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In 1959, Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel wrote and performed “Ne me quitte pas” (Don’t leave me), a visceral and haunting plea for his lover to come back. As a teenager, Maya Angela Smith was so captivated by Nina Simone’s powerful 1965 cover of the song that it inspired her to be a French professor. In Ne me quitte pas, Smith follows the classic song’s long and varied journey, from Brel’s iconic 1966 performance on French television to Simone’s cover to Shirley Bassey’s English-language version (“If You Go Away”) to its contemporary manifestations in popular culture. Throughout, Smith shows that as the song travels across languages, geographies, genres, and generations, it accumulates shifting artistic and cultural significance as each listener creates their own meaning.
Price: $19.95
Pages: 152
Publisher: Duke University Press
Imprint: Duke University Press
Series: Singles
Publication Date:
25 February 2025
Trim Size: 7.00 X 7.00 in
ISBN: 9781478031468
Format: Paperback
BISACs:
“Maya Angela Smith makes a persuasive case for ‘Ne me quitte pas’ as a cultural artifact that survives, travels, perpetuates itself across versions, languages, and audiences—one that is regularly translated and in turn translates its performers and audiences, so that each version has its own autonomy in difference. This insightful book is for anyone who has needed music as a source for transformation.”—Joshua Clover, author of, 1989: Bob Dylan Didn’t Have This to Sing About
“Ne me quitte pas takes the reader on an exciting and beautifully researched journey through the varied afterlives of Jacques Brel’s classic about lost love and despair. Maya Angela Smith’s compelling autobiographical narrative illuminates the song’s enduring relevance as it moves across the often impenetrable borders of race, gender, language, and nation.”—Kimberly Mack, author of, Fictional Blues: Narrative Self-Invention from Bessie Smith to Jack White
"Melding memoir, literary analysis, and cultural criticism, Smith creates a meditation on translation, adaptation, and appropriation. . . . Incorporating literary and cultural theory, Smith considers how race and gender have factored into the performance and reception of the piece, as well as how its meaning has been changed by renditions in film, theater, drag performance, and even a Cirque du Soleil show. A discerning analysis."—Kirkus Reviews
"A fascinating study of language, race, gender and the subtleties that can change completely the meaning of a song, all analysed meticulously. . . . In an age of virality when music seems to stream out of people’s phones as easily as water from a tap, Brel’s 'Ne me quitte pas'—and Maya Angela Smith’s book—are a testament to the power that a single song can still have."—Jeremy Allen, Times Literary Supplement
"This splendid book is a love letter and a dissertation, almost a song in itself."—Jim Kates, The Arts Fuse
"Through persuasive prose, Smith provides a multifaceted analysis of the song, capturing its evolution as a cultural phenomenon. She illustrates how it acts as a vessel for translation, bridging not only French and English, but also marginalized identities and mainstream culture."—Anna Steegmann, New York City Jazz Record
“Ne me quitte pas takes the reader on an exciting and beautifully researched journey through the varied afterlives of Jacques Brel’s classic about lost love and despair. Maya Angela Smith’s compelling autobiographical narrative illuminates the song’s enduring relevance as it moves across the often impenetrable borders of race, gender, language, and nation.”—Kimberly Mack, author of, Fictional Blues: Narrative Self-Invention from Bessie Smith to Jack White
"Melding memoir, literary analysis, and cultural criticism, Smith creates a meditation on translation, adaptation, and appropriation. . . . Incorporating literary and cultural theory, Smith considers how race and gender have factored into the performance and reception of the piece, as well as how its meaning has been changed by renditions in film, theater, drag performance, and even a Cirque du Soleil show. A discerning analysis."—Kirkus Reviews
"A fascinating study of language, race, gender and the subtleties that can change completely the meaning of a song, all analysed meticulously. . . . In an age of virality when music seems to stream out of people’s phones as easily as water from a tap, Brel’s 'Ne me quitte pas'—and Maya Angela Smith’s book—are a testament to the power that a single song can still have."—Jeremy Allen, Times Literary Supplement
"This splendid book is a love letter and a dissertation, almost a song in itself."—Jim Kates, The Arts Fuse
"Through persuasive prose, Smith provides a multifaceted analysis of the song, capturing its evolution as a cultural phenomenon. She illustrates how it acts as a vessel for translation, bridging not only French and English, but also marginalized identities and mainstream culture."—Anna Steegmann, New York City Jazz Record
Maya Angela Smith is Professor of French in the French and Italian Studies Department at the University of Washington.
Introduction 1
1. “Ne me quitte pas”: Jacques Brel Composes the Ultimate Breakup Song
2. “Sorry about the Words, Y’all”: Nina Simone Covers Brel
3. “We’ll Sail on the Sun”: Rod McKuen and Shirley Bassey Translate Hope in a Song about Despair
4. From “Ne me quitte pas” to “If You Go Away”: Adapting Iconic Songs to Film and Stage
Outre
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
1. “Ne me quitte pas”: Jacques Brel Composes the Ultimate Breakup Song
2. “Sorry about the Words, Y’all”: Nina Simone Covers Brel
3. “We’ll Sail on the Sun”: Rod McKuen and Shirley Bassey Translate Hope in a Song about Despair
4. From “Ne me quitte pas” to “If You Go Away”: Adapting Iconic Songs to Film and Stage
Outre
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index