"Les Bêtises" is a 1985 song recorded by French artistSabine Paturel. Released in March 1986 as her debut single from her album Cœur Bébé, released two years later, on which it is the sixth track. The song was a smash hit in France, even if it failed to top the chart. It was covered by several artists throughout the years and became a popular song.
Song information
Written and composed by Sylvain Lebel and Dominique Pankratoff, "Les Bêtises" is a song recorded as a nursery rhyme. It was qualified as full of mischievousness that could be subtitled "the rhyme of a calamity". In the lyrics, "the performer tells the disasters which she carried out to punish her boyfriend for having left her". Paturel performs the song with a childlike voice. As proof of its notability, the song was included on many French compilations released in the 2000s, such as Absolument 80 : Tubes français vol. 1, Nostalgie Classiques 80, Nos années 80 - Platinum Collection, Top 50 - Vol. 2 and Les 100 plus grands tubes 80's.
Chart performances
In France, the single debuted at #50 on the SNEP Singles Chart on March 22, 1986. It climbed quickly and entered the top ten in its sixth week. It remained in it for 19 weeks, including a peak at #2 for five consecutive weeks, being unable to dislodge Princess Stéphanie of Monaco's huge hit "Ouragan" which topped the chart then. The song fell off the chart after 30 weeks. On the 1986 Year-End Chart, the song ranked #3, behind "Les Démons de minuit" and "Ouragan". The song is currently the 260th best-selling single of all time in France.
Cover versions
The song was covered in 2006 by Bébé Lilly. Produced by Teetoff, the song was the second single from the albumMon monde à moi and was released on June 2, 2006. This version, released in a CD single version containing the 3:02 cover version, the 4:33 song "Le Coupe du monde" and a techno version of the music video for "Les Bêtises", achieved success in France where it was a top 8 hit and remained on the chart for twenty weeks. The song was ranked for two weeks in Switzerland and peaked at #90. "Les Bêtises" was also covered by Leslie on her cover album80 Souvenirs. In 2010, Les Enfoirés recorded a cover of the song for their album La Crise de nerfs! ; the singers on this version are Jean-Louis Aubert, Zazie, Jean-Jacques Goldman, Jean-Baptiste Maunier and Jenifer Bartoli.
