2024 was undoubtedly the year of Celine Dion. Although we haven't seen her on stage for some time, after numerous cancellations of concerts and tours, the singer is back. This year, in addition to her memorable performance at the Olympics, she notably told her story in the moving documentary I am: Celine Dionon Prime Video. Without filter, she revealed to us the reality of the illness from which she has suffered for ten years and which almost ended her career. In September, Thomas Chaline devoted a musical biography to the international star: Celine Dion, A Life in Songs (ed. Hugo Doc). The opportunity to (re)discover the stories behind his greatest hits. Some are particularly touching…
Who is the song dedicated to? Vole by Celine Dion, written by Jean-Jacques Goldman?
“Fly, fly, little sister / Steal my angel, my pain / Leave your body and leave us / May your suffering finally cease / Go to the other shore / That of flowers and laughter / The one that you wanted so much / Your child's life”. In 1995, Celine Dion released the album Twoon which appear the essential So that you love me again, Ballet, I will go where you goor even Volewhich closes the disc. “It is dedicated to the artist’s niece, who died a few years previously”can we read in Celine Dion, a life in songs. A painful subject that she had already mentioned in the past. “In 1984, Céline Dion released the album Mélanie. The eponymous title, written by Eddy Marnay, evoked the artist's niece who suffered from cystic fibrosis. Céline paid tribute to her with these words on the album cover: 'I dedicate my song Mélanie to my little niece Karine and my sister Liette, as well as to all children and parents of children suffering from an illness incurable'. Karine died in May 1993. It was a huge shock for Céline.” But it is thanks to the support of another artist, decisive in her career, that the star, ex-wife of the late René Angélil, pays tribute to her niece in song. “A few months later, while Jean-Jacques Goldman documented the singer's life, he understood how dear his niece was to him and to what extent her death marked Céline. He wrote Vole, a bit like a sequel to Mélanie, and discreetly gave it to her the day after her concert at the Olympia, in September 1994.”.
The tragic story of Karine, niece of Céline Dion, who died at the age of 16
A gift that the Canadian star did not expect. Because he was very introspective… “In June 1996, Céline said: '”When Jean-Jacques wrote the album for me, he didn't introduce me to Vole. He gave me the songs, he said to me: 'Tell me if you like it, if you don't like it…' We worked together. Then I made models. And I faced my emotions. […] I was super happy because I don't write my songs at all. So yes, in addition to having superb songs that I love, if it also sticks to me! I think it's beautiful. And after recording the whole album, Jean-Jacques gave me a song. He said to me: 'I'll give this to you. You do what you want with it. You don't have to sing it. You keep it in… I'll give you this.' […] I listened to the song, then it was… hell! That is to say that it is based precisely on the history that we experienced in the family. We lost our niece Karine who was 16 years old, who had cystic fibrosis. […] And Karine died in my arms two years ago. It was very difficult […]. She had been trying to breathe for sixteen years, she made an effort every time. This is not normal. It's not fair. This girl, she fought all her life to have a normal life, to have… her life as a young girl, normal. Then she died. I would have liked to have sung that song to her when she left… And Jean-Jacques wrote that song to me. When I saw that, I said to myself: 'That doesn't make any sense…'”.
This beautiful gift from Jean-Jacques Goldman to Céline Dion, in tribute to her niece
Eventually, “Céline Dion decides to sing Vole to pay tribute to her niece. Like an imprint engraved in her work. […] She says: 'It gave me a big shock, a big, big blow because… I started thinking about all that again, and then I said to myself: 'I'll never be able to sing it .' But I wanted to sing it because for me it was an anthem to Karine, it was a message for her, a song just for her that I wanted to sing to her. So I went into the studio, I said, 'Yes, yes, I'm going to sing it. It's so beautiful! You can't possibly have written that to me. I adore you'”. However, performing this song full of memories and emotions was not easy. “I sang the song. Nothing came out! […] It was too difficult because I found myself in front of her”. But since impossible is not Céline, she achieved it. “I'm happy to have someone sensible like him, Jean-Jacques, who took the trouble to give me a huge gift like that. And I sang that song and I'm very, very proud. And every night, of course, I sing it for her. I always see her. She's with me all the time.she said. For his part, Jean-Jacques Goldman remembers this gift with emotion. “When the song was finished, I knew I shouldn't show it to her. I wanted her to sing it in the studio, like that, so she wouldn't have to judge it, and then let her sing it throw it away or keep it, but I wanted it to be like that, with that emotion.”
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