C'était Toi (You Were The One)
Another hidden Billy Joel gem
You might wonder why I’m choosing the song Billy Joel has said is the worst song he ever wrote. "It's a song written in French - and I don't even speak French," he told Entertainment Weekly in 2002. "I love the sound of the language, though, so I wrote a song and got this guy to translate my lyrics. I tried to make them fit the song, but it [came out] absurd."
Mangled French or no, I love a song that is bilingual, especially English/French. (I am Canadian, after all!) I love that he attempted it. And although the music is straightforward, the lyrics (at least the English ones) are evocative of that period after a breakup where you know you need to move on but can’t yet. It also has a sense of self awareness in the chorus.
I'm looking for comfort
That I can take from someone else
But after all, I know there is no one
That can save me from myself
You were the only one
This is off of the 1980 album Glass Houses, which for a long time was my favourite Billy Joel album. These days I’m finding I’m not really feeling about half the songs on it but I still love this one. Enjoy your song of the day!
Another unknown Billy Joel track, an interesting and intriguing one!
My wife, originally from Quebec, loves Helene by Roch Voisine. So do I. But we both love it in a different language! Because she loved the French version so much, it kills her whenever I listen to the English version.
Another couple tracks that I prefer in English: Nena’s 99 Luftballoons and Rupert Holmes’ Him. For years I only ever knew the English version of Him until my wife introduced me to the French version which was only ever released in Canada: https://youtu.be/eQNT66xGoO4?si=Cu_z7c8bk1YAZZ_r
Wow! His accept is excellent! Overly self critical.