Une femme avec une femme

"Une femme avec une femme"
Single by Mecano
from the album Descanso Dominical
B-side "Mujer contra mujer"
Released 1990
Format 7" vinyl
CD maxi
Genre Pop ballad
Length 4:05
Writer(s) José María Cano
Pierre Grosz
Producer(s) Mecano
Mecano singles chronology
"Une femme avec une femme"
(1990)		 "Hijo de la luna"
(1991)
Music sample
"Une femme avec une femme"
"Une femme avec une femme"
Single by Saya
from the album À la Vie
B-side "Ils croyaient"
Released 2003
Format CD single
Genre Pop, R&B
Length 3:40
Label WEA, Warner Music France
Writer(s) José María Cano
Pierre Grosz
Producer(s) Quentin Bachelet, Adamson Faye
Saya singles chronology
"Tourner des pages"
(2002		 "Une femme avec une femme"
(2003)		 "De l'or entre les mains"
(2003)

"Une femme avec une femme" (Spanish: "Mujer contra Mujer") is a 1990 single by Spanish pop band Mecano.

Background and writing

This song is on their seventh album, released in 1988, Descanso dominical (track 3).

To obtain a hit in France, Mecano decided to collaborate with Pierre Grosz, a lyric writer, who had already written several songs for Elsa ("Quelque chose dans mon cœur", "Jour de neige"). Grosz accurately translated their song "Mujer contra mujer" to produce the French single "Une femme avec une femme".[1] The music is composed by José Maria Cano. It was recorded in French ("Une femme avec une femme") and Italian ("Per Lei contro di Lei"), giving Mecano their first truly global hit.

Chart performance

The single entered the French Top 50 Singles Chart at number thirty-four (#34) in the September 9, 1990 chart edition. It climbed quickly and peaked at #1 for seven weeks, from October 11 to December 22, 1990. After having been #2 for three weeks, the single kept on dropping in the chart and left it on February 16, 1991 (22 weeks in the chart).

After a prestigious Iberian career, Mecano became the first Spanish group to reach first place in France's Singles Chart. The song was certified Gold disc in 1991 by the French certifier SNEP, for a minimum of 250,000 copies sold.[2] According to the Infodisc Website, this single is the 601st best-selling single of all time in France,[3] with 493,000 sales.[2]

Music and lyrics

This song deals with lesbianism, seen through the eyes of a friend, who doesn't want to pass judgment on this relationship and prefers to be tolerant. At the time, the subject was taboo in France and had almost never been tackled in a song.[1]

Music video

The videoclip is largely in black and white and features Ana Torroja singing in front of a white fence. There are also two women in love who arm wrestle, which represents their different point of view regarding whether or not to hide their homosexuality - one of them says hiding it is not good, the other says there is no choice.

Covers

American singer Laura Branigan covered the Spanish version ("Mujer Contra Mujer") in 1993 for her final studio album, Over My Heart.

In 2003, the song was covered by French-born artist Saya who peaked at number 9 on the French SNEP Singles Chart on March 29 and April 5, 2003 and remained on the chart for 17 weeks. It peaked at number 35 on the Swiss Singles Chart. The song is the second track on her album À la Vie, released in 2003. On June 6, 2003, the song was certified Silver disc (meaning over 100,000 copies were sold) four months after its release by SNEP,[4] becoming Saya's greatest hit.

Track listings

Mecano version
7" Single Ariola
  1. "Une femme avec une femme" (4:05)
  2. "Mujer contra mujer" (4:05)
CD-Maxi
  1. "Une femme avec une femme" (4:05)
  2. "Mujer contra mujer" (4:05)
  3. "Hijo de la luna" (4:18)
Saya version
CD-Single WEA Music
  1. "Une femme avec une femme" (3:40)
  2. "Ils croyaient" (3:31)

Charts, certifications, sales

Mecano version
Chart (1990) Peak
position
French Singles Chart[5] 1
Country Certification Sales/shipments
France Gold[6] 493,000[2]
Saya version
Chart (2003) Peak
position
French Singles Chart[7] 9
Swiss Singles Chart[8] 35
Country Certification Sales/shipments
France Silver[9] 211,000[2]

Preceded by
"Kingston Town" by UB40		 French (SNEP) number one single
November 10, 1990 - December 22, 1990 		Succeeded by
"Petit Frank" by François Feldman

References

  1. 1 2 Elia Habib, Muz hit. tubes, 2002, p. 195 (ISBN 2-9518832-0-X)
  2. 1 2 3 4 Certifications and sales Infodisc.fr (Retrieved December 14, 2007)
  3. ↑ Best selling singles of all time in France Infodisc.fr (Retrieved December 14, 2007)
  4. ↑ 2003 certifications Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved December 14, 2007)
  5. ↑ "Une femme avec une femme", French Singles Chart Lescharts.com (Retrieved December 13, 2007)
  6. ↑ Mecano's certifications Chartsinfrance.net (Retrieved December 14, 2007)
  7. ↑ "Une femme avec une femme", French Singles Chart Lescharts.com (Retrieved December 14, 2007)
  8. ↑ "Une femme avec une femme", Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved December 14, 2007)
  9. ↑ Saya's certifications Chartsinfrance.net (Retrieved December 14, 2007)
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