La Mer (Song)

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“La Mer” (“The Sea”) is a song by the French composer, lyricist, singer, and showman Charles Trenet. The song was first recorded by the French singer Roland Gerbeau in 1945. When Trenet’s version was released in 1946, it became an unexpected hit and has remained a chanson classic and jazz standard ever since.

Background and history

Trenet said that he had written an initial version of the song’s lyrics as a poem at the age of 16, many years before he came up with a tune for it. The tune came to him during a train ride in 1943 between Montpellier and Perpignan as he was gazing out of the window at the Étang de Thau, a lagoon in the south of France. He jotted it down on a piece of paper and in the afternoon he worked out the details with his pianist Léo Chauliac. That evening they performed it in front of an audience without much of an impact.

The song was not recorded before the end of World War II. It was first offered to Suzy Solidor who declined it, then to Roland Gerbeau who recorded it with Jo Bouillon‘s orchestra at the end of 1945. The orchestration and chorus were provided by Albert Lasry. Trenet himself recorded his song for the first time in 1946.

Over the years the song became popular throughout the world and developed into a chanson classic and jazz standard with a large number of prominent artists recording their own versions. Besides the original in French, the song was also recorded in several other languages, with the English version “Beyond the Sea” being particularly popular and becoming the signature song for the American singer Bobby Darin. In 1966 there were already over 100 different recordings of “La Mer”, and it was considered to be France’s best-selling song, together with Édith Piaf‘s “La Vie en rose“. By the time of Trenet’s death in 2001, there were more than 4,000 different recordings of it, with over 70 million copies sold in total.

Despite various translations into other languages, the original French version was popular outside France and with non-French musicians as well. Trenet published his recording in the U.S. in 1947, and Bing Crosby recorded “La Mer” on his 1953 album Le Bing: Song Hits of Paris.

Matthew Bourne‘s 1989 ballet suite Infernal Galop, “a French dance with English subtitles”, is choreographed to Charles Trenet’s recording of “La Mer”, in which a merman seduces three matelots.

The song was also recorded by Cliff Richard. In 1976 Julio Iglesias included the song on his live album En el Olympia. The song was included on Dalida‘s 1999 posthumous album Besame Mucho. Demis Roussos included the song on his 1995 studio album Immortel.

More recent versions include those of Kristina & Laura, Miguel Bosé, Manlio Sgalambro, Lisa del Bo, Biréli Lagrène, Patricia Kaas, Lola Dutronic, Mireille Mathieu, Chantal Chamberland, and others. The Avalon Jazz Band, with lead singer Tatiana Eva-Marie, included a contemporary arrangement of “La Mer” on their 2021 album April in Paris.

Instrumental versions were done by Benny Goodman, Ray Conniff His Orchestra and Chorus, Le Grand Orchestre de Paul Mauriat, Richard Clayderman, and Django Reinhardt.

Other languages

“Beyond the Sea”

Main article: Beyond the Sea (song)

The English-language version of “La mer” was first recorded by Harry James and His Orchestra in 1947. Its lyrics, telling the story of two lovers separated by the sea, were written by Jack Lawrence. It has since been recorded by many artists, including Bobby Darin, Stevie Wonder, Mantovani, Roger Williams, and Gisele MacKenzie.

“De zee”

In 1970, Belgian singer Lize Marke released a version of the song with added lyrics by Johnny Steggerda and Jack Bess.

“Das Meer”

The first German version was written in 1948 by Hans Fritz Beckmann and Lale Andersen. The latter recorded it with Michael Jary and his orchestra in the same year. However, Beckmann was unhappy with the first attempt and rewrote it. The new version was first recorded by the German actress and singer Liselotte Malkowsky in 1949 and became rather popular in German-speaking countries. Later recordings comprise the Austrian Schlager singer Lolita, the Austrian soprano Eva Lind, the Italian-German singer and entertainer Caterina Valente, and the German entertainer and band leader Götz Alsmann.

“Волна” (“Volna”)

A Russian version named “Волна” (“Wave”) was adapted by two Soviet Russian poets and translators, Samuil Bolotin and Tatiana Sikorskaya, in the 1950s for Leonid Utesov, a popular Soviet singer. It was included on the album called Ах, Одесса моя (“Oh, my Odessa”).

“La Mer” (Caetano Veloso)

Brazilian musician Caetano Veloso released a 2024 version of the French song, singing it in French. He says he recorded the song at the request of writer Christine Angot, who was in the audience at a Paris performance where Caetano sang “La Mer” as a posthumous tribute to his manager Guilherme Araújo, who had always asked him to record the French song.

Usage in popular culture

The French original is featured prominently in a variety of films, including L.A. Story, in which it is played during the opening montage; French Kiss (1995), in which it is sung by lead actor Kevin Kline; and Mr. Bean’s Holiday, which uses a recording of Trenet himself in its final scene. It also is played in the last episode of the American television show White Collar. The song is sung in the French documentary film Blood of the Beasts (1949), and is performed in the film A Life Less Ordinary (1997) by Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz. The Trenet recording is heard over the end credits of an episode of The Simpsons titled “The Squirt and the Whale“.

On British television, the original version of the song was used as the title music for ITV‘s coverage of UEFA Euro 2016.

The Robbie Williams version plays over the closing credits of Finding Nemo and is included on the soundtrack.^[28]

“La Mer” has been used in films such as Bernardo Bertolucci‘s 2003 The Dreamers, the 2010 German film Animals United, and Natalie Portman‘s 2015 A Tale of Love and Darkness. A Julio Iglesias version plays in the final scene of the 2011 spy film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli‘s recording of “La Mer” features in the video games BioShock (2007) and BioShock Infinite (2013). Director Ken Levine wanted Charles Trenet‘s original rendition but could not secure the rights.

“La Mer” also features in Irish Ferries‘ TV and radio advert in Ireland as part of their “Sail In Style” advertising campaign for their Dublin–France route.

“La Mer” was used in Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones‘ sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror. It is featured in the third episode of Season 6, “Beyond The Sea“.

“Beyond the Sea” is the English-language version of the French song “La Mer” by Charles Trenet, popularized by Bobby Darin in 1959. While the French original was an ode to the sea, Jack Lawrence – who composed the English lyrics – turned it into a love song.

“Beyond the Sea” has been recorded by many artists, but Bobby Darin‘s version released in late 1959 is the best known by many, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 15 on the US R&B Chart, and No. 8 in the UK Singles Chart. in early 1960.

Before Bobby Darin’s version, two instrumental recordings reached the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Benny Goodman‘s version charted in 1948, and was featured in the Cary Grant/Betsy Drake romantic comedy Every Girl Should Be Married.

Roger Williams‘ recording reached No. 37 in 1955.

Deana Martin recorded Beyond the Sea in 2013. The song was released on her album Destination Moon in 2013 by Big Fish Records.

American R&B singer George Benson recorded an R&B version of the song under the title “Beyond The Sea (La Mer).” It was released on Warner Bros. This version entered the UK Singles Chart on 20 April 1985. It peaked at no. 60 and remained on the chart for three weeks.

The first recording of “Beyond the Sea” was by Harry James and His Orchestra on December 22, 1947,

and the first recording of “La Mer” was by French jazz musician Roland Gerbeau in December 1945.

Other notable versions

• Robbie Williams released a version of the song on his album Swing When You’re Winning in 2001, which was used in the end credits in the 2003 Disney·Pixar animated film Finding Nemo.

Certifications

• In 2016, Patrick Stump performed a Navajo-language version of Williams’ cover to play over the end credits of the Navajo dubbing of the same Disney movie

• Ray Conniff

• Beyond The Sea ~ Helen Shapiro

• Julio Iglesias

• Michael Bublé

• Bing Crosby

• Frank Sinatra

Beyond the Sea – The Sandpipers

• Rod StewartT

• Acker BILK : La Mer (Beyond the Sea)

• Richard Clayderman – La Mer (Beyond The Sea)

• LA MER ( Beyond The Sea ) FRANCK POURCEL

• Percy Faith – La Mer (Beyond The Sea)

• OldGuitarMonkey

• Charles Trénet’s ‘La Mer’ from “Mr. Bean’s Holiday”

Versions of the song have appeared frequently in films and television shows. The song features during the ending credits of the 2003 animated film Finding Nemo.

The song is played prominently in the 2007 video game BioShock.

The X-Files episode “Beyond the Sea” is named for the song, which is playing on the boat owned by Dana Scully‘s father.

The song plays in the background during a scene in the 1990 film Goodfellas while the characters are preparing food in prison.

In the 2020 horror film A Quiet Place Part II, the song is played on loop over the radio as a signal to guide survivors to an island.

Beyond the Sea is a 2004 American biographical musical drama film based on the life of singer-actor Bobby Darin. Starring in the lead role and using his own singing voice for the musical numbers, Kevin Spacey co-wrote, directed, and co-produced the film, which takes its title from Darin’s song of the same name.

Beyond the Sea depicts Darin’s rise to success in both the music and film industry during the 1950s and 1960s as well as his marriage to Sandra Dee, portrayed by Kate Bosworth.

As early as 1986, Barry Levinson intended to direct a film based on the life of Darin, and he began pre-production on the project in early 1997. When he eventually vacated the director’s position, Spacey, along with Darin’s son Dodd, acquired the film rights.

Development

Barry Levinson

Beginning in 1986, Barry Levinson intended to produce and direct a biopic based on the life of Darin with funding from his own production company, Baltimore Pictures. With writer Lewis Colick, Levinson pitched the idea to Warner Bros. Pictures, who agreed to co-finance The Bobby Darin Story and cover distribution duties. Producer Arthur Friedman, a fan of Darin’s work, began to laboriously negotiate for crucial music licensing rights with Darin’s ex-wife, Sandra Dee; his son, Dodd; and former manager Steve Blauner. Colick wrote the first draft in 1987 before Warner Bros. and Levinson commissioned rewrites from Paul Attanasio and Paul Schrader. Their scripts, which kept The Bobby Darin Story title, concentrated on Sandra Dee’s alcoholism and childhood molestation by her stepfather. David Gershenson, Darin’s longtime friend, publicist and manager, joined the project as a historical consultant. Tom Cruise was reportedly under consideration to portray Darin.

Meanwhile, in May 1994, Warner Bros. optioned Dodd Darin’s book, Dream Lovers (ISBN 0-446-51768-2). James Toback and Lorenzo Carcaterra were hired to rewrite Attanasio’s The Bobby Darin Story, which they retitled Dreamer in an attempt to incorporate the information present in Dodd Darin’s Dream Lovers. Toback’s script heavily focused on Darin’s childhood rheumatic fever and lifelong struggle with heart disease. It also followed the previous Attanasio and Schrader scripts. Carcaterra’s detailed research included Darin’s music records, home videos, early television clips, authorized and unauthorized biographies, newspaper articles and magazine interviews. “I decided to meet with a lot of real-life people associated with Bobby Darin until [Levinson] said it was taking the focus off of Bobby,” Carcaterra explained. As a result, some of the writer’s favorite scenes, including a Las Vegas confrontation with Elvis Presley, were omitted from his third and final draft, which came in at a lengthy 164 pages.

Beginning in 1994, Kevin Spacey first offered his services to portray Bobby Darin, but the filmmakers believed the actor was too old. Around then, Spacey coincidentally performed the cover version of Darin’s “That Old Black Magic” for the soundtrack of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The actor explained that after 1994, “at least three times a year, my manager would call over to Warner Bros. and say, ‘Hey, what’s happening with that Bobby Darin movie? You guys ever going to make it?'”

With filming to originally begin in late 1997, pre-production for Dreamer was commencing, and Levinson began to discuss the film with various actors, including Johnny Depp as Bobby Darin, Drew Barrymore as Sandra Dee, Bette Midler as Darin’s birth mother Nina and Bruno Kirby as Nina’s husband/Darin’s right-hand man, Charlie Mafia. Levinson eventually vacated the director’s position in favor of Liberty Heights (1999); because he was unable to get Dreamer into production, Warner Bros. lost the music licensing rights, which reverted to the Darin estate.

Kevin Spacey

In March 1999, Dick Clark Productions announced their teaming with Dodd Darin on a biopic, with collaboration from producer Arthur Friedman, who had been developing both The Bobby Darin Story and Dreamer with Levinson at Warner Bros. since 1986. Shortly afterwards, Spacey was in discussions with Dodd Darin to star in the lead role. Spacey was able to acquire the film rights from Warner Bros. in early 2000. With the help of Dodd Darin, the actor also received exclusive music rights for no charge. With his Academy Award-winning performance in American Beauty (1999), Paramount Pictures became interested in distributing/financing Beyond the Sea. The deal fell apart when Paramount told Spacey that he was too old for the role and instead wanted Leonardo DiCaprio. Beginning in October 2000, Spacey took vocal training lesson from Darin collaborator Roger Kellaway to give an accurate portrayal of the singer.

Spacey also kept close relations with the Darin family as a means to know he would treat the film “with respect.” He sent letters to that effect to Sandra Dee and son Dodd. Steve Blauner (who is portrayed by John Goodman in the film) also served as a historical consultant. Dodd originally considered Spacey’s plan to sing his father’s material a sacrilege but eventually fell into sync with Spacey’s deeply empathetic approach to Darin’s life.

Tom Epperson, who had struck up a friendship with Spacey while writing an early screenplay draft of The Shipping News, was hired to write a new draft for Beyond the Sea. Epperson’s script included Darin’s penchant for orgies after his divorce with Sandra Dee. Spacey, finding the Epperson script to be overtly dark and morbid, began to rewrite Beyond the Sea, incorporating info from the 1987 Lewis Colick script. Spacey acknowledged he portrayed Darin too sympathetically and decided not to depict the darker side of Darin’s life centrally. “The other scripts made Bobby [Darin] a rather unlikable figure,” he explained. “I was not interested in making a conventional biopic, as you can see from the results. I was interested in making an exuberant celebration of an entertainer in a way that would be uplifting for an audience.”

By making the biopic, Dodd Darin and Spacey acknowledged the similar career experiences between Darin and Spacey. “A lot of people doubted my dad’s abilities, and Kevin’s had doubters and naysayers,” Dodd commented. “But both [men] were willing to take risks, and both were very resilient. My dad would always try new things. You could never pin him down. Kevin’s career is similar.”David Evanier, author of Roman Candle: The Life of Bobby Darin (ISBN 978-1-59486-010-2), said “You can put Kevin’s obsessiveness about getting the film made right up there with Bobby’s obsessiveness. He’s also the ideal person to play Bobby. He has an uncanny physical resemblance to him, and he also has Bobby’s intensity and dark side. Also, there’s the connection with his mother. Bobby’s mother’s belief in him sent him soaring. Kevin’s mother wanted him to make this film. Kevin sees the film as an act of devotion to his mother.”

“I think the movie is about mothers and sons,” Spacey said, referring to Darin’s relationship with his mother Polly and sister Nina. Spacey’s mother, Kathleen Fowler, died of brain cancer just before production started. “I made the movie for all mothers, but especially for my mother. She introduced me to Bobby Darin. When she got very ill in 2002, I stopped everything and took care of her. We constantly played Bobby Darin records, and I’d let her listen to the tracks I was recording. I’m glad she passed knowing this was the movie I was going to make.” After his award-winning performances in The Usual Suspects and American Beauty, Spacey “chose to move away from dark, sarcastic characters, and instead play damaged but good-hearted men” in films like Pay It Forward, K-PAX and The Shipping News. The actor was criticized for his career move; Spacey acknowledged the similarities when Darin integrated folk music and protest songs.

Production

In February 2003, it was announced that production for Beyond the Sea was becoming fast tracked with Spacey as lead actor, co-writer, producer and director, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) agreed to cover distribution duties in North America. In August, with principal photography to begin in just weeks, MGM dropped out as distributor and main financier over scheduling conflicts. To accumulate financing of the film’s $25 million budget, which came from foreign production companies, Spacey performed six songs at the November 2003 American Film Market. Lions Gate Entertainment quickly picked up the distribution duties, and Spacey found enough investors from England and Germany to continue moving forward on production.

In addition, Spacey declined to be paid for his work as actor, director, co-writer, and producer on Beyond the Sea. A portion of the $25 million budget came from his own Trigger Street Productions. Producer Arthur Friedman, who had shepherded the biopic since 1987, commented that he and Spacey experienced creative differences during pre-production. Friedman remarked that he was not involved with Beyond the Sea once production began in Germany. Filming was originally set to begin in June 2003 before it was pushed to November 7, 2003, lasting until late January 2004. Eighty percent of Beyond the Sea was shot using sound stages at Babelsberg Studios in Germany and Pinewood Studios in England. Lulworth Cove, Dorset, South West England doubled for Darin’s setting of reclusiveness in Big Sur, California. In an attempt to convincingly portray Darin, particularly during the early stages of the singer’s life depicted in the film, Spacey hired prosthetic makeup designer Peter King from The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

Music

Soundtrack

The soundtrack album features 18 tracks performed by Kevin Spacey.

Release

Marketing

To promote Beyond the Sea, Spacey and Phil Ramone devised a 12-city United States concert tour titled An Evening Celebrating the Music of Bobby Darin, which consisted of Spacey performing with a 19-piece band. “It’s me singing Bobby and talking about Bobby and talking a little bit about the movie,” Spacey explained in June 2004. Spacey dressed in costumes from the movie for the tour, which started in San Francisco and traveled through Los Angeles, New York City, Boston, Chicago, Miami and Atlantic City before ending in the Wayne Newton Theatre at the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas. Spacey’s performance at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on December 11, 2004 received a standing ovation. Dodd Darin commented, “It was said about my dad that he had some big brass ones. To do a film about my dad is one thing, but it’s another thing to go out and attempt to work a nightclub. Kevin’s got a lot of courage. I think he sounds good.” The film was shown and promoted at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2004.

WGA arbitration

Beginning in October 2004, the Writers Guild of America, West conducted arbitration to determine writing credit for the scripts that had been written since Barry Levinson, who developed the film at Warner Bros. in 1987, left the project. Lewis Colick, James Toback and Tom Epperson disassociated themselves for credit by the WGA. The Guild justified credit to Colick, who wrote the first draft of The Bobby Darin Story in 1987, and Kevin Spacey. Actor-writer Jeffrey Meek believed he deserved credit; he was paid $85,000 of a promised $125,000 to settle his claim.

Spacey said Meek was “not a hired writer” on Beyond the Sea. “He turned in a draft, but it was a draft based on earlier material based on my own screenplays,” Spacey said. Meek said he was hired by producer Harvey Friedman, a friend who helped connect him with Spacey, and whom supports his claim to have produced 12 drafts, including one that was reported by Variety to have been greenlighted by MGM in early 2003. “He bought my material and then acted like I didn’t exist,” Meek explained. “I’m not saying I’m Rembrandt, but it’s like someone buying a painting and then scratching the name off of it and putting their own there.”

Reception

Critical response

Beyond the Sea received mixed reviews from critics. Based on 147 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, 42% of the critics gave the film a positive review, with an average score of 5.2/10. Its consensus states “Kevin Spacey’s bio of singer Bobby Darin is either a fearless piece of showmanship or an embarrassing vanity project, according to critics.” Metacritic calculated a weighted average score of 46/100, based on 35 reviews.

Sandra Dee, Dodd Darin, Jimmy Scalia and Steve Blauner responded enthusiastically to Spacey’s work on the film. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle felt that Spacey looked too old to portray Darin convincingly and called the film “one of the most embarrassing spectacles of 2004” and “jaw-droppingly awful, a misbegotten and ill-conceived vanity project.” Desson Thomson from The Washington Post praised the actor’s work, but also felt Spacey did not convincingly portray Darin in his early music career. Internet reviewer James Berardinelli found the storyline to be overtly clichéd, but added, “Despite the choppy narrative and inappropriate casting of Spacey, Beyond the Sea managed to keep me entertained.”

Roger Ebert gave a largely positive review, stating, “Kevin Spacey believes he was born to play Bobby Darin. I believe he was born to play more interesting characters… In his own best work, Spacey has achieved genius; he is better as an actor than Darin ever was as a singer.” Stephen Holden of The New York Times felt that “with Beyond the Sea, Spacey crawls back from his doomed quest to be a Tom Hanks-like everyman to his niche on the underbelly of Hollywood’s pantheon. The movie’s a mess, and at 45, Spacey is far too old to play Darin. Yet the star captures his desperation, his braggadocio, and yes, his magnetism.” Peter Travers, writing in Rolling Stone magazine, believed Spacey could not prevent “the movie from groaning under the weight of biopic clichés. But the actor forges a bond with his subject that rights all wrongs. Doing his own singing (an uncanny imitation), Spacey is a marvel.”

Box office

The film opened in limited release in the United States on December 17, 2004 and went into wider release on December 29. It grossed $6,318,709 in the US and $2,128,906 in international markets for a total worldwide box office of $8,447,615. It was declared a box office bomb because it did not make back its $25 million budget.

Accolades

Spacey was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy but lost to Jamie Foxx for Ray. He and Phil Ramone were also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, but lost to the producers of Ray.

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