À quoi je sers...

Single infobox |
Name = À quoi je sers...


Artist = Mylène Farmer
from Album = En concert
Released = July 1989
Format = CD maxi
7" single
7" maxi
Digital download (since 2005)
Recorded = 1989, France
Genre = Pop
Length = 4:35
Label = Polydor
Writer = Text : Mylène Farmer
Music : Laurent Boutonnat
Producer = Laurent Boutonnat
Certification =
Chronology = Mylène Farmer singles
Last single = "Sans logique"
(1989)
This single = "À quoi je sers..."
(1989)
Next single = "Allan (live)"
(1989)Extra tracklisting
Album = En concert
Type = live
prev_track = "Allan"
prev_no = 9
this_track = "À quoi je sers..."
track_no = 1
next_track = "Sans logique"
next_no = 2Extra tracklisting
Album = Les Clips Vol. III
Type = Video
prev_track = "Sans logique"
prev_no = 1
this_track = "À quoi je sers..."
track_no = 2
next_track = "Allan (live)"
next_no = 3Extra tracklisting
Album = Dance Remixes
Type = compilation
prev_track = "Plus grandir"
prev_no = 7
this_track = "À quoi je sers..."
track_no = 8
next_track =
next_no = Extra tracklisting
Album = Music Videos III
Type = Video
prev_track = "Sans logique"
prev_no = 7
this_track = "À quoi je sers..."
track_no = 8
next_track = "Désenchantée"
next_no = 9Extra tracklisting
Album = Les Mots
Type = compilation
prev_track = "Sans logique"
prev_no = 8
this_track = "À quoi je sers..."
track_no = 9
next_track = ""
next_no = 10

"À quoi je sers..." (English: "To Whom I Serve...") is a 1989 song recorded by the French artist Mylène Farmer. The single was a new song when it was released in July 1989, being not available on Farmer's studio albums, but only in a live version on "En concert". Marking the end of Farmer's first period of work, it hit a moderate success in France.

Background and writing

In May 1989, Farmer began her first tour throughout France, which was a great success. However, the singer and her partner Laurent Boutonnat decided to record a new single, "À quoi je sers..." with another unpublished song on the B-side, "La Veuve noire" (whose music is very similar to that of "À quoi je sers..."). Both songs were recorded fairly quickly. However, due to the success of the previous single "Sans logique", "À quoi je sers..." was not released before July 1989. Little broadcast on radio, the song appeared as a synthesis of the singer's work and marked the end of the first period of Farmer's career."À quoi je sers...", L'histoire de la chanson : une annonce de fin de carrière ? [http://www.mylenefarmeriscalled.net/aquoiglob.html Mylenefarmeriscalled.net] (Retrieved December 31, 2007)]

The song was sung during the 1989 tour. It was included in the track listing of "Mylenium Tour" (Farmer performed the song at the time of the rehearsal in Marseille), but was finally replaced by "Il n'y a pas d'ailleurs".

Lyrics and music

The song, whose lyrics are very pessimistic, is "about madness, the desire of suicide and the impression of the futility of the life". ["À quoi je sers...", analysis of lyrics [http://www.mylenefarmeriscalled.net/aquoijeserstexte.html Mylenefarmeriscalled.net] (Retrieved December 31, 2007)] The beginning of each verse is inspired by the French writer Luc Dietrich, whose books are known to have a morbid tone. ["Instant-Mag", No. 4, 2000, p. 23-24]

According to some observers, this song could summed up by itself, the entire universe, atmosphere and themes evoked in Farmer's work. The name of the song ends with three suspension points - not a question mark - suggesting "the singer had doubts about her usefulness on Earth". ["Mylène Farmer Influences", Benoît Cachin, 2006, Mascara Ed., p. 8,9 (ISBN 978-2351440261)] The black and white cover's photograph shows Farmer in her dressing room after one of her concerts at the Palais des Sports (Paris) drying a tear with a handkerchief. As a result, the song could refer to the "loneliness that invades an artist after his exit from the stage"."Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer", Benoît Cachin, 2006, Tournon Ed., p. 21-24]

Music video

For the first and only time in Farmer's career, Laurent Boutonnat directed the video and wrote its screenplay (usually, it's Farmer who composes the latter). It's a Requiem Publishing production which was shot for two days in Cherbourg (France), the same location as for "Sans contrefaçon", with a budget of about 30,000 euros. Moreover, it is the first Farmer's video to be in black and white. All characters from previous singer's video appear in "À quoi je sers...", however, as the actors who first performed the roles were not all free for the shooting, the characters are in fact body doubles in this video, except the toreador from "Sans logique". ["À quoi je sers...", videoclip [http://www.mylenefarmeriscalled.net/aquoiclip.html Mylenefarmeriscalled.net] (Retrieved December 31, 2007)] According to some sources, Farmer would have been seasick during the shooting. ["Instant-Mag", No. 6, 2001, p. 14] The actor who plays the boatman is Slim Pezin, the Farmer's guitarist.

At the beginning of the video, Farmer stands at the side of a pond, with a suitcase in her hand. A man on a boat appears through the fog and Farmer climbs aboard. Using a long paddle, the man rows to move the boat. After a while, five silhouettes appear, walking on the water (these characters are Rasoukine ["Tristana"] , the rival ["Libertine"] , the puppeteer ["Sans contrefaçon"] , the English captain ["Pourvu qu'elles soient douces"] and the torero ["Sans logique"] ). ["L'Intégrale Mylene Farmer", Erwan Chuberre, 2007, City Ed., p. 22-23 (ISBN 978-2-35288-108-7)] Farmer joined them, while the boat goes away. ["À quoi je sers...", videoclip [http://www.sans-logique.com/mylene-farmer/clips/clip.php?clip=a-quoi-je-sers Sans-logique.com] (Retrieved December 31, 2007)]

According to some analyses, the video is based on the text "La Maison des morts", composed by the French poet Guillaume Apollinaire. In this case, the pond would represent the death ["Instant-Mag", No. 6, 2001, p. 20] ; it also may be an allegory of the Styx, one of the rivers of Hell in Greek mythology, referring to the Farmer's passage from world of the living to that of the dead. ["Mylène Farmer, la part d'ombre", Caroline Bee, Antoine Bioy and Benjamin Thiry, January 2006, Archipel Ed., p. 314] As for the walk of the characters in the pond at the end of the video, it would evoke the idea that everyone is forced to continue his own life with his memories and his anxieties without asking too many questions.

Critical reception

"France Soir" considered this single as a "miserable response to "On est tous des imbéciles" and "Sans logique"". ["France Soir", August 1, 1989, "Le Disque du jour", Florence Tredez [http://www.devant-soi.com/Monde-de-Myl%E8ne/presse/articles-presse/1989/France_soir_010889.jpgDevant-soi.com] (Retrieved March 19, 2008)] In contrast, "Spot Light" qualified this song as "the more beautiful slow song of the year". ["Spot Light", September 1989 [http://www.devant-soi.com/Monde-de-Myl%E8ne/presse/articles-presse/1989/Spot_light_0989.jpgDevant-soi.com] (Retrieved March 30, 2008)] "Graffiti" described "À quoi je sers" as "a fluid, slight and fast unforgettable song (...) which will arouse the interest of the crowds". ["Graffiti", September 1989 [http://www.devant-soi.com/Monde-de-Myl%E8ne/presse/articles-presse/1989/GRAFFITI_0989.jpgDevant-soi.com] (Retrieved March 30, 2008)] For "Jeune et Jolie", it was "one of the most beautiful texts that [Farmer] had ever sang". ["Jeune et Jolie", September 1989 [http://www.devant-soi.com/Monde-de-Myl%E8ne/presse/articles-presse/1989/Jeune_et_jolie_0989.jpgDevant-soi.com] (Retrieved March 30, 2008)]

TV and chart performances

In 1989, Farmer participated in three TV shows in which she performed "À quoi je sers..." : "J'y crois dur comme terre" (September 2, TF1), "Sacrée Soirée" (September 6, TF1), "Avis de recherche" (September 15, TF1). ["À quoi je sers...", TV performances [http://www.sans-logique.com/mylene-farmer/discographie/repertoire-des-chansons.php?chanson=a-quoi-je-sers Sans-logique.com] (Retrieved December 31, 2007)]

The single, which was released only in France, was unable to reach the Top 10. It started in the Top 50 on August 12 at #29 and reached its peak position (#16) six weeks later, and here stayed for two weeks. After this, it fell almost continuously and left the chart after 14 weeks of attendance, on November 18."À quoi je sers...", French Singles Chart [http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Myl%E8ne+Farmer&titel=%C0+quoi+je+sers&cat=s Lescharts.com] (Retrieved December 31, 2007)]

Formats and track listings

; CD maxi
# "À quoi je sers..." (club remix) — 7:50
# "La Veuve noire" — 4:13
# "À quoi je sers..." (single version) — 4:35

; 7" singleA-side :
# "À quoi je sers..." (single version) — 4:35B-side :
# "La Veuve noire" — 4:13

; 7" maxiA-side :
# "À quoi je sers..." (club remix) — 7:50 B-side :
# "La Veuve noire" — 4:13
# "À quoi je sers..." (single version) — 4:35; Digital download
# "À quoi je sers..." (single version) — 4:35
# "À quoi je sers..." (live version) — 5:05
# "À quoi je sers..." (club remix) — 7:50

; 7" single - PromoA-side :
# "À quoi je sers..." (single version) — 4:39 B-side :
# "À quoi je sers..." (orchestral version) — 4:39

Versions

; Official versions

References