C'est une belle journée

Infobox Single |
Name = C'est une belle journée


Cover size =
Artist = Mylène Farmer
from Album = Les Mots
Released = April 16, 2002
Format = CD single CD maxi 7" maxi Digital download (since 2005)
Recorded = 2001, France
Genre = Pop
Length = 4:10
Label = Polydor
Writer = Text : Mylène Farmer Music : Laurent Boutonnat
Producer = Laurent Boutonnat
Certification = Gold France, 2002
Chronology = Mylène Farmer singles
Last single = "Les Mots (2001)
This single = "C'est une belle journée" (2002)
Next single = "Pardonne-moi" (2002)
Misc = Extra album cover
Upper caption = Alternate cover
Background = khaki


Lower caption = CD maxiExtra tracklisting
Album = Les Mots
Type = compilation
prev_track = "Rêver"
prev_no = 6
this_track = "C'est une belle journée"
track_no = 7
next_track = L'Âme-stram-gram"
next_no = 8Extra tracklisting
Album = Music Videos IV
Type = Video
prev_track = "Pardonne-moi"
prev_no = 2
this_track = "C'est une belle journée"
track_no = 3
next_track = "Fuck Them All"
next_no = 4Extra tracklisting
Album = Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy
Type = live
prev_track = "Q.I"
prev_no = 8
this_track = "C'est une belle journée"
track_no = 9
next_track = "Ange, parle-moi"
next_no = 10

"C'est une belle journée" (French for "It's a Beautiful Day") is a 2001 song recorded by the French artist Mylène Farmer. Second single from her best of "Les Mots", it was released on April 16, 2002. Dealing with suicide on a dance music, the song achieved a great success in France where it remains ranked for several months on the top 50.

Background and writing

In February 2002, Universal and Stuffed Monkey decided to release "C'est une belle journée", one of the three unreleased from the compilation "Les Mots" and announced it officially in March. However, due to the huge success of the single "Les Mots", recorded as a duet with Seal, the new single was not released before April 2002."C'est une belle journée" [http://www.sans-logique.com/mylene-farmer/discographie/singles/single.php?single=cest-une-belle-journee Sans-logique.com] (Retrieved December 21, 2007)]

Several remixes were produced on the three media (CD single, CD maxi, 12" maxi): 'elegie's club remix ', by Blue Planet Corporation, 'such a beautiful day's remix' and 'beauty and bed remix', by StarCity , 'what a souci's remix', by Tom Novy. Another remix was only available on the German Promotional CD single, 'elegie's remix club radio edit', also by Blue Planet Corporation. In 2004, a new remix was made by Devis Head, engineered by Jérôme Devoise at Studio Guillaume Tell, in Paris. Two other CDs maxi were released in Germany and Canada, with the same track listings than the French one, but with a crystal case. The promotional CD contains two white feathers : one on the cover (at the end of the word "journée"), the other inside.

The promotional CD single was sent to the radio on March 4, 2002, then the promotionnal vinyl on )]

Like for her other singles, Mylène Farmer wrote the text, while Laurent Boutonnat composed the music. The photography was directed by Ellen von Unwerth, and the cover's design was made by Henry Neu. About the lyrics, Farmer, interviewed by TF1, confessed to have changed the words of the chorus afterthought. Initially, "C'est une belle journée, je vais me tuer", which could be taken as an incitement to suicide by vulnerable people, has been finally replaced by "C'est une belle journée, je vais me coucher". [Interview, "Sept à Huit", TF1, January 2006]

The song was performed during the 2006 tour.

Music and lyrics

Elia Habib, an expert of French charts, considers that "C'est une belle journée" "has an intro worthy of a 1980s opus of Pet Shop Boys". According to him, it "is a song with a tempo surprisingly cheerful" ; however, he maintains : "Under this cover unusual are concealed again recurring themes of the Farmer's anthology : death, nostalgia, vision of a world torn between good and evil, brevity of life". [Elia Habib, "Muz hit. tubes", p. 554 (ISBN 2-9518832-0-X)]

In this song, Farmer talks about "her irresistible need to see the bad side of things, contrary to most people". This song is very similar in its structure to "Je t'aime mélancolie" : indeed, the two songs have very dance sonorities and deal with the same gloomy themes. At the level of the semantic field, the death and religious references are present, including the angels in the refrain."Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer", Benoît Cachin, 2006, Tournon Ed., p. 69-72]

According to the French magazine "Instant-Mag", "we find [in this song] all Farmer and Boutonnat's art of the beautiful time, namely involve very delicately melancholy lyrics and skipping music, or even a bit commercial". "Apology of suicide, sleep, pessimism, departure", the song is "a call to sacrifice, to let go, to flee to a world of spiritual and physical peace". ["Instant-Mag", No. 9, 2002, p. 12] "Behind the joyful and optimistic notes of the song, we can perceive stenchs much less happy and much more ambiguous. Farmer is in a pessimistic perspective, referring to the death behind the apparent sleep, the emptiness instead of the full, the completion instead of the beginning, and the flight as a reunion." There is also a parallel with "Le Dormeur du val", written by the French poet Arthur Rimbaud."Instant-Mag", No. 10, 2002, p. 12]

Music video

On the Internet, some fans asserted that the videoclip would be released as a digipack DVD in a limited edition and would contain the making of. There are also rumors about the fact that the video would be produced from the singer's drawings - and that was indeed the case -, ["L'Est Républicain", June 26, 2002, "Quelle belle journée", Jean-Paul Germonville [http://www.devant-soi.com/Monde-de-Myl%E8ne/presse/articles-presse/2002/L'est_republicain_26062002.jpgDevant-soi.com] (Retrieved March 22, 2008)] as it had done for the CD maxi and vinyl's covers for "Dessine-moi un mouton".

Finally, for the first time in the star's career, the video, directed by Benoît Di Sabatino, was produced as a cartoon film. ["Animeland", June 2002 [http://www.devant-soi.com/Monde-de-Myl%E8ne/presse/articles-presse/2002/Animeland_82_062002.jpgDevant-soi.com] (Retrieved March 22, 2008)] Shot in Paris, it cost about 120,000 euros. As always, it was a Requiem Publishing and Stuffed Monkey production, and the screenplay was written by Farmer. ["C'est une belle journée", videoclip [http://www.mylenefarmeriscalled.net/cubjclip.html Mylenefarmeriscalled.net] (Retrieved December 23, 2007)] The music video was announced in the media.

In addition to Farmer, the video features a young girl, Lisa, who has already appeared on the cover of the second Marc Levy's novel, "Où es-tu ?", a sheep (already seen on "Dessine-moi un mouton"'s cover), ["L'Intégrale Mylene Farmer", Erwan Chuberre, 2007, City Ed., p. 67-68 (ISBN 978-2-35288-108-7)] a spider (initially created for the program of the 1996 tour) and a rat, in a childish style. There are several references to "Le Petit Prince", a 1943 Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's novella.

At the beginning of the video, we see a dead tree and leaves flying. A slender young woman (Farmer) begins the day doing some stretchs on her bed. By inadvertently, she kicks her sheep and looks for it around her. Then while she haves a bath, a spider appears in a phylactery. The sheep eats the soap, hiccups, finds itself in a bubble and falls in the bathtub. Then, at noon, Farmer encloses the sheep in her refrigerator. She sits on it and swings her legs to the rhythm of the clock's hands which goes round very quickly. Farmer then juggles with her frozen sheep. In the afternoon, she goes on her bed, plays with a spider and seems to be very sad. Suddenly, a young boy appears at the door, hung by the feet. He plays with a ball and flies to the dead tree. Farmer looks at him for a while, and eventually follows him. There the boy dances and plays leapfrog. The sheep, a car and some words fly at their turn. At the end of the day, Farmer lies down with the sheep and the video ends with a mention "To be continued". ["C'est une belle journée", videoclip [http://www.sans-logique.com/mylene-farmer/clips/clip.php?clip=cest-une-belle-journee Sans-logique.com] (Retrieved December 28, 2007)]

According to some analyses, the video underlines the languor and the nostalgia. In this context, the dead tree could illustrate the faded beauty of the world, the spider would be the personification of the singer's black thoughts, while the sheep would represent Farmer's lost dreams and deepest disillusionment. The clock's hands going round quickly are likely to illustrate the time gap between physical and mental time. As for the little girl, she would represent Farmer when she was younger and carefree. However, the final words leave a glimmer of hope. The fact that the child was hung by the feet at a certain time might refer to Œdipus, but also to Farmer's song "Jardin de Vienne" in which a child finds freedom by hanging. ["Mylène Farmer - La part d'ombre", Caroline Bee, Antoine Bioy & Benjamin Thiry, 2005, Archipel Ed., p. 134-135]

Chart performances

Like "Les Mots", this song is one of the few Farmer's singles to have a long running in the French SNEP Singles Chart, proving that it has managed to win over the general public. It debuted at number 5, its peak position, on April 20, and maintained for 10 weeks in the top 20, thanks to numerous broadcasts by various radio stations. The single left the chart after its 25th week of attendance, on October 5."C'est une belle journée", French SNEP Singles Chart [http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Myl%E8ne+Farmer&titel=C%27est+une+belle+journ%E9e&cat=s Lescharts.com] (Retrieved December 21, 2007)] Certified Gold disc 5 months after its release by the SNEP, for selling over 200,000 copies in France,2002 certifications [http://www.disqueenfrance.com/certifications/single.asp?suite=3&forme_certif=7&annee=19 Disqueenfrance.com] (Retrieved December 21, 2007)] "C'est une belle journée" peaked at number thirty-eight (#38) in the 2002 French singles year end chart, five places behind the former single "Les Mots" (#33).2002 French Singles Chart [http://www.ifop.com/europe/sondages/discannu/single02.stm Ifop.com] (Retrieved December 21, 2007)]

In Belgium (Wallonia), the single started to number 20 in the Ultratop 40 Singles Chart on May 1 before jumping to its best position, #11, the week after. It stabilized for its seven following weeks in the top 20, and stayed in the chart until August 7."C'est une belle journée", Belgian (Wallonia) Ultratop 40 Singles Chart [http://www.ultratop.be/fr/showitem.asp?key=13961&cat=s Ultratop.be] (Retrieved January 3, 2007)] It was the 51th best selling single in 2002 Belgian Ultratop Singles Chart, well ahead of the two other Farmer's singles released that year : "Les Mots" (#81) and "Pardonne-moi" (#85).2002 Belgian Ultratop Singles Chart [http://www.skynet.be/index.html?l1=entertainment&l2=ultratop&l3=yearview&fetchlist=grab&type=100_singles&yr=2002&new_lang=fr Skynet.be] (Retrieved December 21, 2007)]

TV performances and cover versions

Farmer performed the song in playback in two television programs. ["C'est une belle journée", 2002 [http://www.mylene.net/mylene/d_s_cubj.php Mylene.net] (Retrieved December 21, 2007)] These TV performances was conducted with a great deal of relaxation. The choreography, "fluid, joyful" and carried out with two female dancers, "was much less ceremonial than that of "L'Âme-stram-gram"", and Farmer was smiling more than usual. At each performance, she wore a hat on the head.

First, Farmer sang "C'est une belle journée" on April 27, on the nationally-acclaimed show "Hit Machine" on M6.

Then, she performed the song on "Zidane Ela", ["La Dernière Heure", April 2, 2002, "Le retour de Mylène Farmer" [http://www.devant-soi.com/Monde-de-Myl%E8ne/presse/articles-presse/2002/La_derniere_heure_02042002.jpgDevant-soi.com] (Retrieved March 22, 2008)] broadcast on France 2, on May 19. For the first and only time, she appeared in the trailer, announcing herself her performance in the broadcast (the fact that the singer sang that day in a humanitarian purpose may have been a factor). Around the end of the song, feathers are launched on the set.

In 2003, the single was covered by the French singers MC Solaar, Alain Souchon and Jean-Louis Aubert, at time of Les Enfoirés tour. Their version is available on the album "La Foire aux Enfoirés" (track 14, CD 1, 4:07). [Les Enfoirés, "La Foire aux Enfoirés" [http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Les+Enfoir%E9s&titel=La+foire+aux+Enfoir%E9s&cat=a Lescharts.com] (Retrieved December 21, 2007)]

Formats and track listings

; CD single
# "C'est une belle journée" (single version) — 4:10
# "C'est une belle journée" (instrumental) — 4:15

; CD maxi - Digipack
# "C'est une belle journée" (single version) — 4:10
# "C'est une belle journée" (elegie's remix club) — 7:10
# "C'est une belle journée" (such a beautiful day's remix) — 8:05
# "C'est une belle journée" (what a souci's remix) — 4:10

; 7" maxi
# "C'est une belle journée" (belle and bed remix) — 8:10
# "C'est une belle journée" (elegie's remix club) — 7:10

; 7" maxi - Picture disc
# "C'est une belle journée" (belle and bed remix) — 8:10
# "C'est une belle journée" (elegie's remix club) — 7:10

; CD maxi - Canada
# "C'est une belle journée" (single version) — 4:10
# "C'est une belle journée" (elegie's remix club) — 7:10
# "C'est une belle journée" (such a beautiful day's remix) — 8:05
# "C'est une belle journée" (what a souci's remix) — 4:10; CD maxi - Germany
# "C'est une belle journée" (single version) — 4:10
# "C'est une belle journée" (elegie's remix club) — 7:10
# "C'est une belle journée" (such a beautiful day's remix) — 8:05
# "C'est une belle journée" (what a souci's remix) — 4:10

; Digital download
# "C'est une belle journée" (album version) — 4:15
# "C'est une belle journée" (live at Bercy 2006) — 8:21
# "C'est une belle journée" (Devil Head remix) — 5:10

; CD single - Promo
# "C'est une belle journée" (single version) — 4:00

; CD single - Promo - Luxurious edition
# "C'est une belle journée" (single version) — 4:00

; CD single - Promo - Germany
# "C'est une belle journée" (single version) — 4:10
# "C'est une belle journée" (elegie's remix club radio edit) — 3:42

; 7" maxi - Promo
# "C'est une belle journée" (belle and bed remix) — 8:10
# "C'est une belle journée" (elegie's remix club) — 7:10

; VHS - Promo
# "C'est une belle journée" (video)

Versions

; Official versions

References