John (Desireless song)


"John" is a synthpop song recorded by French singer Desireless. It was the second single from the album François on which it is the tenth track. Following the huge success of "Voyage Voyage", it was released in May 1988. Written and produced by Jean-Michel Rivat, the song was Desireless' last hit single in France.

Lyrics and chart performances

The song deals with a man named John, apparently a soldier, who died during a mission. The lyrics mention several locations referring to conflicts in the 20th century : Hanoi and Haiphong, Madrid, Port Said, Baghdad, Berlin. Several Gods worshiped in various religions are also cited in the lyrics, such as God, Jehovah, Allah, Brahma and Vishnu. The narrator questions whether it matters who the symbolic "John" fought for, where he came from, or what religion he was, and she says that he "died in mid-flight" over Hanoi or Madrid or "died in flames" south of Baghdad or Port Said.
The song was released in several European countries, notably in France, where it became a top five hit in July 1988 and remained for 18 on the chart, nine of them in the top ten. It was released in UK in a remixed version produced by Les Adams, but was a relative failure, while it failed the chart in the Netherlands. Yet, the song was a big hit - as its predecessor - in Spain, reaching n°8.
An acoustic version of the song was recorded by Desireless on her 2004 album Un brin de paille, on her 2007 double album More Love and Good Vibrations and on her 2003 best of Ses plus grands succès. The image on the single cover is a screenshot from the music video.
A new arrangement of the song was produced with Desireless' new musical partner, Antoine Aureche for the 2013 album L'Oeuf de Dragon.

Track listings

  1. "John" – 3:58
  2. "John" – 4:12
  1. "John" – 6:28
  2. "John" – 4:21
  1. "John" – 4:19
  2. "John" – 6:27
  3. "Voyage Voyage" – 6:45
  1. "John" – 4:14
  2. "John" – 4:14
  1. "John" – 6:17
  2. "John" – 4:11
  3. "Voyage Voyage" – 7:06

    Credits

Charts

Peak positions

Year-end charts