"Comme d'habitude" (, French for "As usual") is a French song about routine in a relationship falling out of love. It was composed in 1967 by Jacques Revaux, with lyrics by Claude François and Gilles Thibaut. In 1969 Paul Anka gave it new lyrics to create the song "My Way", one of Frank Sinatra's signature songs.

Original

In February 1967 Jacques Revaux, on holiday in the Hôtel Canada in Megève, realised that he was overdue to write four songs commissioned by producer Norbert Saada, and wrote them all in one morning. One titled "For Me" had English lyrics; it was refused by Michel Sardou, Mireille Mathieu, Hugues Aufray and Claude François before Hervé Vilard released a version as a B-side. Revaux was dissatisfied and visited François at Dannemois on 27 August 1967 proposing to rework the song for him. François accepted but asked that an underlying theme of a couple in a strained relationship be included, in reference to his recent breakup with fellow French singer France Gall. Revaux agreed and with some rewriting from Gilles Thibaut the song became "Comme d'habitude" in its best-known version in French, which was released by Claude François in 1968.

Notable cover versions

Many artists sang "Comme d'habitude" in French after Claude François's success (and international success through '"My Way"), notably:

"My Way"

Paul Anka, after hearing the song while listening to French radio, bought the song's publication and adaptation rights but the original songwriters retained the music-composition half of their songwriter royalties. Anka wrote English lyrics specifically for Frank Sinatra, who then recorded a cross-Atlantic version of it in 1969 under the title "My Way". "My Way" has since been covered by many artists. The lyrics of "My Way" are similar to those of "Comme d'habitude" in terms of structure and metre, but the meaning is completely different. The French song is about routine in a relationship that is falling out of love, while the English language version is set at the end of a lifetime, approaching death, and looking back without regret – expressing feelings that are more related to Edith Piaf's song "Non, je ne regrette rien".

Others