. The chord structure, melody, and lyrics are all completely different. Brel's song was written in the key of A minor, in 3/4 time. It is a slow, haunting story of a man trying to win back his former lover—a song about the cowardice of men according to Brel. In contrast, Spektor's song is lively, in 4/4 time, and in a major key. Its lyrics evoke a carefree jaunt through various neighborhoods of New York City, the narrator describing all the beautiful and interesting things encountered along the way. Somehow the narrator ends up in the cafés and gardens of Paris, and the song ends with repeated declarations of love for Paris in the rain. The song was previously released on Spektor's 2002 album ''

Songs A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usuall ...

'', simply titled "Ne Me Quitte Pas". This version of the song featured just Spektor and her piano, while the 2012 version includes a drum machine, horns and brass instruments. The song also features lyrics sung in both English and French. In June 2012, Spektor released yet another version of the song online, keeping the multi-instrument production heard on ''

'', but replacing the English verses with Russian lyrics. The new rendition was titled "Не Покидай Меня". The song can be heard at the end of the

episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a serial (radio and television), series intended for radio, television or Streaming media, streaming consumption. Etymology The noun ''episode'' is ...

"Five Miles From Yetzer Hara" from the eighth season of ''

Weeds A weed is an unwanted plant of any species. Weed or weeds may also refer to: Places * Weed, Arkansas, an unincorporated community in the United States * Weed, California, a city in the United States * Weed, Kentucky, an unincorporated communit ...

''.

Music video

A video for the 2012 version of "Don't Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas)" was uploaded to

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

on June 12, 2012. The video was directed by

Ace Norton Ace Norton (born May 24, 1982, in Venice, Los Angeles, California) is a Japanese American filmmaker and artist born and raised in Venice, California. Norton creates music videos, commercials, fashion films, and movies. Biography Norton grew up ...

and features Spektor, alone in an apartment, interacting with various items. For example, at one point she is

fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...

on a table and at another she is dancing on a piano. The video is edited by Isaac Hagy and

production design In film industry, film and television, a production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and ...

is by Maxwell Orgell.

Musicians

* Regina Spektor - Vocals, Piano, all Keyboards and Marimba * Aaron Sterling - Drums and Marimba *

Mike Elizondo Michael A. Elizondo Jr. (born October 22, 1972) is an American producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. A protégé of Dr. Dre, Elizondo has worked with 50 Cent, Eminem, Linkin Park, Carrie Underwood, Fiona Apple, Mastodon, Ry Cooder ...

- Bass and Programming * Danny T. Levin - Trumpet * David Moyer - Baritone and Tenor Sax *

Jack Dishel Jack Dishel (born Yevgeny Leonidovich Dishel, ; 24 September 1976) is a Russian-American musician, actor, writer, director, comic and producer. Born in the Soviet Union, he grew up in the US from the age of three. He releases and performs music ...

- Vocals

References

2012 singles Macaronic songs Regina Spektor songs Sire Records singles 2012 songs Songs written by Regina Spektor Song recordings produced by Mike Elizondo {{2010s-pop-song-stub