She was born in Avignon, Vaucluse, France, the oldest daughter of a poor family of fourteen children. She began singing as a small child, appearing in public at the age of four, singing in her church. As a young girl she worked in a factory, where she saved her money to pay for singing lessons.
Discovered by Johnny Stark, manager of France's biggest star at the time, Johnny Hallyday, she was tutored by orchestra leader Paul Mauriat and song writer André Pascal who wrote "Mon crédo", "Viens dans ma rue", "La première étoile" and many other hits for her . After her television performance in 1965 and debut run at the Paris Olympia, she was immediately hailed as the next Édith Piaf, such was her haunting voice.
Singles such as "Mon Credo" and "C'est Ton Nom" made her a huge star in France and all over Europe while making her a big success in North America and Mexico. Her French cover of Engelbert Humperdinck's "The Last Waltz" generated much publicity in Great Britain and with hit after hit, she soon toured Canada and the United States where she appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and the Danny Kaye Show. In Las Vegas, she sang with Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra to great applause.
Still much in demand, she continues to perform regularly. She travels frequently, appearing at such venues as New York City's Carnegie Hall, Sport Palace in Montreal, Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles and Ice Palace of St. Petersburg. She has sold about 150 million copies of her albums in her 40 year career, recorded about 1200 songs in 9 languages, and was the first western singer in history who gave concerts in China. Over the years she sang duets with such luminaries as Charles Aznavour, Barry Manilow, Paul Anka, Plácido Domingo, Julio Iglesias, Tom Jones and others.
Songs such as "Acropolis adieu," "Ne me quitte pas," and "Santa Maria de la mer," are considered classics. Her French version of Roy Orbison's ballad, "Blue Bayou", is regarded by many as one of the best covers of that popular song.
In 1989, President François Mitterrand invited Mireille Mathieu to sing a tribute to General de Gaulle. She gave a series of concerts at the Palais des Congrès in Paris in December 1990. Three years later, she released an album devoted to her all-time idol, Édith Piaf.
In January 1996, "Vous lui direz…" was released. Maxime le Forestier wrote one of the titles, "A la moitié de la distance". She did not choose to perform live in France to promote the album, preferring rather to go to Los Angeles USA, where she triumphed on November 14th with her vibrant tribute to another of her idols, Judy Garland. The performance was a tremendous success she was dressed by Provence couturier, Christian Lacroix and looked stunning for the performance. [1]
In 2002, she released her 37th French album De tes mains. Mathieu celebrated the 40th anniversary of her career at the Paris Olympia, in November 2005, after releasing her 38th French album, which reached number 14 on the charts in France (it remained in the top 100 for several months).
Ne me quitte pas
Mireille Mathieu Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oublier le temps des malentendus et le temps perdu à savoir comment
Oublier ces heures qui tuaient parfois à coups de pourquoi le cœur du bonheur
Ne me quitte pas ne me quitte pas ne me quitte pas ne me quitte pas
Moi je t'offrirai des perles de pluie venues de pays où il ne pleut pas
Je creuserai la terre jusqu'après ma mort pour couvrir ton corps d'or et de lumière
Je ferai un domaine où l'amour sera roi où l'amour sera loi où je serai reine
Ne me quitte pas je t'inventerai des mots insensés que tu comprendras
Je te parlerai de ces amants-là qui ont vu deux fois leurs cœurs s'embraser
Je te raconterai l'histoire de ce roi mort de n'avoir pas pu te rencontrer
Ne me quitte pas ne me quitte pas ne me quitte pas ne me quitte pas
On a vu souvent rejaillir le feu d'un ancien volcan qu'on croyait trop vieux
Il est paraît-il des terres brûlées donnant plus de blé qu'un meilleur avril
Et quand vient le soir pour qu'un ciel flamboie le rouge et le noir ne s'épousent-ils pas
Ne me quitte pas ne me quitte pas ne me quitte pas ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas je n'vais plus pleurer je n'vais plus parler je me cacherai là
A te regarder danser et sourire et à t'écouter chanter et puis rire
Laisse-moi devenir l'ombre de ton ombre l'ombre de ta main l'ombre de ton chien
Ne me quitte pas ne me quitte pas ne me quitte pas ne me quitte pas
The lyrics to Mireille Mathieu's song Ne me quitte pas (Don't leave me) speak to the fear of losing a loved one and the lengths someone is willing to go to in order to keep their partner from leaving. The song urges the listener not to leave because everything can be forgotten and forgiven. It's important to let go of misunderstandings and wasted time in order to move forward. The lyrics point out the hours of pain that could have been avoided and begs the partner not to quit.
The next verse makes grand promises of what the singer would do for their partner. They offer pearls of rain from a place where it never rains, they will dig the earth until the end of their life to cover the partner in gold and light, and they promise to create a domain where love will reign and where they will be the queen. The language in this verse is romantic, but it's also slightly fantastical as the pearls of rain are something that is impossible to actually acquire.
The following verse speaks to the idea of storytelling and how characters in love stories have fallen for each other quickly and deeply. The singer references a king that died because he never met their partner. The final verse describes the desperation of the singer if the partner were to leave them. They would hide away and just watch their partner dance, sing, and laugh. They offer to become the shadow of their partner's life and never leave them.
Line by Line Meaning
Ne me quitte pas il faut oublier tout peut s'oublier qui s'enfuit déjà
Don't leave me, we must forget, everything can be forgotten, everything that's already gone
Oublier le temps des malentendus et le temps perdu à savoir comment
Forget the time when we didn't understand each other, and the time wasted trying to figure things out
Oublier ces heures qui tuaient parfois à coups de pourquoi le cœur du bonheur
Forget those moments that sometimes killed the heart of happiness by asking too many questions
Moi je t'offrirai des perles de pluie venues de pays où il ne pleut pas
I will offer you pearls of rain from lands where it doesn't rain
Je creuserai la terre jusqu'après ma mort pour couvrir ton corps d'or et de lumière
I will dig the earth until after my death to cover your body with gold and light
Je ferai un domaine où l'amour sera roi où l'amour sera loi où je serai reine
I will create a kingdom where love will be king, where love will be the law, and I will be the queen
Ne me quitte pas je t'inventerai des mots insensés que tu comprendras
Don't leave me, I will invent meaningless words that you will understand
Je te parlerai de ces amants-là qui ont vu deux fois leurs cœurs s'embraser
I will tell you about those lovers who saw their hearts ignite twice
Je te raconterai l'histoire de ce roi mort de n'avoir pas pu te rencontrer
I will tell you the story of that king who died because he couldn't meet you
On a vu souvent rejaillir le feu d'un ancien volcan qu'on croyait trop vieux
We often see the fire of an old volcano reignite, which we thought was too old
Il est paraît-il des terres brûlées donnant plus de blé qu'un meilleur avril
It seems there are burned lands that give more wheat than a better April
Et quand vient le soir pour qu'un ciel flamboie le rouge et le noir ne s'épousent-ils pas
And when the evening comes for a fiery sky, don't red and black marry each other?
Ne me quitte pas je n'vais plus pleurer je n'vais plus parler je me cacherai là
Don't leave me, I won't cry anymore, I won't speak anymore, I will hide myself there
A te regarder danser et sourire et à t'écouter chanter et puis rire
Watching you dance and smile, listening to you sing and then laugh
Laisse-moi devenir l'ombre de ton ombre l'ombre de ta main l'ombre de ton chien
Let me become the shadow of your shadow, the shadow of your hand, the shadow of your dog
Contributed by Gabriella D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@chantaltaille7391
Ne me quitte pas....sublime chanson de Monsieur Brel mais interprétée si intelligemment par notre grande Mireille... Félicitations.
Les paroles sont déchirantes, une Femme amoureuse c est touchant pour qui sait le voir...pour qui a un coeur ....
MERCIIi
Admiration et Respect.
@sofie4951
Une belle chanson et une merveilleuse voix sensible. Je veux pleurer avec cette chanson bravo ma chère Mireille Mathieu ❤❤❤
@gy.l.7054
One of Mireille's most beautiful songs. So only someone who knows what he is singing about can interpret it so beautifully. And Mireille knows... And when I hear this song, memories come back and old wounds bleed again. She is a wonderful woman, a magical singer.
@chantaltaille7391
Cette chanson est sublime...
Mais la vibration de Monsieur Brel
est irremplaçable...
Merci beaucoup Mireille, cela ne vous retire rien...
Avec mes prières d AMOUR ❣️❤️
Ne me quitte pas....je t aime
❤🎉
@joseluiszapatabecerra6734
Cómo no amar a la vida escuchando esta hermosa melodia,,viva Francia ,viva mi Perú
@andremoreiradasilvamoreira3272
Maysa gravou essa linda canção, e a interpretação dela supera até o original.Eu gosto muito tbm da Meirili Mathieu.
@MosMos-qy8es
روووووعة رائعه دائما
@doralizadurandemorales6011
No me dejes no, no me dejes no, que hermosa canción, no me canso de escucharla, no, no me dejes ......
@DerekJWood
No one can sing with such heart wrenching emotion. Mimi is so incredible.
@JoseAugusto-ov3ku
PLEASE LISTEN TO MAYSA'S INTERPRETATION OF THIS SONG. SHE SINGS WITH HER SOUM. MIREILLE'S IS ALSO VERY GOOD.