C'est si bon

For the South Korean film, see C'est si bon (film).

"C'est si bon"
File:It's so good.jpg Photo of the gramophone record (78 rpm).
Song
English title	It's So Good

C'est si bon is a French popular song composed in 1947 by Henri Betti with the lyrics by André Hornez. The English lyrics were written in 1950 by Jerry Seelen. The song is also adapted in several languages.

Story

The first nine notes of the song came to composer Henri Betti while he was walking under the arcades of the avenue Jean Médecin in Nice in July 1947. He wrote the notes in a notebook to be able to recall them to play on the piano. Once home, he composed the melody in less than ten minutes. He then made an appointment with lyricist André Hornez at the Hôtel Powers in Paris in order to find a title for the song. Hornez said that the title should be three syllables, sung to the first three notes of the song. The next day Hornez showed Betti a list of ten three-syllable titles, the last of which was C'est si Bon. Betti told Hornez that he liked it, but hesitated because there was a current Charles Trenet song called C'est Bon. Hornez told him that si made all the difference. The song was registered with the SACEM on 16 August 1947 and was published by Paul Beuscher.

Before finding a professional singer for the song, Henri Betti sang the song himself at the restaurant La Réserve in Nice. He first proposed the song to Yves Montand together with Mais qu'est-ce que j'ai? which he had just composed (with lyrics by Édith Piaf). On October 9, 1947 at the Théâtre de l'Étoile, Yves Montand sang Mais qu'est-ce que j'ai? but did not sing C'est si bon, preferring to wait a few weeks to sing it on stage or on the radio. The publisher decided to record the song for the radio using vocalist Jean Marco with Jacques Hélian and his Orchestra on 18 February 1948. Then the publisher offered the song to the Sœurs Étienne with Raymond Legrand and his Orchestra, and this version became a hit. Montand, now seeing a good thing, recorded the song on 11 May 1948 with Bob Castella and his Orchestra. The publisher then offered the song to Suzy Delair who sang it in public in the first Nice Jazz Festival on 25 February 1948. Louis Armstrong was present at the festival and asked the publisher if he could make a recording of the song in America. The publisher agreed and the song's lyrics were adapted into English by Jerry Seelen. Armstrong made his recording on June 26, 1950 in New York with Sy Oliver and his Orchestra. Upon its release, the disc became a worldwide hit and the song was then sung by leading international singers and used in film and television.

In 1953, the song was featured in the film His Father's Portrait, in which Maître Pierre was also featured. These songs are Betti's two biggest hits.

Cover versions

7

Filmography

2

Advertisements

2

External links

• C'est si bon on Facebook