Not an edit. This is the (shorter) single version of the song. The song is a portrait of a poor-born girl who becomes a member of the European jet set. The song topped the charts in 14 countries. #60 in the USA. It was also awarded the 1970 Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.
The song was not originally intended to be a single. Peter: "I wanted to write a long, extended piece because I was working in folk clubs and universities, and Al Stewart had something that was half an hour long and Bob Dylan's "Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands" took a whole side of an album. "Where Do You Go To My Lovely" was my first attempt at writing something longer than my normal three minutes. It was amazingly easy to write, but I knew what I wanted to say. I wanted to say something about this particular person, although it wasn't about anyone specific."
WHERE DO YOU GO TO (MY LOVELY)
(Peter Sarstedt)
you talk like Marlene Dietrich and you dance like Zizi Jeanmaire
your clothes are all made by Balmain
and there's diamonds and pearls in your hair, yes there are
you live in a fancy apartment off the Boulevard St. Michel
where you keep your Rolling Stones records
and a friend of Sacha Distel, 'yes you do
» not on the single version:
» (you go to the embassy parties where you talk in Russian and Greek
» and the young men who move in your circles
» they hang on every word you speak, yes they do)
but where do you go to my lovely, when you're alone in your bed
tell me the thoughts that surround you I want to look inside your head, yes I do
I've seen all your qualifications, you got from the Sorbonne
and the painting you stole from Picasso
your loveliness goes on and on, yes it does
'when you go on your summer vacation, you go to Juan-les-Pines
with your carefully designed topless swimsuit
you get an even suntan on your back and on your legs
and when the snow falls, you're found in St. Moritz 'with the others of the jet-set
and you sip your Napoleon Brandy but you never get your lips wet, no you don't
but where do you go to my lovely, when you're alone in your bed
'won't you tell me the thoughts that surround you, I want to look inside your head, yes I do
» not on the single version:
» (you're in between 20 and 30, a very desirable age
» your body is firm and inviting, 'but you live on a glittering stage, yes you do, yes you do)
your name, it is heard in high places, you know the Aga Khan
he sent you a racehorse for Christmas and you keep it, just for fun, for a laugh aha-ha-ha
they say that when you get married, it'll be to a millionaire
'but they don't realize where you came from
and I wonder if they really care, or give a damn
where do you go to my lovely, when you're alone in your bed?
tell me the thoughts that surround you, I want to look inside your head, yes I do
I remember the back streets of Naples, two children begging in rags
both touched with a burning ambition, to
