THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

274-Charles Trenet-La Mer.

1946-Has never charted in the UK. There was no UK chart until 1952.

Best Bit-At 2.28. ‘La Mer’ has been recorded in several different languages, in Italy it is ‘II Mare,’ while in Belgium it is ‘De Zee.’ German speaking countries call it ‘Das Meer,’ in Russia it is known as ‘Volna,’ and in English speaking countries it is called ‘Beyond The Sea.’

‘La Mer’ (in English the sea) was written by the French singer/songwriter Charles Trenet, who was born Louis Charles Augustin Georges Trenet on May 18th, 1913, in Narbonne, France, he died after suffering a second stroke on February 19th, 2001, at the age of 87. Trenet is one of France’s most celebrated artists, who wrote nearly 1000 songs, his other notable compositions include ‘Boum!’ from 1938, and ‘Que reste-t-il de nos amours?’ from 1942.

Trenet said that he wrote the lyrics in the form of a poem to ‘La Mer’ in 1929 at the age of 16, but didn’t come up with the melody until 1943 when he was travelling by train between Montpellier and Perpignan, his inspiration came as he was gazing out the window at the ‘Etang de Thau, a lagoon in the South of France. Trenet took his ideas to Leo Chauliac (1913-1977) a Jazz pianist who Trenet was working with at that time, and further input was provided by Albert Lasry (1903-1975) who also produced Trenet’s recording of the song in 1946.

Trenet wrote ‘La Mer’ as an ode to the sea, but the English language lyrics which were written by Jack Laurence are about a couple who are separated by the sea, and the narrator lives in hope that one day they will be reunited. Jack Laurence was born Jacob Louis Schwartz on April 7th, 1912, in Brooklyn, New York, United States, he died after a fall at his home on March 16th, 2009, at the age of 96. Other notable songs written by Laurence include ‘If I Didn’t Care,’ recorded by the Ink Spots, (see also best songs 266) and ‘Linda,’ a 1947 Billboard Number 1 for Ray Noble & Buddy Clark. Laurence wrote ‘Linda’ in 1942 taking the name from the then one year old daughter of his attorney, Lee Eastman. The Linda in question would grow up to be the future wife of Paul McCartney, Linda Eastman (1941-1998.)

‘La Mer’ is a ‘Chanson,’ which is generally any lyric-driven French song, it was first recorded by Roland Gerbeau (1919-2012) with Jo Bouillon (1908-1984) and His Orchestra in 1945, Charles Trenet made his first recording of the song a year later. Over the years the song has become a Chanson, and Jazz standard, and has been recorded hundreds of times. The most famous and successful English language version is the recording by Bobby Darin. (1936-1973) (see also best songs 43) The English version is known as ‘Beyond the Sea,’ and became Darin’s signature song after reaching Number 6 on Billboard, and Number 8 in the UK in 1960. Prior to Bobby Darin charting with the song it had been a hit twice before in instrumental form, for Benny Goodman in 1948, and for Roger Williams in 1956, when reaching Number 37 on Billboard.

‘La mer qu’on voit danser le long des golfes clairs a des reflets d’argent.’