28 replies to this topic

[Ecrirer]

Karaoke and cover singers are welcome to the use of these lyrics.  

S'il suffisait d'aimer is probably Celine Dion's number two all-time French-language ballad.  Literal translations can be found on Wikipedia and celinedion.us.

N.B. -- Her number one francophone ballad, Pour que tu m'aime encore (lit. "So you will love me again"), was entirely re-written in English as If That's What It Takes, to identical music.  The two songs are alike in meaning, but there is very little correspondence between the sets of lyrics.  The song lived on album sales, perhaps fifth of four singles launched from "Falling Into You".

I stuck as closely as I could to Jean Jacques Goldman's original text in writing these lines.  Why bother to do it at all, though, especially in light of the indifference lavished on If That's What It Takes?

I need these words.  To sing along softly with such music is the way I learned to set my mind at ease before I had ever heard of meditation.  It's the only way I know.

Thanks, Celine (et M'sieur Goldman), for the nights of peaceful sleep.


In dreams I see her eyes, I wake remembering her touch.
I feel her constantly near, just out of reach.
I search my heart for words, my throat for just one breath.
How can I tell her of my love, bereft of speech?

If I could ask of perfect lovers how to defy fate,
I'd be praying the wrong answer, kneeling at love's gate.
My heart watches above her, my soul walks at her side.
The parts of me that cannot speak with her abide.

If it were enough to love her, if to love her were enough ...
If a guiding word would fall to us, out of the sky of blue.
If it were enough to love her, if to love her were enough,
I'd make this world a dream come true,
    to last forever.

Dried petals, vivid things are my island dreams.
Then stranger's tears wash over them in salty streams.
My sandy shores erode, my limbs whip like palm trees.
Shouts burst through nightmare portals on a tempest breeze,

The garden shelters children, the balcony its flowers.
All this and more the haven of my waking hours.
Battles pause waiting for me as night takes the sun.
What weapon comes to hand before I'm overrun?  

If it were enough to love her, if to love her were enough ...
If a guiding word would fall to us, out of the sky of blue.
If it were enough to love her, if to love her were enough,
I'd make this dream a world come true,
    to last forever.

If it were enough to love her, if to love her were enough ...
I would take her hand, look into her eyes, and we would start anew.
If it were enough to love her, if to love her were enough,
We would make this dream a world for two ...

If to love her were enough.

[Ecrirer]

• 
  "The Power of ..." a song.  
  
  
  So just to pass the time until the coffee machine finished, I thought I'd stick my ego's neck out and check the position of the above post in Google.  It's been a little less than eighteen hours.  
  
  I tried two different search terms.  Each is listed in quotes below.  You'll see the page/position in square brackets.  
  
  
  
  "celine dion s'il suffisait d'aimer lyrics english"  [ 3/7 ]  
  
  
  "s'il suffisait d'aimer lyrics english translation"  [ 3/2 ]  
  
  
  The entry:
  
  • 
    
    S'il Suffisant D'aimer - Celine Channel Idol - Celine Dion Forum
    
    
    www.celinedionforum.com › ... › Celine Channel Idol
    
    
    
    17 hours ago - 1 post - ‎1 author... lyrics. S'il suffisait d'aimer is probably Celine Dion's number two all-time ... "So you will love me again"), was entirely re-written in English as If That'... ... Karaoke and cover singers are welcome to the use of these lyrics. S'il  ...
  
  Realistically, nobody ever sees the third page of search results.  The entry has garnered all of thirty views -- including those of 'bots and strangers -- since posting. This forum is a page one entry in its topic.  That's competitive.  
  
  So it's not a white-hot idea.  I just love the song.  
  
  And the coffee machine is done.  
  

[Koolan]

Welcome to the forum! This is my favorite song, it really suits her voice perfectly. Love the sappy melody and the softness and tone of her voice.

I fixed the type in "Suffisait" in the topic title so perhaps it'll gets a better ranking in the search engine results.

[Ecrirer]

Thank you, Koolan.  I don't really know anything about SEO, so I appreciate the tweak.  

Currently, the post sits on Page 3 at the third spot down.  I was surprised to see it hanging in there.  My best estimate was that it would behave like a post on a busy forum, i.e., that it would have its moment and then start to fade.  It seems as the environment of a search engine is somehow less volatile than that of an active Forum.  

Since there's no money at stake in this, I'm having fun with it while it lasts.

[Ecrirer]

I'm beginning to fear that I don't even understand Search, much less SEO and page positioning.  

I searched with this string: "s'il suffisait d'aimer lyrics english translation".  I found the post on the second page, third listing.  

Once again, Koolan, thanks for the exacting eye and the precise touch.  Still I persist in wondering ,,,  On the sub-header of each listing, Google details the number of authors.  I wonder if that means more when ranking a forum post than when ranking a "fixed" page.  

The working definition of SEO, in these days, seems to be that whatever makes Google happy makes a website popular -- and worth bank.  Perhaps a baker's dozen people know what makes Google happy.  I'll lay odds that the even dozen are on the payroll, while the odd one is now but a voice in the wilderness.  

I'd like to find him and buy him a beer or six.

[Ecrirer]

Koolan, that was some tweak!  At the time of this post, the post on the second page, above the fold.  Using the same format as in post #2:

  "s'il suffisait d'aimer english translation" [ 2/2 ];  

  "s'il suffisait d'aimer lyrics english translation" [ 2/4 ].  

I have got to get me one of these!  An SEO skillset, that is ...

[Koolan]

I really don't understand how Google ranks some pages. I know that the topic title is very important though so I edited it to include the additional phrase. Let's see how it goes.

[DionFanAlways]

I have absolutely no clue what yall are talking about   but this is the song from her French repertoire for me
I was so close to hearing her perform this in Vegas, soooo close..............

[ehild]

Thank you for posting this! It's another one of my faves.

[sfbaysinger]

I love this song too. Wow. The way you did the words in English, some of that is actually ow I feel about her. So cool. Oh neat, Vic, this is one of your fave songs? Oh Sherri...so so sorry. You know guys, loving Celine is so exhilarating and thrilling, at other times, through absolutely NO fault of hers, it can be heartbreaking. I wish you could have seen her do this song. I love the vid you put in another topic of her final night in Paris when she let everyone sing the chorus of this song to her. How amazing that must have been LOL

[Jessyka]

DionFanAlways, on 17 September 2014 - 06:15 AM, said:

I have absolutely no clue what yall are talking about   but this is the song from her French repertoire for me

I agree. It was the highlight of everytime I saw her live.

[QueenCeline87]

DionFanAlways, on 17 September 2014 - 06:15 AM, said:

I have absolutely no clue what yall are talking about   but this is the song from her French repertoire for me
I was so close to hearing her perform this in Vegas, soooo close..............

She will be back to us someday and you will get to see it then :-)
It's magical live

[Ecrirer]

Celine may well be the most gracious person in all of show business.  Her fans are gracious people, too.  Thanks all around for your kind responses.  

Thank you, sfbaysinger, for the "like".  I very much enjoyed doing the translation.  Your response is even more of a reward.  And, as I said at the top of the post, you are welcome to use these lyrics in karaoke or in videos on YouTube, Vimeo, etc.  I would consider it a high compliment.  If you do so, please send me a link.  

Thank you, Koolan, for editing the title line.  This post, under that search phrase, has settled in at number twelve on Google.  

I don't have any better ideas.  There's no point in lengthening the title.  A shorter one would probably get lost in a flood of "similar" returns.  We'll see if the added posts bump it up.  

One of the basics of SEO, I've read, is imagery.  An illustration or photo trumps plain text.  A video is higher mojo yet.  

Reading the French lyrics, I get a sense that the song could just as easily be about a better world, but I went with the "unrequited love" sense that seems almost equally apt.  I think I'll start looking around for a piece of public domain art that fits the same meaning.  That ought to get me a bump, if I choose well.

My fondest hope is that some talented, if relatively unknown, singer will record this and post it on YouTube.  I'd be tempted to put it on my resume.  

Again, thank you, one and all!

[Ecrirer]

I just checked my messages, duh!  My manners will improve.  Thank you, Neddo and DionFanAlways for the added likes.  

Do I seem like a hen with only one chick?

[Ecrirer]

Koolan, you're a genius!  

I had been tracking this post under the search phrase" "s'il suffisait d'aimer lyrics english translation".  I kept finding it at number twelve.

The title at the top of the page  reads, "S'il Suffisait D'aimer English Lyrics Translation", an alteration you made.  Under that phrase, the topic is on the first page!!  It's at number seven.  

I don't know how many hits it gets every day.  Google has a series of web metrics following websites.  I wonder if they rate individual pages ...

Edited by Ecrirer, 17 September 2014 - 08:51 PM.

[chocolatechip15]

DionFanAlways, on 17 September 2014 - 06:15 AM, said:

I have absolutely no clue what yall are talking about   but this is the song from her French repertoire for me
I was so close to hearing her perform this in Vegas, soooo close..............

I'm not following the Google search conversation at all either, but I ADORE SISDA. Wish you had gotten to see her sing it in Vegas, Sherri!  The first time I ever heard the song was actually when Celine sang it live on the LTAL tour, before the album was out.  I was captivated by it then, and only grew to love it more.  It's such a wistful, beautiful melody, sung with such delicacy and emotion by Celine . . . the lyrics are also such a welcome contrast from all the over-the-top Love can move mountains types of sentiment . . that wistful ackonwledgment that we *wish* love could be enough, but it's not always.

The lovely performance from July (oh, that opening!!)

Edited by chocolatechip15, 17 September 2014 - 08:54 PM.

[Koolan]

chocolatechip15, on 17 September 2014 - 08:53 PM, said:

I'm not following the Google search conversation at all either, but I ADORE SISDA. Wish you had gotten to see her sing it in Vegas, Sherri!  The first time I ever heard the song was actually when Celine sang it live on the LTAL tour, before the album was out.  I was captivated by it then, and only grew to love it more.  It's such a wistful, beautiful melody, sung with such delicacy and emotion by Celine . . . the lyrics are also such a welcome contrast from all the over-the-top Love can move mountains types of sentiment . . that wistful ackonwledgment that we *wish* love could be enough, but it's not always.

The lovely performance from July (oh, that opening!!)

That was also my first time hearing the song, on September 3, 1998. I remember I had to cut class to make sure to get tickets at J&R Music World in City Hall.

[chocolatechip15]

Koolan, on 17 September 2014 - 09:22 PM, said:

That was also my first time hearing the song, on September 3, 1998. I remember I had to cut class to make sure to get tickets at J&R Music World in City Hall.

I heard it on August 31, 1998, at her Long Island show just a few days before the show you saw!  I was in school the day the tickets went on sale, and my mom got them after spending literally five hours on the phone trying to get through to Ticketmaster. Those were the days . .before everything was done online.

[flutefreak]

Love the performance from July.   I can't stop watching that video!

[Ecrirer]

Okay.  I managed to pull back from the keyboard for about a day.  Once again, my thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread, and thanks to everyone who has chipped in a "Like".  

For the two or three of us interested in the side issue (the music comes first, always) of how this thread is faring in Google, I searched under three phrases.  Key -- [page/pos'n]

  S'il Suffisait D'aimer English Lyrics Translation    [1/7]

S'il Suffisait D'aimer English Translation    [2/1]

S'il Suffisait D'aimer English [2/5]

I've been trying to figure out what Google looks at in assessing relevance.  If it were enough to tweak the title line, the thread would rank [1/1] under the first phrase and much lower under the two shorter, and inherently more common, search phrases.  

Google looks at content.  If you put keywords in the heading, Google then compares your selection with your content.  My reading hints that you can actually poison your standing by adding keywords that are guaranteed to draw a crowd ("sex") but have little to do with your content (the love of music).  

And, yes Virginia, there is a code-scanning elf looking at your markup.  You can plant "invisible" words on a site just by setting the color of that text to the color of the background.  Bad Web coder!  No Skittles!  

Of course, the same technique also hides "Easter eggs", little bits of added value to entertain and intrigue the visitor.  If you suspect you are viewing a page that uses this technique, right-click and "Select All" on the context menu.  Any hidden text will pop out in high contrast.  Coding trivia ends here.  

All in all, I wouldn't change anything.  I suspect that the thread would drop in the rankings under all three phrases if I asked Koolan to edit out "Lyrics" and/or "Translation" from the title line.  

The next task is to find a singer, strictly an amateur, who might be interested in doing a video.  If I have to do it myself, I don't know if I could stand the pain.  

Again, thanks to Koolan, sfbaysinger, chocolatechip15 and everyone else who has added to this thread.  I am honored.

[DionFanAlways]

Interesting topic!

[sfbaysinger]

I'm not following the google search discussion either. Oh man, I was so close to the ltal tour but didn't get there. Thankfully she does not mention Oakland very often. LOL I remember the days of getting tickets via phone. The phone is made for a blind person who can talk very well, the internet, not as much, thank goodness for the technology I have. Anyway, OMG that opening. I was like, no, she did not just do that. But yes she did and I can't stop thinking about the way she did it. I sooo hope she will come back to us and hopefully do that song live. It is amazing I am sure, especially in Paris/Quebec.

[Ecrirer]

I don't mean to bore everybody, so this post will be more about the song and less about the statistics.  

sfbaysinger, I am distressed by your recent injury and amazed by the way you have adapted within a few months to a new skillset.  I am proud to hear from you in this thread.  You write with crystal clarity.  

I have to agree with so many posters who comment on the difference between Pour Que Tu M'aime Encore and If That What It Takes.  The French-language song sounds better.  Perhaps the stressed syllables fall more naturally on the beat in French than they do in English, although there is no faulting Celine's interpretation in either language.  

The English lyrics were written by Phil Galdston, a veteran songwriter who has written other pieces for Celine and for my third favorite female vocalist, Vanessa Williams.  Perhaps he was somewhat hampered by the music.  Reginald Dwight always wrote melody around Bernie Taupin's lyrics.  

I doubt that.  Celine fits the lyrics into the melody squarely on the beat.  She is skilled in the technical aspects of her profession, and so empathic as to know what sounds good to the audience.  Any singer knows that what sounds good inside your head doesn't necessarily sound good at all in the next person's ear.  

I'm afraid that there are spots in the lyrics I have written that don't fit quite so well as Galdston's.  But Galdston had a relatively free hand, confined only by the overall meaning of the song.  In writing S'il Suffisait d'Aimer English Lyrics Translation, I never assumed so much liberty.  I feel I would have needed JJ Goldman's permission to go my own way with his melody.  If I had done so without asking, I would no longer have been simply translating.  I would have felt as though I were stealing Goldman's melody.  

I have done some tweaking -- more progression in the choruses and detail changes that make a small difference in the scansion.  Remember that no creative work was ever completed, only abandoned.

[sfbaysinger]

Not to get all artistic or philosophical, but I don't agree with that. I do think some work is completed, though, what is completion if not measured in degrees? I'm also sorry to disagree about the English version. I think it is amazing too and doesn't sound bad, though I realize that's not how you said it. I thank you for your condolences, they never come too late for such a thing. She really is one of the few things that have sutained/kept me going. I also thank you for your compliment of my writing, it is one of the few things I still have left to be truly proud of.

[Ecrirer]

So take every chance you get to write.  It's good for you.  

About that aphorism ...  "Art is never finished, only abandoned" is a phrase universally attributed to Leonardo da Vinci.  Even he did not mean it literally.  He was comparing the anxiety of investing in a creation only to find, and willy-nilly transcend, the limits of the endeavor to the anxiety of loss.  The only thing to do in this life is move on, however much we would like to snuggle up and stay in our comfort zones.  

The only tattoo I have is my son's name and birthdate.  If you're into body art, though, da Vinci's truism would be very appropriate to what little I know about you.  And it would still be private, because nobody would get the meaning until and unless you let them in on it.

What about your singing?  Have you ever sung for people?  Or are you (like me) private and meditative?  

Edited by Ecrirer, 23 September 2014 - 12:34 PM.

[sfbaysinger]

I don't do body art, but do understand how much I stand to lose in my pottery. A piece can SO Easily break in that kiln and we learn real fast not to get attached to a piece. I have dropped/broken pieces long after they survived the harsh unforgiving heat of the kiln. I love writing. I did sing publicly for people, but now that I have no sight, no one wants to hear me. I mean, look at it, how many blind women have you seen singing? We're getting off topic, so before a mod interferes, let's those of us who want to discuss art in general find another outlet for this conversation. The last thing I want is to get in trouble again with Vic or with anyone else.

[Ecrirer]

sfbaysinger, on 23 September 2014 - 11:31 PM, said:

... before a mod interferes, let's those of us who want to discuss art in general find another outlet ...

Sensible enough.  Back on track then.  

I mentioned that I had slightly revised the lyrics for scansion, and for progression in the choruses.  The progression occurs in the second and fourth lines of each chorus and goes from general to specific.  

The rhyme scheme is flawed (no, duh).  The only flaw is in the first verse, which rhymes A-B-C-B.  The other three verses all rhyme A-A-B-B.  The choruses rhyme A-B-A-B.  Tying the first verse to the chorus makes for a tighter structure.  Also, that first verse will memorize more easily.

Herewith, the updated lyrics, with revisions in blue.  


In dreams I see her eyes, I wake remembering her touch.
I feel her constantly near, just out of my reach.
I search my heart for words, my throat for just so much.
How can I tell her of my love, bereft of speech?

If I could ask of perfect lovers how they defy fate,
I'd be praying the wrong answer, kneeling at love's gate.
My heart watches above, my soul walks at her side.
The parts of me that cannot speak with her abide.

If it were enough to love her, if to love her were enough ...
If a guiding word would fall to us, out of the sky of blue.
If it were enough to love her, if to love her were enough,
I'd make this world a dream come true,
to last forever.

Dried petals, vivid things are my island dreams.
Then stranger's tears wash over them in salty streams.
My sandy shores erode, my limbs whip like palm trees.
Shouts burst through nightmare portals on a tempest breeze,

The garden shelters children, the balcony its flowers.
All this and more the haven of my waking hours.
Wars pause waiting for me as night overtakes the sun.
What weapon comes to hand before I'm overrun?  

If it were enough to love her, if to love her were enough ...
If a blessing word would fall to us, out of the heavens blue.
If it were enough to love her, if to love her were enough,
I'd make this dream a world come true,
to last forever.

If it were enough to love her, if to love her were enough ...
I would take her hand, look into her eyes, and we would start anew.
If it were enough just to love her, if to love her were enough,
We would make this dream a world for two ...

If to love her were enough.

[chocolatechip15]

Koolan, on 17 September 2014 - 09:22 PM, said:

That was also my first time hearing the song, on September 3, 1998. I remember I had to cut class to make sure to get tickets at J&R Music World in City Hall.

Koolan, have you seen this video? -- It's Celine singing SSDA in New York in '98.  They say it's the same day the album was released - not sure if this was 9/3 or 9/4/98, but maybe this was the show you saw!  (SSDA starts at 2:40):



Also, if you're interested, parts 3 and 4 of this special are almost entirely about the New York show -- this one shows Tommy Mottola greeting Rene backstage, and Rene (mis)quoting the Frank Sinatra song New York New York (it's "can make it anywhere" not "everywhere.") (at 2:24):

Edited by chocolatechip15, 27 September 2014 - 08:11 PM.

[Koolan]

chocolatechip15, on 27 September 2014 - 07:54 PM, said:

Koolan, have you seen this video? -- It's Celine singing SSDA in New York in '98.  They say it's the same day the album was released - not sure if this was 9/3 or 9/4/98, but maybe this was the show you saw!  (SSDA starts at 2:40):



Also, if you're interested, parts 3 and 4 of this special are almost entirely about the New York show -- this one shows Tommy Mottola greeting Rene backstage, and Rene (mis)quoting the Frank Sinatra song New York New York (it's "can make it anywhere" not "everywhere.") (at 2:24):

I had the video but don't remember seeing it. Wow, she sounds better than the "official" version from Chicago. Too bad I cannot find the photos I took to check if it was from the same night.