Thursday, July 19, 2012

I Will Follow Him


Little Peggy March
was only 14 years old when she had the number one hit I Will Follow Him, and she didn't have a whole lot of success in her career after that, but really, this song is so great that she deserves to go down in history for it, alone.

To my surprise it was actually a translation of a French song, "Chariot" that British singer Petula Clark (of "Downtown" fame) had a number one hit with in France the year before the American recording.

I found Clark's version on Youtube.



You can definitely tell it's the same song, thanks to the melody, with that distinctive:

dah DIH DIH, dah DIH DIH , da DIH DIH

But Clark's version is tres Continental, with lots of washy strings and even horns, and a hint of Latin rhythm, like rhumba. Unfortunately I can't find a "real" translation of the French lyrics so I had to rely on Google Translate:
Trolley, trolley, if you want me
To accompany you at the end of the day
Let me come near you
On the big wagon wood and canvas
We will go
Where one side will emerge
In the first reflections of the sky
Before the sun's heat
Under the last star

The plain, the plain, the plain
Will have no border
The earth, the earth will be our field
I like, I like
This old truck that pitches,
Pitching, pitching
If you want me
To sleep by your side always
The moon was in the money
Winter in the snow and wind
So tell me, I go with you
The plain, the plain, the plain
Will have no border
The earth, the earth will see our field
I like, I like
This old truck that trembles
Trembling, trembling
If you want me
Of my life and my mad love
Along the streams and woods
At the heart of the dangers and joys
So tell me, I leave with you.
Judging from the video that Clark made, the "chariot" or "trolly" looks like some Old West type covered wagon.

Now this may not be a great translation, but it gives a flavor of the song - it sounds as though the singer wants to travel around the countryside with the object of her desire. Whereas Little Peggy's version is much more, shall we say, monomaniacal...




Love him, I love him, I love him.
And where he goes I'll follow, I'll follow, I'll follow.
I will follow him.
Follow him wherever he may go.
There isn't an ocean too deep,
A mountain so high it can keeeeeep,
Me away.


I must follow him (follow him)
Ever since he touched my hand I knew,
That near him I always must be.
And nothing can keep him from me.
He is my destiny (destiny).


I love him, I love him, I love him,
And where he goes, I'll follow, I'll follow, I'll follow.
He'll always be my true love, my true love, my true love,
From now until forever, forever, forever.


I will follow him (follow him),
Follow him wherever he may go,
There isn't an ocean too deep,
A mountain so high it can keep,
Keep me away, away from my love.
She must follow him. He is her destiny. Not too much variety, lyrically, although you have to give the singer lots of respect - there isn't an ocean too deep it can keep her away. Dayam. Oceans are deep. I mean it's one thing to say "ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low enough, ain't no river wide enough." But no ocean too deep? Who is she in love with, Jacques Cousteau? She's ready to get into a goddam bathyscaphe for this guy.

So it's not the melody and it's not the lyrics that make the Little Peggy March version so classic, it's the arrangement. What the arrangers did was take the original melody and mix it in with American doo-wop and voila - genius ensues.

The song opens with a drum kick and then goes right into the signature melody line in doo-wop style  - male voices, doing that distinctive "dah DIH DIH, dah DIH DIH , da DIH DIH"

And then Little Peggy chimes in. I find it a small but nevertheless significant choice to start the song out with "Love him" instead of "I love him." The L consonant is a stronger sound to start out with than the I vowel. And it just gets better from there.

The first lyric uses pop-rock instruments - a choppy guitar, drum kit and some kind of keyboard.

I will follow him.
Follow him wherever he may go.
There isn't an ocean too deep,
A mountain so high it can keeeeeep,
Me away.

The next lyric brings in the female chorus, and like Beatles backing vocals, they make all the difference:

Little Peggy: I must follow him 
chorus: follow him  
Little Peggy: Ever since he touched my hand I knew,
Little Peggy: That near him I always must be.
(Under the above lyric the chorus is going ahhhhhh-ahhhh)
Little Peggy: And nothing can keep him from me.
(More ahhhh-ahhh)
Little Peggy: He is my destiny,
chorus: destiny.

Please note the slight difference in the lyric, from I will follow him, to I MUST follow him. And maybe this is reading more deeply into it than is proper, but that female "DEST-in-NEE!" (with drums for punctuation) gets me every time. She is obsessed with this guy, but even in the middle of her obsesiveness there's this awareness of the adolescent ridiculousness of such an obsession. That "DEST-in-NEE!" represents that awareness. And if anybody knows about obsessive desire and the accompanying ridiculousness it's me - I could write a book about it.

So right after the higher consciousness of "DEST-in-NEE" the obsessiveness returns, stronger than ever, with the male doo-wop underlying the refrain:
I love him! 
I love him!
I love him!
And where he goes I'll follow!
I'll follow!
I'll follow!
He'll always be my true love!
My true love!

My true love!
From now until forever!
Forever!
Forever!
The next lyric is really interesting because in spite of the American doo-wop, suddenly strings appear, like in the French version. Well, not quite like the French version. The American version is show-offy - but then it has to be, to compete with the female backing vocals which will remain for the rest of the song:
I will follow him (follow him),
Follow him wherever he may go,
There isn't an ocean too deep,
A mountain so high it can keep,
Keep me away, away from my love.
Notice the violin flourish under "Keep me away"

And then the dramatic pause, which the French version has, but it's not quite as dramatic. And then the refrain returns with the violin doing this emphatic whiiz, whiiz! sound very much not like the French version.
I love him! (violin: whiiz!)
I love him! (violin: whiiz!)
I love him! (violin: whiiz!)
And where he goes I'll follow! (violin: whiiz!)
I'll follow! (violin: whiiz!)
I'll follow! (violin: whiiz!)
He'll always be my true love! (violin: whiiz!)
My true love! (violin: whiiz!)
My true love! (violin: whiiz!)
From now until forever! (violin: whiiz!)
Forever! (violin: whiiz!)
Forever! (violin: whiiz!)
 And now maybe the best irony - the violin becomes soaring and melodic under the lyric, in a very counterpoint classical music style.
I will follow him (follow him),
Follow him wherever he may go,
There isn't an ocean too deep,
A mountain so high it can keep,
Keep me away, away from my love.
And then the chorus jumps in, right in the middle (without the opening "I love him"s) and all the instruments and vocals are going full tilt until it's basically an opera and Mozart would be proud.
Doo-wop:dah DIH DIH, dah DIH DIH , da DIH DIH
Chorus:
And where he goes I'll follow! I'll follow! I'll follow
Soaring violin

Little Peggy: I know I'll always love him, I'll love him, I'll love him

Chorus:                                                    I'll love him, I'll love him

Doo-wop:
dah DIH DIH, dah DIH DIH , da DIH DIH
Soaring violin
Little Peggy: And where he goes I'll follow, I'll follow, I'll follow
Chorus: And where he goes I'll follow, I'll follow, I'll follow

Doo-wop:dah DIH DIH, dah DIH DIH , da DIH DIH
Soaring violin
Little Peggy: I know I'll always love him, I'll love him, I'll love him

Chorus: I know I'll always love him, I'll love him, I'll love him
Doo-wop:dah DIH DIH, dah DIH DIH , da DIH DIH
Soaring violin
Little Peggy: And where he goes I'll follow, I'll follow, I'll follow
Chorus: And where he goes I'll follow, I'll follow, I'll follow

Doo-wop:dah DIH DIH, dah DIH DIH , da DIH DIH
Soaring violin

Fade out


Next time I will analyze the Pixies' Gigantic.