"C'est si bon" (pronounced[sɛsibɔ̃]; transl. "It's so good") is a French popular song composed in 1947 by Henri Betti with the lyrics by André Hornez. The English lyrics were written in 1949 by Jerry Seelen. The song has been adapted in several languages.
History
In July 1947, Henri Betti was in Nice and on his way to join his father in the center of town to play a game of bridge. Passing under the arcades of the avenue de la Victoire he stopped in front of the window of a Scandale lingerie shop and it was there that the first nine musical notes of the song came into his head: F, E, E♭, F, G, A, G, F, D. He wrote the notes on a sheet of music paper so that he would remember them. Once back home at 52 rue des Ponchettes, he composed the melody in less than ten minutes. He then went up to Paris and made an appointment with the lyricist André Hornez at the Hôtel Grand Powers at 52 rue François Ier to find a title for his song. André Hornez said that the title should be three syllables, sung to the first three notes of the song. The next day the lyricist showed Henri Betti a list of ten three-syllable titles, the last of which was C'est si bon. Henri Betti told him that that was the one he wanted but André Hornez pointed out that there had been a song by Charles Trenet written for the movie Frederica named "C'est bon" a few years previously. Henri Betti told him that si made all the difference. The song was registered at the SACEM on 18 August 1947.[1]
On the advice of Roger Seiller at SACEM's publisher, Paul Beuscher, he proposed the song to Yves Montand at the same time as "Mais qu'est-ce que j'ai ?" which he had composed with lyrics from Édith Piaf and deposited at SACEM the same day. On 9 October 1947, at the Théâtre de l'Étoile, Yves Montand sang "Mais qu'est-ce que j'ai ?" but didn't sing "C'est si bon" because he thought that it was not in his style. While waiting for the song editor to offer him another performer, Henri Betti sang it himself at the restaurant La Réserve in Nice in the evening with opening and closing music. In January 1948, the publisher Paul Beuscher told Henri Betti that he would first try out the song with Jacques Hélian and his Orchestra for the radio. The disc was recorded the following month and sung by Jean Marco.
In February 1948 the publisher offered the song to Suzy Delair to sing during the first Nice Jazz Festival. She sang the song on February 28 at the Hotel Negresco in a jam session called La Nuit de Nice at which Louis Armstrong was present; he loved the song. On June 26, 1950, Armstrong recorded the American version of the song with Sy Oliver and his Orchestra in New York City. When the disc was released, it was a worldwide success and the song was subsequently taken up by many great international singers.[2]
On 5 May 1948, the Étienne Sisters recorded the song with Raymond Legrand and his Orchestra and this version became a hit. In 1968, they recorded it again with Raymond Legrand and his Orchestra.
On 7 May 1948, Yves Montand recorded the song with Bob Castella and his Orchestra. In 1964, he recorded the song again but with Hubert Rostaing and his Orchestra for his album Le Paris de...
The same year, Bernard Hilda recorded the song with his orchestra. On the other side of the disk, he records another song composed by Henri Betti the same year: "Mais qu'est-ce que j'ai ?" (lyrics by Édith Piaf).
On 30 March 1950, Jean Sablon recorded the French version of the song in London with Woolf Phillips and his Orchestra. On 23 November of the same year, he recorded the English version in Buenos Aires with Emil Stern and his Orchestra.
In 1962, Dean Martin recorded the song in English with the musical arrangements of Neal Hefti for his album French Style where he sings several popular French songs.
Also in 1964, Allan Sherman recorded a parody, "I See Bones" for his album My Son, the Nut, with a doctor describing to his patient an X-ray showing various improbable items in his innards.
In 1993, Abbey Lincoln recorded the song in French accompanied by Hank Jones on piano for her album When There Is Love.
In 2003, Lisa Ono recorded a Bossa nova version of the song in French with the musical arrangements of Mario Adnet for her album Dans mon île where she sings several popular French songs.
In 2007, Emilie-Claire Barlow recorded the song in French for her album The Very Thought of You. She recorded the song again in 2012 for her album Seule ce soir, which won the Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year.
In 2016, Tatiana Eva-Marie recorded the song in French with the Avalon Jazz Band on their album "Je suis Swing", a tribute to the Zazous.
In 2017, Mireille Mathieu recorded the song (in French) for her double CD album Made in France, which gathers the greatest French songs known around the world, interpreted by the singer. It was announced in her official website on 15 August that year.
In 2020, Thomas Dutronc recorded the song in trio with Iggy Pop and Diana Krall for his album Frenchy where he covers several popular French songs.
In 2022, Nikki Yanofsky recorded the song in French and released it as a single and is on her album Nikki by Starlight.
The same year, Jerry Seelen wrote the English lyrics for the recording of Johnny Desmond with Tony Mottola and his Orchestra in January 1950. The title of the song is not translated. In 1963, Allan Sherman wrote other English lyrics for his version, which he named "I See Bones".
In 1950, Ralph Maria Siegel wrote the German lyrics for the recording of Rita Gallos with Kurt Edelhagen and his Orchestra in May 1950. In 1983, Adrian Wolf wrote other German lyrics with the pseudonym Thore Holgerson for Maren Kroymann's version. The title of the song is not translated into German.
In 1974, Klaane Jan wrote the Dutch lyrics for his version with Roland Thyssen and his Orchestra. The title of the song became "T'ess zu goot".
In 1984, Alla Bayanova wrote the Romanian lyrics for his version. The title of the song became "Ce frumos".
In 1988, Rita Lee wrote the Portuguese lyrics for her version which she named "Cecy Bom". In 2016, Izabella Rocha wrote other Portuguese lyrics for her version which she named "É Tão Bom".
1972: Grapillon uses the song for their red grape juice.
1980 and 1982: Mont Blanc uses the song for their dessert cream.
1983, 1985 and 1987: Simmons uses the song for their mattresses.
1990 and 1992: Yves Saint Laurent uses the version of Jill Jones for their toilet water Jazz and the version of Take 6 for their toilet water Jazz Prestige.