"Forever and Ever" is a popular song, from a German song, "Fliege mit mir in die Heimat" written by the Austrian songwriter Franz Winkler. It was adopted by the German Luftwaffe as their song during World War II. The English lyrics were written by Malia Rosa in 1948. It was originally recorded by Gracie Fields with Robert Farnon's Orchestra on 23 October 1948 and released on Decca F9031. Her version was subsequently released in the USA on London 362 and it charted briefly in 1949.

1949 recordings

There were a number of popular recordings in 1949:

Simon et les Modanais version

In 1987, "Forever and Ever" was covered in French-language by Simon et les Modanais, under the title "Ėtoile des neiges". It was released in January 1988 as the first single from their debut album Il était une fois en Savoie. It achieved a great success in Belgium (Wallonia) and France where it was respectively a top one and two hit.

Background and release

Bernard Simon, railway worker in Modane and amateur singer in a small group covering Johnny Hallyday's songs and rehearsing in a disused chapel, performed one evening in a ball a cover of "Étoile des neiges" in a rock-musette style, which quickly became popular. Friend Jacques Vise went to Paris to propose the song and, in six months, they managed to get an old studio to record a model; presented to the BMG label, the song was accepted by the producers, but they asked the band to convey an image of a "terroir" group, with Louis Testardi as drummer, Jacques Vise as keyboards player and Véronique Vise as bassist. The often deemed kitsch music video, which begins with bells sounds, displays Simon dressed with a perfecto and a bow tie trying to seduce shepherdess Véronique. As the song was successful, the Modane town hall elected the members of the group honorary citizens of the town.

Chart performance

In France, "Étoile des neiges" debuted at number 46 on the chart edition of 30 January 1988, entered the top ten four weeks later where it stayed for 12 weeks, peaked at number two for a sole week in its eighth week, being blocked from the number one slot by Glenn Medeiros' hit "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You", and fell off the top 50 after 22 weeks of presence. It earned a gold disc awarded by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. In the Walloon region of Belgium, it was a number one hit for consecutive three weeks from 9 to 23 April 1988, and cumulated six weeks in the top three. On the Music & Media's European Hot 100 Singles chart, it debuted at number 78 on 27 February 1988 and reached a peak of number 6 for six weeks, and left the chart after 19 weeks.

Track listings

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other recordings