The Songs We Will Sing.

#84: Where do you go to My Lovely? Peter Sarstedt:1969

Well, just like that Christmas is over for another year! In my home the decorations are taken down by the end of Boxing Day, boxed and stored until 5th December of the next year. You see, Christmas has passed! The joy for me is in the planning, preparation, buying, wrapping, giving, sharing and the memories. Life flows ever forward; our reminisces and memories can bring us much joy and they are wonderful places to visit but we cannot linger too long in them as that is not where we live; we must discipline ourselves to live in the present; it literally is the gift of each new day.

Now, we look toward the New Year of 2023 and as we move into that New Year the process of annual events and celebrations begins all over again. Many folks heap misery into their lives because they dwell in the past, the hurts, the mistakes, the losses, the grievances, and no doubt we all have our share of these! Many events in our lives are never to be forgotten, they have carved into our souls deep canyons of grief or great summits of joy; they are the pivot points on which our character is shaped. But there is a very big difference between acknowledging, remembering, treasuring and growing in wisdom and grace through these events and dwelling there, making ourselves comfortable, wallowing in our misery, living in the past.

We all have our memories and our hopes; but living in the past promotes depression, living in the future promotes anxiety and living in the present demands courage plus a measure of faith and optimism. The song for today is Peter Sarstedt’s 1969 Where do you go to My Lovely? This is Sarstedt’s first and biggest hit. It is the story of a young girl, who was a childhood friend of the singer; they were born into poverty in Naples, Italy, but the young girl grew up to become a member of the jet-set.  The character is not based on any particular person but is a composite personality who represents the successful, rich and beautiful people of the time; a lot of names and locations of the jet set are referenced in the song. It is a haunting ballad; mingled with all the success there is a sadness, scars which never will be overcome or forgotten and the songwriter knows this because he carries the same scars. His advice is to remember, to be honest and face truths but then to forget in order that we might heal our heartaches and salve our scars.

So look into my face Marie-Claire
And remember just who you are
Then go and forget me forever
But I know you still bear
the scar, deep inside, yes you do