Most of his recordings focus on popular music in general and orchestral arrangements of well-known romantic songs in particular, such as Yesterday, The Sound of Silence and Memory, rather than on Jazz or Classical Music.
He is known to alter many famous pieces of music such as Für Elise. His music is generally played with an orchestra. This accompaniment is usually with James Last's orchestra.
Biography
Born to a piano teacher,Clayderman started studying to play piano at age six, and he was accepted at Conservatoire de Paris in Paris at age 12. After finishing Conservatory he worked as an accompanist and session musician. His life changed dramatically in 1976, when he recorded a single "Ballade pour Adeline" (Ballade for Adeline), composed by French musical producer Paul de Senneville. The single became an instant success, selling 22 million copies in 38 countries. Since then, he has recorded over 1000 songs and has become one of the most successful instrumental recording artists in the world, with reported record sales in excess of 70 million units worldwide. In the peak of his career he performed 200 concerts in 250 days.
He is often credited with pioneering the piano recordings of famous Hollywood soundtracks and pop music artists, such as ABBA and The Carpenters.
Success
Clayderman has a curious market niche on third world countries, a fact mainly attributed by critics to his commercially-oriented performance of local and very popular music (especially love songs), and inexpensive, well-distributed records. On the other hand, there are people who refer to his work as elevator music, because of extensive playing of his production in neutral spaces as elevators, malls and other public spaces. Richard Clayderman, however, according to the linked interview, does not see this classification as negative as, according to him, he feels pleased to turn people's workplaces and daily lives into more pleasant places through the use of his music.
Clayderman’s music continues to be exceedingly popular in East Asia, in places such as Japan, Taiwan and Mainland China. Some Chinese music teachers attribute the popularity of his music in Mainland China to the increase in the number of piano students since the 1980s, and some even believe in the other way: it was due to the popularity of Clayderman's music that the number of piano students surged. According to the book Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams, published 1990, Clayderman was the most-played artist in China then.[citation needed].
Discography
Numbers
* 25 Years of Golden Hits (2xCD)
* 50 Exitos Romanticos (3xCD)
* 101 Solistes Tziganes (CD)
A
* A Comme Amour (CD)
* A Little Night Music (CD)
* A little Romance (CD)
* All by myself (2 CD SET)
* Always (CD)
* América Latina...mon amour (CD)
* Amour (CD)
* Amour pour amour (CD)
* Anemos (CD
* Anniversary Collection (5 CD SET)
* Antique Pianos (CD)
* A Touch of Latino (CD)
B
* Ballade pour Adeline (LP / 33T) (WW Sales: 30 million)
* Ballade pour Adeline (1985-CD)
* Ballade pour Adeline and other Love Stories (CD)
* Best Friend (CD)
* Best of Classics (2 CD SET)
* Best of Richard Clayderman (CD)
* Brazilian Passion (CD)
* Para Reynosa tamaulipas
C
* Carpenters Collection (CD)
* Chansons d'Amour (2 LP SET)
* Chinese Evergreen (CD)
* Chinese Garden (CD)
* Chinese Garden/Cherished Moments (CD + VCD)
* Christmas (LP / 33T)
* Christmas Album (CD)
* Claire De Lune (3 CD SET)
* Classic Touch (CD)
* Classics (CD)
* Clayderman 2000 (CD)
* Coeur Fragile (CD)
* Collection, The (CD)
* Confluence, The (CD)
* Couleur Tendresses (1982,LP / 33T)
D
* Deluxe (2 CD SET)
* Desperado (CD)
* Deutsche Volkslieder (CD)
* Digital Concerto (CD)
* Dimanche et fêtes (CD Single)
E
* Ecos de sudamérica (CD)
* Ein Träum von Liebe (LP / 33T)
* Eléana (LP / 33T)
* Eléana (CD)
* Encore (CD)
* En Venezuela (CD)
* Essential (3 CD SET)
* Essential Classics (CD)
* Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime (CD)
F
* Fantastic Movie story of Ennio Morricone (CD)
* Fifty for Israel (1998, 2 CD SET)
* Forever My Way (CD, 2006)
* France, mon Amour (CD)
* Friends France - Original (CD + VCD)
* Friends France (CD + VCD)
* From the Heart (LP / 33T)
* From this moment on (2006/CD)
G
* Golden Hearts (CD)
* Golden Moments (CD)
H
* Hollywood and Broadway (LP / 33T)
I
* Il y a toujours de Soleil au dessus des Nuages (CD)
* In amore (CD) (Originally produced (1999) (Polydor Records: 1995-1996)
* In Harmony (CD)
* In the key of love (2 CD SET)
* Introducing Richard Clayderman (CD)
J
* Japon mon Amour (CD)
* Joue-moi tes rêves (CD)
L
* Les Musiques de L'amour (LP / 33T)
* Les Musiques de L'amour (CD Version)
* Les Nouvelles Ballades Romantiques (CD)
* Les Rendez Vous de Hasard (CD)
* Les Sonates (CD)
* Lettre à ma Mère (CD)
* Lettre à ma Mère (LP / 33T)
* Love, American Style (CD)
* Love Collection (CD)
* Love Follow Us (CD)
* Love Follow Us 2 (CD)
* Love, French Style (CD)
* Love, Italian Style (CD)
* Love Songs of Andrew Lloyd Webber (CD)
M
* Magic of Brazilian Music (CD)
* Magic of Richard Clayderman (2 x LP)
* Matrimonio D'Amour
* Masters of Melody (3 CD SET)
* Medley Concerto (LP / 33T)
* Meisterstücke (CD)
* Memories (DVD / VHS)
* Millennium Gold (CD)
* Mexico con amor (CD)
* Musical Collection (Double CD)
* Music of Richard Clayderman (LP / 33T)
* My Australian Collection (CD)
* My Bossa Nova Favourites (CD)
* My Classic Collection (CD)
* My favourite Oldies (2 CD SET)
* Mysterious Eternity (CD)
N
* New (2005)
* New era (CD + VCD)
* Number 1 Hits (Double CD)
O
* On TV (CD)
* Omaggio (CD)
P
* Piano et orchestre (CD Version of the Debut Album)
* null Piano moods (Double CD)
* Plays Abba (CD)
* Premiers chagrins d'Elsa, Les (1983, LP/33T)
Q
* Quel gran genio del mio amico... (CD)
R
* Remembering the Movies (CD)
* Rendez-vous (Produced by COBA)
* Rêveries (LP / 33T)
* Rêveries No.2 (CD)
* Richard Clayderman (1977 Debut album) (LP / 33T)
* Richard Clayderman (1982) (LP / 33T)
* Richard Clayderman in Concert - Japan (Video)
* Richard Clayderman in Concert - England (Video)
* Richard Clayderman Plays Abba, The Hits (CD)
* Romance and the piano of Richard Clayderman (CD)
* Romantic (CD)
* Romantic America (Canadian Release) (CD)
* Romantic Dreams (CD)
* Romantic Nights (CD) One of a 10xCD compilation set from St Clair.
* Rondo pour un tout petit enfant (CD)
S
* Scandinavian Collection (CD)
* Serenade de l'etoile (Coup de Coeur) (CD)
* Smiling Joey (CD Single)
* Songs of Love (CD)
* Souvenirs (CD)
* Stage and Screen (CD)
* Sweet Memories (Cassette)
* Sweet Memories (LP / 33T)
T
* Tango (CD)
* Thailand mon Amour (CD)
* The best 100 (CD 2006)
* Together (CD)
* Together at Last (CD)
* Träumereien 3 (CD)
* Träummelodien (CD)
* Treasury of love (CD) One of a 10xCD compilation set from St Clair.
* Turquie mon amour (CD)
* Two Together (CD)
U
* Ultimate Collection (4xCD)
V
* Very best of Richard Clayderman (CD)
* Very best of Richard Clayderman (DISKY) (3 x CD)
W
* What a wonderful World (2 CD SET)
* When a man loves a woman (CD)
* When love songs were love songs (CD)
* With Love (1988) (LP / 33T)
* With Love (1997) (CD)
* With Love (1999) (CD)
* World Tour (CD)
Z
* Zodiacal Symphony (CD)
Clayderman's arrangement of Three Blind Mice has appeared on Bill Bailey's disc The Ultimate Collection... Ever!
What Now My Love
Richard Clayderman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How can I live through another day
Watching my dreams turn to ashes
And my hopes turn to bits of clay?
Once I could see, once I could feel
Now I am numb, I've become unreal
I walk the night, without a goal
What now my love, now that it's over?
I feel the world falling all around me
Here come the stars, tumbling around me
There's the sky, where that sea should be
What now my love, now that you're gone?
I'd be a fool to go on and on
No one would care, no one would cry
If I should live if I should live or die
What now my love, now there is nothing?
Only my last, my last good-bye
The Richard Clayderman song What Now My Love tells the story of a heartbroken person who has been left by their significant other. The opening line, “What now my love, now that you’ve left me,” clearly sets the tone for the song. The singer is struggling to come to terms with the situation and the daunting prospect of having to live without their partner. The lyrics describe a sense of hopelessness and despair as the singer watches their dreams turn to ashes and their hopes crumble into nothingness.
As the song progresses, the singer acknowledges that they are no longer the same person they once were. Before, they “could see” and “could feel,” but now they are “numb” and “unreal.” The lyrics paint a picture of a person who has been emotionally stripped down and left with nothing. They walk through life aimlessly, without any sense of direction or purpose.
The chorus of the song repeats the opening line, “What now my love,” and adds a sense of finality to the situation. The world is “falling all around” the singer, and they feel lost and alone. The stars are “tumbling” around them, and the sky is empty where the sea should be. All of the beauty and wonder of the world has been stripped away, leaving only an empty void.
In the final verse, the singer comes to the realization that there is nothing left for them. There is no hope for a happy ending, and the only thing left to do is say goodbye. The final line, “Only my last, my last good-bye,” is a poignant conclusion to a song of heartbreak and despair.
Line by Line Meaning
What now my love, now that you've left me
What am I supposed to do now that you have walked out of my life?
How can I live through another day
How can I survive and face the challenges of another day without you?
Watching my dreams turn to ashes
I am witnessing my aspirations shatter and crumble into nothingness.
And my hopes turn to bits of clay?
My formerly buoyant expectations have become heavy and worthless like soil clumps.
Once I could see, once I could feel
I used to be able to perceive and experience emotions fully.
Now I am numb, I've become unreal
But now, I am devoid of feeling, and that makes me feel unreal and robotic.
I walk the night, without a goal
I roam aimlessly in the darkness without purpose.
Stripped of my heart and my soul
My spirit and my essence have been ripped away, and I am an empty husk now.
What now my love, now that it's over?
What does my life hold now that our romance has ended?
I feel the world falling all around me
It feels as though the very universe is collapsing down around me.
Here come the stars, tumbling around me
The celestial bodies themselves seem to be crashing down too.
There's the sky, where that sea should be
Even the landscapes and scenery that used to be familiar and comforting have vanished and morphed into unfamiliar forms.
What now my love, now that you're gone?
Now that you are not in my life, what does the future hold for me?
I'd be a fool to go on and on
It would be foolish for me to continue as if nothing has changed and fill the void you left with other things or people.
No one would care, no one would cry
No one would show genuine concern or emotion if I were to perish.
If I should live if I should live or die
Whether I survive or perish, it would not matter as much as it would have when you were in my life.
What now my love, now there is nothing?
Now that my life feels hollow and barren, what is there left for me to do?
Only my last, my last good-bye
All I can offer now is my last farewell to what was once my reason for living.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CARL SIGMAN, GILBERT BECAUD, PIERRE DELANOE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind