Francis Lai (Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France, 26 April 1932 - 7 November 2018… Read Full Bio ↴Francis Lai (Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France, 26 April 1932 - 7 November 2018) was a French composer, noted for his film scores.

While in his twenties, Lai left home and went to Paris, where he became part of the lively Montmartre music scene. In 1965 he met filmmaker Claude Lelouch and was hired to help write the score for the film A Man and a Woman. Released in 1966, the film was a major international success, earning a number of Academy Awards. The young Lai received a Golden Globe Award nomination for "Best Original Score". This initial success brought more opportunities to work for the film industry both in his native France, where he continued to work with Lelouch on scores to films such as Vivre pour vivre (1967), Un homme qui me plaît (1969), Le voyou (1970) and La bonne année (1973), as well as in Great Britain and the United States. He is known for his support of Mireille Mathieu in many compositions and recordings. In 1970 he wrote the score for director René Clément's film, Rider on the Rain ("Le passager de la pluie"). It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc in September 1971.

In 1970 Lai won the Academy Award for Best Music, Original Score and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for the film Love Story. In the United States, the soundtrack album went to No. 2 in the Billboard album charts and the film's theme, "Where Do I Begin", was a hit single with lyrics by Carl Sigman for traditional pop singer Andy Williams. The song would also be recorded successfully by Lai himself, with a full orchestra, and by Henry Mancini and Shirley Bassey. Lai's "Love Story" theme was heard in the 1978 Love Story sequel titled Oliver's Story, although the main score was composed by Lee Holdridge.

His movie scores include films as diverse as Mayerling, Three into Two Won't Go, International Velvet, Édith et Marcel, and Michael Winner films such as I'll Never Forget What's'isname and Hannibal Brooks. Lai has also had success with music written for softcore erotic films like Emmanuelle 2 (1975) and Bilitis (1977). He earned high praise for the latter film's score and its sound-track sold over a million copies throughout the world.

His composition "Aujourd'hui C'est Toi" (Today It's You) is probably best known in the UK as the theme music for the long-running BBC television current affairs documentary series Panorama.

In a career spanning forty years, Lai has also written music for television programs and alone or in collaboration with others has composed music for more than one hundred films and has personally written more than six hundred songs. Notably, he penned the music for the Perry Como hit "I Think of You" (lyrics by Rod McKuen).

Solitude
Francis Lai Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

In my solitude
You haunt me
With dreadful ease
Of days gone by

In my solitude
You taunt me
With memories

That never die

I sit in my chair
And filled with despair
There's no one could be so sad
With gloom everywhere
I sit and I stare
I know that I'll soon go mad

In my solitude
I'm afraid
Dear Lord above
Send back my love
I sit in my chair

Filled with despair
There's no one, no one
No onecould be so sad
With gloom everywhere
I sit and I stare
I know that I'll soon go mad

In my solitude
I'm afraid

Dear Lord above
Send back my love

Overall Meaning

The melancholic lyrics of Francis Lai’s Solitude reflect the inner turmoil of someone who is alone, lost and missing their love. The repetition of the phrase “In my solitude” at the beginning of each line emphasises the feeling of isolation and being abandoned. The haunting memories of happier times with the loved one make it hard for the singer to come to terms with the present situation, and the fear of never finding love again makes their despair unbearable.

The singer is consumed by despair, as evidenced by the repetition of the phrases "filled with despair" and "gloom everywhere." They feel that they are the only ones experiencing such immense sadness, and recognise that they are on the brink of losing their mental faculties. The singer is yearning for the return of their love, as they hope that the Lord Above will hear their plea and bring them back together. The song ends with the singer still alone, still afraid, but still holding out hope for the return of their love.

Line by Line Meaning

In my solitude
Alone in my quietness, away from any distractions or interactions with others

You haunt me
You fill my thoughts persistently and troublingly

With dreadful ease
Effortlessly and ominously, with an aura of fear

Of days gone by
Reminiscences of the past, that which cannot be altered or undone

You taunt me
You mock me insensitively, adding to my already existing pain

With memories
Recollections of events, experiences, or people from the past

That never die
Persistently present and painful, unable to be forgotten or ignored

I sit in my chair
I am in a passive state, immobile, without energy or purpose

And filled with despair
A sense of hopelessness and sadness that engulfs me

There's no one could be so sad
The unhappiness I feel is so profound, it is unlike anything anyone else could experience

With gloom everywhere
The world around me is also dark and miserable