"Babacar" is a 1987 song recorded by French singer France Gall. Written by Michel Berger, it was the first single from the album of the same name. Released on 3 April 1987, it reached the top 20 in France and West Germany.

Background and writing

During vacations in Senegal in 1986, Gall met a baby, Babacar Sall, and his young mother named Fatou who raised him alone and without money, so that the latter proposed Gall to take him and raise him instead of her. Shocked, Gall photographed the child and, when back in France, spoke about it to husband Berger. They decided not to adopt the child but to help the young mother financially and materially. This story and Gall's distress led Berger to write the song "Babacar". In January 1987, they went to Dakar again to shoot the music video for the song and saw Fatou and her child again. After finding an apartment to them, the couple financed the young woman's seamstress studies as well as her son's future, whom they met again in 1992.

Track listings

Charts

Kate Ryan version

It was announced by Kate Ryan in early 2009 that her new single would be a French track and a cover. Later on, at the end of May, the single cover was released and it was confirmed that it would be another France Gall cover. Ryan performed and presented the single for the first time in her gig at G-A-Y in London, United Kingdom. Later, a preview of the official video was onlineone week before the Belgian release of the single. The song debuted first in Sweden at No. 27, debuting one week after in Belgium at No. 22. The song was already released in Poland and the Czech Republic and a German release was set for 30 October 2009.

Track listings

Charts

Other cover versions

In 2009, the song was covered by Lara Fabian on her eighth studio album Toutes les femmes en moi, as 14th track.