"On écrit sur les murs" (English: "We Write on the Walls") is a 1989 song by Greek singer

Demis Roussos Artemios "Demis" Ventouris-Roussos ( ; , ; 15 June 1946 – 25 January 2015) was a Greek-Egyptian singer, songwriter and musician. As a band member, he is best remembered for his work in the progressive rock music act Aphrodite's Child, but as a ...

from the album ''Voice and Vision''. Written by

Romano Musumarra Romano Musumarra (born 21 July 1956) is an Italian composer, arranger, musician and record producer. Life and career Born in Rome, Musumarra approached music as a child, learning to play pipe organ at his church. He studied piano, composition ...

and Jean-Marie Moreau, it was released as first single from the album in January 1990 and achieved success in France where it peaked at number four. In 2015,

Kids United Kids United were a French pop band between 2015 and 2021 that consisted of six, later five, children born between 2000 and 2009. It was created to support UNICEF campaigns and is sponsored by Hélène Ségara and Corneille, two Francophone sin ...

covered the song on the album ''Un monde meilleur''. It peaked at number three 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 February 2016.

Critical reception

Elia Habib, an expert of French chart, gave a positive review of the song, stating that Musumarra "here confirms his know-how for simple and greatly catchy melodies"; he also adds that lyrically, "Roussos sings hope in an idealistic breath that the chorus powerfully conveys", as the latter is performed by a choir performs "a utopian spirit that the bridge orchestration amplifies".

Chart performance

In France, "On écrit sur les murs" can be considered as a

sleeper hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit refers to a film, television series, music release, video game or other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release, but eventually became a surprise success. A sleeper hit may have ...

, as it debuted at number 50 on the chart edition of 20 January 1990. Then it climbed regularly and peaked at number four for non-consecutive two weeks. It remained in the top ten for a total of 11 weeks, and fell off the top 50 straight from number 20, after 23 weeks of presence. On the

European Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately f ...

, it started at number 67 on 3 March 1990, reached a peak of number 16 twice, in its fifth and eleventh weeks, and spent 19 weeks on the chart.

Track listings

* 7" single, 7" single (Demis Roussos – "On écrit sur les murs") (accessdate: 5 September 2021). # "On écrit sur les murs" — 3:34 # "Time" — 4:16 * CD single, CD single France (Demis Roussos – "On écrit sur les murs") (accessdate: 5 September 2021). # "On écrit sur les murs" — 3:34 # "Time" — 4:16

Credits

* Bagpipes – Christian Million * Composition – Romano Musumara * Engineer – Bruno Fourrier, Olivier de Bosson * Lyrics – Jean-Marie Moreau * Mixing – Jean-Philippe Bonichon * Production – Loris Baccheschi, Romano Musumara * Artwork – Nuit de Chine * Photography – Youri Lenquette

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Kids United version

Weekly charts

Other cover versions

German singer Nicole Hohloch covered the song German, titled ''Jeder Zaun, jede Mauer wird aus Blumen sein'' in 1992. "On écrit sur les murs" was adapted by Worlds Apart in 2007.

Les Enfoirés Les Enfoirés (, "The Tossers" or "The Bastards") is the name given to the singers and performers in the yearly charity concert for the Restaurants du Cœur. Founded at the initiative of Coluche in 1986, a year after the Restaurants du Cœur, ...

adapted the song twice: first in 2008, and was sung by

Bénabar Bruno Nicolini (born 16 June 1969), better known by his stage name Bénabar, is a French songwriter and singer, who could be compared to Vincent Delerm and other singers from his generation. As many of them he was influenced by Georges Brassens, ...

and

Maxime Le Forestier Maxime Le Forestier (; born 10 February 1949 as Bruno Le Forestier) is a French singer-songwriter. Life and career Bruno Le Forestier was born on 10 February 1949 in Paris to Robert Le Forestier and Genevieve (''née'' Lili 1917–2010), who had ...

with

Francis Cabrel Francis Christian Cabrel (; born 23 November 1953) is a French singer-songwriter, composer and guitarist. Considered one of the most influential French musical artists of all time, he has released a number of albums falling mostly within the real ...

Gérald de Palmas Gérald Gardrinier (; born 14 October 1967 in Saint-Denis, Réunion), better known by his stage name Gérald de Palmas, is a French singer-songwriter. Biography Early life Gérald de Palmas was born in France. His father was a land surveyor ...

, Elsa Delétang,

Patrick Fiori Patrick Chouchayan (; born 23 September 1969), known by his stage name Patrick Fiori (, ), is a French singer of Armenian descent. Biography Beginnings Fiori was born in Marseille to a French-Armenian father (Jacques Chouchayan) and a Corsica ...

, ( Garou,

David Hallyday David Hallyday (born David Michael Benjamin Smet; 14 August 1966) is a French singer, songwriter, actor and amateur sports car racing, sports car racer. Early life Hallyday was born in Boulogne-Billancourt and is the son of the French singers ...

Catherine Lara Catherine Lara (; born Catherine Bodet; 29 May 1945) is a French violinist, composer, singer, and author. Over a career spanning more than five decades, she has established herself as an icon in French pop/rock music as well as the neo-classical ...

and

Christophe Maé Christophe Martichon (; born 16 October 1975), better known by his stage name Christophe Maé (), is a French pop singer. Career Maé learned to play the violin at age five, and later began playing the guitar and harmonica at age 16 after he wa ...

, then in 2017 with Tal,

Soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

Grégoire Grégoire is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname / Family name * Alexandre Grégoire (1922–2001), Haitian painter * Antonina Grégoire (1914-1952), Belgian commercial engineer, feminist and communist, ...

Amir Emir (; ' (), also transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremonial authority. The title has ...

Michaël Youn Michaël Benayoun (; born 1973), known professionally as Michaël Youn, is a French actor, singer, comedian and television personality. Life and career Youn was born Michaël Benayoun in Suresnes, France, to a family of Hungarian, Italian ...

Laure Pester Laure Monique Pester (born 2 May 1982), known professionally as Lorie, is a French Pop music, pop singer.TMS Write for the Britney Spears Of FrancCM London (Retrieved 14 January 2010) She has sold over 8 million albums and singles worldwide as ...

Jeff Panacloc Damien Colcanap, better known as Jeff Panacloc, is a French ventriloquist and stand-up comedian born on 8 September 1986 in Saint-Thibault-des-Vignes, Seine-et-Marne. Biography A former electrician, Damien Colcanap met French ventriloquist Davi ...

Liane Foly Liane Foly (born 16 January 1962, in Lyon) is a popular French blues and jazz singer, actress, presenter and impressionist. Early years Foly was born 16 December 1962Interview in the magazine '' VSD'', p. 98, no 1477, 14–20 December 2005 in ...

Jean-Baptiste Maunier Jean-Baptiste Maunier (, born 22 December 1990) is a French actor and singer. He is best known for his role in the 2004 French film '' Les Choristes''. Early life Jean-Baptiste Maunier was born to Thierry Maunier, a cameraman, and Muriel Maunie ...

and

Claire Keim Claire Keim (born Claire Lefebvre 8 July 1975) is a French actress and singer. Biography Keim was born in Senlis, Oise to an architect father and a dentist mother. She is in a relationship with French footballer Bixente Lizarazu, and lives in S ...

as singers. In April 2016, it was covered by Canadian band Raffy as the theme song of the Fondation Véro et Louis, founded by Véronique Cloutier et Louis Morissette, which part of benefits from the song downloads were given to this association created to help Quebec people diagnosed with

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

. This adaptation was successful and was number one on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

for several days..

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:On ecrit sur les murs 1988 songs 1989 singles 2016 singles 2016 songs Songs in French Songs written by Romano Musumarra Demis Roussos songs Kids United songs