“I had the sun, day and night in Émilie’s eyes…” A remixed version of Joe Dassin’s song In Émilie’s eyes, co-written in 1977 by Pierre Delanoë and Claude Lemesle (L’ Indian summer), could well become the anthem of the supporters during the 2023 Rugby World Cup. This cover of the famous French variety title by the banda landaise Lous Faïences, from Samadet, uses the real voice of Joe Dassin. The remix, already a favorite among lovers of the oval ball and bodegas revelers, thrills the stadiums.
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Jonathan and Julien, the two sons of Joe Dassin, aged 43 and 45 respectively, gave their approval for this remixed version. “It’s so great that a song can have two separate lives. When the original version came out, it did very well. That it is reborn 45 years later, in a context of popular jubilation and celebration, is exceptional. The Connemara Lakes of Sardou is the only other example”, rejoices the youngest in the columns of South-West.
The title quickly became a popular tune in the world of rugby and ferias in the Landes and the Basque Country. “At the beginning of the summer, we were surprised by the streaming reports which showed a spectacular enthusiasm around this song, particularly on TikTok,” Christophe Langris, from Sony Music, reports to our colleagues. At the beginning of August, a sound engineer was sent by the label to mix the original voice of Joe Dassin. The audio tapes immediately returned to Paris.
This remix of In the eyes of Émilie is not new, however. “We created it fifteen years ago. The daughter of one of the musicians in the group came home from an evening saying “mom, it was magnificent: at the evening, everyone was singing In the Eyes of Émilie”. Our arranger Philippe Labeyrou then wrote the scores and we began to play it in the Landes races from 2007. And during a bullfight in the Plumaçon arenas in Mont-de-Marsan, the whole audience got involved. to sing the chorus. We who until then played mainly Spanish music, we added six songs by Joe Dassin to our catalog,” explains Lucie Tastet, member of the Samadétoise Musical Union, where Lous Faïences comes from.
For the Landes band, being exposed nationally in this way is a great adventure. “Everyone is a volunteer in the association,” emphasizes Lucie Tastet. And everything we earn in terms of contracts and commitments goes back to the running of the school, which has 80 students.”
