One of my favorite parts of my job is helping people reconnect with that elusive tune or song they heard on a radio station, or a TV commercial, or playing over the radio system in a store. I listen to so much music that I can usually nail it down in a few tries, but every so often, I'm a stumped chump, and I'm in that situation right now.
A friend heard a song playing in a J. Crew store while shopping. Because of her Master's Degree in music, she's done a bang-up job of describing it, but I still can't quite place it, and I'm hoping you might be able to help!
Here's what we know:
The song was sung by a female vocalist, in French. It had a kind of light, pop-song sound. The chorus sounded like: "Quand je venais chez toi." If you know solfege, I can tell you that the tune for those words goes "sol sol sol la do do" (ascending).
I started off my round of guessing with Carla Bruni's "L'Amoureuse" (Listen/Download), thinking that the tune structure sounded similar and that the lyrics maybe could be misheard in a noisy store as "quand je venais chez toi." No dice, though... my friend said that the song definitely had a similar feel, but wasn't the one. I also suggested a couple of other artists as "leads" (including Coralie Clement, Sandrine Kiberlain, and Charlotte Gainsbourg) and she said that the song that she's found based on that list that was the closest in sound was Coralie Clement's "On Etait Bien" ((Listen/Download).
We did assemble a few more clues:
- The song is "coy, cutesy, and flirtatious," definitely not a downer.
- The backing music is of an acoustic nature, if there were instruments other than an acoustic guitar, they're very quiet.
- The song sounded recently-recorded, not vintage.
- It was playing in J. Crew, so it's probably something with some relatively current street cred.
So... help! Can you find the mystery song? Leave a comment with your best guess, and you might just be the one to save a person's sanity!
Comments
Funny. I just googled “name of french song played in j. crew stores” and was led to this page. I have been searching for the very same song as you obviously without success. If I find it I will let you know.
Really good work about this website was done. Keep trying more – thanks!
I work at J.Crew and I think the song you’re looking for is J’suis D’accord by Francoise Hardy.
“Si tu ne me demands pas d’allez chez toi, d’allez chez toi…” It always gets stuck in my head! ^_^
Ooh, Clarissa, I think you might be onto something! I’m emailing my friend as we speak; she’ll be so excited to find it after all this time!! I’ll let you know if, for some reason, it isn’t actually the song, but I’d bet you’re spot-on!
Loveprints- I did a little research, as I really love the song. I found that the text in the song didn’t come up with anything on the web linking it to a song or singer. The first lyric is “je ne me laisserai pas seduire” and then some stuff and then “je ne ferai pas l’amour”. It’s kind of an anti-love song. So I e-mailed J.Crew and here is the response (my e-mail question is in the latter part of this entry):
Hi Kumi,
Wish I had a better answer for you but it’s an original song we composed for the Collection Video. It doesn’t have a name. I’m sorry for any disappointment.
If there is anything else I can help you with, please feel free to contact me directly. I’ve provided my contact information below for your convenience.
Best,
Jennifer
Maybe you all can help me! The last two times I was in JCrew, I heard a David Bowie song (at least I think it was David Bowie), and I can’t figure out what the song is. It is 1/2 instrumental and then has vocals partway through. It is funky and fun to dance to. Help me! It’s driving me nuts!