Je te laisserai des mots

"Je te laisserai des mots"
Single by Patrick Watson
ReleasedSeptember 10, 2010 (2010-09-10)
Length2:40
LabelSecret City
Songwriter(s)Patrick Watson
Producer(s)Patrick Watson

Je te laisserai des mots (lit. 'I will leave you some words') is a 2010 song by Canadian musician Patrick Watson,[1] written for the 2009 film Hidden Diary. The song, as of July 2025, has amassed more than 1.1 billion streams on Spotify.[2]

Background and recording

Watson in 2017

"Je te laisserai des mots" was originally written by Patrick Watson as part of his score to the 2009 film Hidden Diary (Mères et Filles), a French and Canadian co-production starring Catherine Deneuve, Marina Hands and Marie-Josée Croze.[3] The song's title was inspired by a scene near the end of the film where the main character leaves a letter under a door.[1] It was Watson's first song written in French.[3] Watson, an English speaker from Quebec, had "always been surrounded by French" and could speak the language but had never sung in it. He decided to keep any of his mistakes in the pronunciation, finding them to be part of the song's charm.[1]

Watson wrote the melody for the song in his Montreal studio. Finding it difficult to sing in French due to the vowel structure, he opted not to build the song around many words. The song's first verse is wordless and features Watson vocalizing instead. He also expected the song to play at the end of the film, during ongoing dialogue, and felt that including more words would disrupt it.[1] The song was recorded in his studio,[1] with the session including a string quartet composed of Ligia Paquin on Viola, Mélanie Bélair and Mélanie Vaugeois on violin and Annie Gadbois on cello.[4] The crew eventually became "half-drunk" from drinking Jameson Irish whiskey during the string arrangement. According to Vaugeois, they tried for a while in vain "to find the right notes" before "everything was starting to slide when suddenly it all just fell into place".[1] Watson plays piano on the track and handled production.[4]

Release

The song was first released as a single on September 10, 2010, coinciding with the theatrical release of Hidden Diary in Quebec.[3][5] It was later released as a bonus track on the 2015 reissue of Watson's debut album Just Another Ordinary Day.[1][6]

Revival

The song achieved a surge in popularity in 2019 through a video on YouTube that set the song to archival footage of home movies.[7] It experienced a broader surge in popularity on TikTok, where it went viral in 2021 and 2022, used to soundtrack the melancholy many users felt during the COVID-19 pandemic.[8][9] It has also been used to soundtrack other sad moments as well as contrary emotions, including those at weddings, travels or pregnancy announcements.[7]

In December 2024, the song amassed more than a billion streams on Spotify, becoming the first French-language song to do so.[10][11][12] Watson reacted to the news on his social media, saying that he felt honored to be part of people's musical lives and expressing pride in the fact that the song was recorded in French: "I grew up in Montreal and I'm incredibly proud that a French song has crossed these boundaries. I spoke French since I was young. It's an incredible language, it has an incredible musical history and I feel very humbled to be a part of it."[10] In 2025, Watson reflected on the song in an interview with The Guardian, stating that he never expected it to be listened to outside the context of the film.[1]

Although Watson is the only credited songwriter on the track, he has since shared the royalties with the string quartet through an annual payment, which Vaugeois described as a "symbolic amount" to express his gratitude.[1]

Personnel

  • Patrick Watson – piano, vocals, production,[4] recording, mixing[13]
  • Annie Gadbois – cello[13]
  • Ligia Paquin – viola[13]
  • Mélanie Bélair – violin[13]
  • Mélanie Vaugeois – violin[13]

Charts

Chart Peak
position
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] 87
UK Indie (OCC)[15] 12
UK Indie Breakers (OCC)[16] 2

Certifications

Certifications for "Je te laisserai des mots"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[17] Platinum 60,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[18] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[19] 2× Platinum 2,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, Dave; Simpson, Interviews by Dave (July 28, 2025). "'We were half-drunk': Patrick Watson on Covid hit and Spotify record-breaker Je te laisserai des mots". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  2. ^ "'Je te laisserai des mots' - Patrick Watson". Spotify.
  3. ^ a b c "Patrick Watson signe la chanson-thème de Mères et filles". TVA Nouvelles. September 10, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "Je te laisserai des mots". Secret City Records. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  5. ^ Duchesne, André (September 2, 2010). "Marie-Josée Croze dans Mères et filles : histoire de femmes". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  6. ^ "Patrick Watson - Just Another Ordinary Day [Deluxe Vinyl]". Record Store Day]]. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  7. ^ a b Lair, Noémie (December 12, 2024). "Une chanson francophone dépasse pour la première fois le milliard d'écoutes sur Spotify" (in French). France Bleu. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  8. ^ Long Decter, Rosie (December 9, 2024). "Patrick Watson's 'Je te laisserai des mots' Becomes First French-Language Song To Hit A Billion Spotify Streams". Billboard Canada. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  9. ^ Cantaux, Elisa (December 15, 2024). "Qui est Patrick Watson, le chanteur francophone au milliard d'écoutes ?". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  10. ^ a b Rousseau, Marie-Lise (December 11, 2024). "«Je te laisserai des mots» de Patrick Watson atteint le milliard d'écoutes sur Spotify". Rolling Stone Québec (in Canadian French). Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  11. ^ Nault, Sarah-Émilie (December 11, 2024). "Le nouveau milliardaire d'écoutes sur Spotify, Patrick Watson, est «extrêmement fier qu'une chanson française ait franchi la barrière de la langue»". Le Journal de Montréal. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  12. ^ Bremner, Charles (December 12, 2024). "Canadian Patrick Watson's song is first in French to 1bn streams". The Times. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  13. ^ a b c d e Just Another Ordinary Day (liner notes). Patrick Watson. Secret City Records. 2015. SCR006LP.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. ^ "Patrick Watson – Je te laisserai des mots". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  15. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  16. ^ "Official Independent Singles Breakers Chart on 25/6/2021". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
  17. ^ "Spanish single certifications – Patrick Watson – Je te laisserai des mots". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  18. ^ "British single certifications – Patrick Watson – Je te laisserai des mots". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  19. ^ "American single certifications – Patrick Watson – Je te laisserai des mots". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
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