Dominique Explained

Dominique
Cover:	Dominique - The Singing Nun.jpg
Type:	single
Artist:	Sœur Sourire
Album:	The Singing Nun
B-Side:	Entre Les Étoiles
Released:	October 1963^[1]
Recorded:	1963
Studio:	Philips Studios, Brussels
Genre:	Folk
Length:	2:53
Label:	Philips

"Dominique" is a 1963 French language popular song, written and performed by Belgian singer Jeannine Deckers, better known as Sœur Sourire ("Sister Smile" in French) or The Singing Nun. The song is about Saint Dominic, a Spanish-born priest and founder of the Dominican Order, of which she was a member (as Sister Luc-Gabrielle).^[2] The English-version lyrics of the song were written by Noël Regney.^[3] In addition to French and English, Deckers recorded versions in Dutch, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese.

It was a top selling record in 11 countries in late 1963 and early 1964.

Commercial performance

"Dominique" reached the Top 10 in 11 countries in late 1963 and early 1964, topping the chart in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It reached the Top 5 in Norway, Denmark, Ireland and South Africa, with the song making it into the lower reaches of the Top 10 in the Netherlands, West Germany, and the United Kingdom. The song reached and stayed at No. 1 on Top 40 radio station WABC in New York City for the four weeks of 19 November through 10 December.^[4] On WLS Chicago, the song was No. 1 for the three weeks 15–29 November 1963.^[5] On both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and "Easy Listening chart", "Dominique" was No. 1 for the four weeks 7–28 December 1963.

The song won the Grammy Award for Best Gospel or Other Religious Recording (Musical) in 1964.^[6] It was also a nominee for Grammy Award for Record of the Year, and Sœur Sourire was a nominee for Best Female Vocal Performance.^[6] It was the second foreign language song to hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 1963, the first being "Sukiyaki" by Kyu Sakamoto. For the next ten years or so, although there were a number of hits with most of the vocals in a language other than English (e.g., The Sandpipers' "Guantanamera", René y René's "Lo Mucho Que Te Quiero", etc.), no other purely foreign language song reached the Billboard Hot 100's top 40 until the Spanish language hit "Eres tú (Touch The Wind)" in 1974.^[7] "Dominique" outsold Elvis Presley during its stay on the Billboard Hot 100; it was the second to last No. 1 hit before the British Invasion.

The song

"Dominique" became a worldwide hit in 1963 and was the first, and only, Belgian number-one hit single in the American Billboard charts.

It is remembered chiefly for its refrain, which goes:

Domi-nique -nique -nique s'en allait tout simplement,

Routier, pauvre et chantant.

En tous chemins, en tous lieux,

Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu,

Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu.

A literal English translation is:

Domi-nic -nic -nic went about simply,

a poor singing traveller.

On every road, in every place,

he talks only of the Good Lord,

he talks only of the Good Lord.

The lyrics of the chorus of Regney's English-language translation are:

Domi-nique -nique -nique, o'er the land he plods along,

And sings a little song.

Never asking for reward,

He just talks about the Lord,

He just talks about the Lord.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Chart (1963–1964)	Peak position
Argentina Singles Chart^[8]	1
Australian Singles Chart^[9]	1
Brazil Singles Chart (IBOPE)^[10]	1
Brazil EP's Chart (IBOPE)^[11]	2
Canadian (CHUM Charts Top 20)^[12]	1
Danish Singles Chart^[13]	2
Dutch Singles Chart^[14]	6
German Singles Chart^[15]	7
Finland Singles Chart (Suomen virallinen lista)^[16]	23
Irish Singles Chart^[17]	3
Japanese Singles Chart^[18]	2
Mexican Singles Chart (AMPROFON)^[19]	1
New Zealand Hit Parade^[20]	1
Norwegian Singles Chart^[21]	2
South African Singles Chart	1
Swedish Singles Chart^[22]	12
Swiss Hitparade^[23]	4
Uruguay Singles Chart^[24]	2
UK Singles Chart^[25]	7
US Billboard Hot 100^[26]	1
Venezuela Singles Chart	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1964)	Rank
South Africa (Springbok)^[28]	5
US Cash Box	11

All-time charts

Cover versions

• Mary Ford recorded an English-language version that was released in November 1963 by Calendar Records.
• Sister Adele (a.k.a. Madelaine) also recorded a cover version of the song in 1963, which was released on Diplomat Records.^[30]
• Japanese musical duo The Peanuts recorded a Japanese cover version in 1963.
• The Cuban artist La Lupe, the Mexican artist Angélica María, the Colombian artist Aníbal Velázquez and the Venezuelan artist Mirla Castellanos^[31] recorded Spanish language versions of this song.
• The Brazilian singer Giane recorded a Brazilian Portuguese version of this song.
• Spike Jones recorded a version that combined "Dominique" with "When the Saints Go Marching In", merging both the melodies and the styles of the two songs.
• A variation including "When the Saints Go Marching In" is the Regimental March of the 5th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment.
• Tommy Roe recorded an English version of the song for his U.S. album release, "Something for Everybody" in 1964.^[32]
• Sandler and Young revived the song in late 1966,^[33] a version that appeared on the Billboard easy listening chart. The performance was a medley including other religious-themed songs including "Deep River" and "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen".
• The Czech singer Judita Čeřovská covered this song in 1964 under the name "Dominiku".
• Gisele MacKenzie recorded a cover version "Gisele MacKenzie SINGS DOMINIQUE AND OTHER FAVORITES" in 1962.

Soundtrack appearances

• In the 1966 film The Singing Nun, very loosely based on Deckers, Debbie Reynolds, playing the title role, sings an English-language version of the song (with different lyrics from those of Deckers' English-language version).
• The song is heard in the 1985 film Heaven Help Us.
• In the 1987 Married... with Children episode "Thinnergy", "Dominique" is one of several songs Peg (Katey Sagal) sings in an attempt to annoy Al (Ed O'Neill).
• It was used in the 1990 film Mermaids with Cher.
• It was used in the 1993 film as elevator music For Love or Money with Michael J Fox.
• The song was referenced in The Simpsons episode "Bart's Friend Falls in Love" (1992), where Milhouse van Houten visits his girlfriend in an all-girls convent school. A nun playing guitar and singing "Dominique" passes along, followed by several equally happy little girls. The nun's character voice was provided by cast member Maggie Roswell, who knew none of the song's actual French lyrics and instead made up her own.^[34]
• In 1999, it was sung in Everybody Loves Raymond by Robert and Raymond when they learn Debra's sister is becoming a nun.
• The song also featured in an episode of Welsh sitcom High Hopes.
• In 2009, the song was used in the third series premiere of British teen drama Skins.
• In 2009, it was also used in Mad Men in the episode "The Color Blue", when Don Draper walks into Suzanne Farell's apartment for the second time.
• In 2012, the song is featured prominently in US anthology series , the events of which take place in 1964. The original Belgian French version of the song is playing over and over in the common room of the insane asylum, and the inmates are punished if they disrupt or stop the song from playing. The record for the song is smashed by then inmate Judy Martin in a later episode stopping its constant play, the song is briefly mentioned by Sister Mary Eunice in the episode "The Name Game" when she recapped the event of Judy destroying it right as she reveals the new jukebox she has bought for Briarcliff Asylum.
• In season 2 of episode 20 (titled 'Rock n Roll Fantasy') of Just the Ten of Us, it is sung by Heather Langenkamp, who played Marie Lubbock. It originally aired 28 April 1989.
• In the season 3 episode of the science fiction series Dark Matter, entitled "All the Time in the World", it is sung by Anthony Lemke and Zoie Palmer. Lemke, who is fully bilingual, plays a character who is caught in a time loop similar to "Groundhog Day" and spends his time learning French from the spaceship's android.
• In 2019, the song appears at the beginning of first episode of season two of Happy!, the Syfy and Netflix Series.

Samples

• The musician Poe used a sample of the song in her album Haunted, on the track "House of Leaves".
• The anonymous Australian rock band TISM sampled the song in the chorus to their 1998 song "I Might Be a Cunt, But I'm Not a Fucking Cunt".

See also

• List of 1960s one-hit wonders in the United States

External links

• "Dominique" lyrics in English and French Allthelyrics.com
• The lyrics in full

Notes and References

1. Web site: Dominique / Entre Les Etoiles – The Singing Nun. 45cat. 2020-01-11.
2. Dominique, by the "Singing Nun", Lyrics and Music. National Institutes of Health, Department of Health & Human Services. Retrieved on 25 January 2009
3. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-nov-30-me-regney30-story.html Noel Regney, 80; Wrote Favorite Christmas Tune, Hit Song for Singing Nun
4. https://www.musicradio77.com/Surveys/1963/surveydec1063.html Musicradio77.com/Surveys/1963 10 December 1963
5. Web site: Silver Dollar Survey. WLS. 1963-11-15. 2019-09-06.
6. Web site: Grammy Award Nominees 1964 – Grammy Award Winners 1964 . Awardsandshows.com . 10 August 2019 .
7. Book: Whitburn , Joel . 1990. The Billboard Hot 100 Charts: The Seventies (12 January 1974 through 4 May 1974). Record Research, Inc. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. 0-89820-076-8.
8. Book: Billboard Magazine, May, 1964 . Billboard . 9 May 1964. 2018-07-03.
9. Book: Billboard – Google Livres . 14 December 1963. 2015-02-26.
10. Web site: Cash Box - International Best Sellers. worldradiohistory.com. Cash Box. 7 March 1964. p. 62..
11. Web site: Cash Box - International Best Sellers. worldradiohistory.com. Cash Box. 7 March 1964. p. 62..
12. Web site: Chart #351 – Monday, December 2, 1963 .
13. Book: Billboard Magazine, February, 1964 . 44 . 1964-02-29 . Billboard . 2018-07-03.
14. Web site: Steffen Hung . Dutch Charts . dutchcharts.nl . 2015-02-21 . 2015-02-26.
15. Web site: INFINITY CHARTS: German Top 20 . Ki.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de . 2001-01-22 . 2015-02-26 . 16 July 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110716111609/http://ki.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de/~topsi/deu_60s1sthalft.html . dead .
16. Book: Pennanen, Timo. Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021. 2021. The Singing Nun. 235. Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. Helsinki. 14 March 2024. Finnish.
17. Billboard Magazine, February 1, 1964 . Billboard. 1 February 1964.
18. Web site: Cash Box - International Best Sellers. worldradiohistory.com. Cash Box. 14 March 1964. p. 46..
19. Web site: Cash Box - International Best Sellers. worldradiohistory.com. Cash Box. 7 March 1964. p. 63..
20. Web site: flavour of new zealand – Home . Flavourofnz.co.nz . 2015-02-26 . 24 July 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110724192615/http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=lever%20hit%20parades&qyear=1963&qmonth=Dec&qweek=19-Dec-1963#n_view_location . dead .
21. Web site: Steffen Hung . Sœur Sourire – Dominique . norwegiancharts.com . 2015-02-26 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150324021537/http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Soeur+Sourire&titel=Dominique&cat=s . 2015-03-24 .
22. Web site: Bästa låtar 1963 . S0416.tripod.com . 1963-12-14 . 2015-02-26.
23. Book: Billboard Magazine, May 2, 1964 . Billboard . 2 May 1964. 2018-07-03.
24. Book: Billboard Magazine, June 6, 1964 . Billboard . 6 June 1964. 2018-07-03.
25. Web site: UK Top 40 Chart Archive, British Singles & Album Charts . everyHit.com . 2000-03-16 . 2015-02-26.
26. Web site: The Singing Nun (Soeur Sourire) Chart History: Hot 100 . 2019 . . 10 August 2019 .
27. http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/60s_files/1963YESP.html Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, 28 December 1963
28. Web site: Top 20 Hit Singles of 1964. 26 March 2020.
29. Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart. Billboard. 10 December 2018.
30. Web site: Madelaine (4) - Sister Adele, Dominique, Ten Other Songs. . 1963 .
31. Web site: Carátulas Venezuela: Mirla Castllanos . 19 August 2012 . 7 October 2013.
32. Web site: Tommy Roe - Something for Everybody. . 1964 .
33. http://www.sandlerandyoung.com/cd.htm Sandler & Young CD Collection
34. [Al Jean|Jean, Al]