Barbara / Discover the story behind her song “Göttingen” and listen to our exclusive playlist!

The late Barbara (whose real name was Monique Andrée Serf) was a French singer-songwriter, born on June 9, 1930, in Paris and died on November 24, 1997, in Neuilly-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine). Many of her songs have become timeless classics of French music, including: “L’Aigle noir”, “Au bois de Saint-Amand”, “Une petite cantate”, “Dis, quand reviendras-tu ?”, “Nantes”, “La Dame brune”, “Marienbad”, “Ma plus belle histoire d’amour” and “Göttingen”.

In the latest episode of our Once Upon a Song video series, Bertrand Dicale (narrator) and Dugudus (illustrator) tell the story of “Göttingen”, one of Barbara’s most moving songs. It tells the story of how an artist forever marked by war and exile finds, in a small German town, an unexpected path to reconciliation. Between childhood memories, the wounds of history, and rediscovered fraternity, “Göttingen” becomes much more than a song: a bridge between two peoples long at war.

We also invite you to listen to our exclusive playlist, “Who Sampled and Covered Barbara?”, dedicated to Barbara’s legendary catalog. There you’ll discover a selection of tracks by this icon of French music, sampled or covered by artists from around the world including Gotye, Angélique Kidjo, Patrick Bruel, Zaho de Sagazan, Louane, Alexandre Tharaud, Flore benguigui & The Sensible Notes, Daphné & Benjamin Biolay, Stacey Kent & Graham Harvey, Baptiste Trotignon, Sapho, Hugues Auffray, Claudia Meyer, Julien Clerc, Talya Eliav, Mathieu Rosaz, Carla Bruni, Jean-Louis Aubert, Angelina Wismes, Marc Almond, Hervé Vilard, Victoria Abril, JP Manova, Rocé & Supa or Elodie Frégé. After each original track, you’ll find one or more songs created from it.

Themes

Who sampled and covered Barbara ?

Listen to our exclusive Playlist dedicated to Barbara's legendary catalog

Share Facebook Twitter Email

Listen now