"Né en 17 à Leidenstadt"
Single by Fredericks, Goldman, Jones
from the album Fredericks Goldman Jones
B-side	"Tu manques"
Released	July, 1991
Format	CD single 7" single Cassette
Recorded	France
Genre	Pop
Length	3:51
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Jean-Jacques Goldman
Producer	Jean-Jacques Goldman Erick Benzi
Fredericks, Goldman, Jones singles chronology
"À nos actes manqués" (1991) "Né en 17 à Leidenstadt" (1991) "C'est pas l'amour" (1991)

"Né en 17 à Leidenstadt" is a 1990 song written by Jean-Jacques Goldman. It was the third single from their debut album, Fredericks Goldman Jones, and was released on July 1991. It has been performed twice by Goldman alone, and also by Goldman with Carole Fredericks and Michael Jones, each with a specific verse to sing. An English version exists in which Fredericks and Jones sing in their native language.

[edit] Lyrics and music

In this song, the three singers are wondering if they would have acted differently if they had been in the situation of Germans after the 1918 defeat and during the rise of the Nazism (stating that the composer, Jean-Jacques Goldman, had Polish and Jewish origins and that his mother is German), or in that of Northern Irish who were into civil war, or if they would show more solidarity with blacks if they were born as being white and rich in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Therefore the song deals with the question on the topic of the choice and the position. It ends with the wish to never have to choose a camp.
'Leidenstadt' is an imaginary city whose name is composed of the German words : 'Die Leiden' (the suffering) and 'Die Stadt' (the city).^[1]

According to Goldman, the song was very difficult to compose and record. The introduction, played on the piano, was inspired by the Californian artist Bruce Hornsby.^[1]

The song features as the third track on the 1990 album Fredericks Goldman Jones,^[2] and as the third track too on the 2000 best of Pluriel 90-96.^[3] In the English-speaking countries, the song was released in a bilingual version (French / English) entitled "Born in 1917 in Leidenstadt".

[edit] Chart performances and cover versions

In France, the song was charted for 16 weeks on the official single chart (top 50), from July 6 to October 10, 1991. It started at #33, reached it peaked position, #11, in its eighth week. After that, it almost didn't stop to drop on the chart, but totaled nine weeks in the top 20.^[4]
"Né en 17 à Leidenstadt" is the fourth most successful single of the trio, behind "Nuit", "À nos actes manqués" and "1,2,3".

The song was covered in 2000 by Michel Leclerc (instrumental version), and by Le Collège de l'Esterel in 2002.^[1]

[edit] Track listings

CD single

1. "Né en 17 à Leidenstadt" — 3:51
2. "Tu manques" — 6:03

7" single

1. "Né en 17 à Leidenstadt" — 3:51
2. "Tu manques" — 6:03

Cassette

1. "Né en 17 à Leidenstadt" — 3:51
2. "Tu manques" — 6:03

[edit] Charts

[edit] References

This article incorporates information from the revision as of 2008-05-07 of the equivalent article on the French Wikipedia.

[edit] External links

• "Né en 17 à Leidenstadt", story, lyrics and anecdotes