Dominique

This article is about the song. For other uses, see Dominique (disambiguation).

"Dominique" is a 1963 French language popular song, written and performed by Belgian singer Jeannine Deckers, better known as Sœur Sourire ("Sister Smile" in French) or The Singing Nun. The song is about Saint Dominic, a Spanish-born priest and founder of the Dominican Order, of which she was a member (as Sister Luc-Gabrielle).^[1] The English-version lyrics of the song were written by Noël Regney.^[2] In addition to French and English, Deckers recorded versions in Dutch, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese.

"Dominique"
Single by Sœur Sourire
from the album The Singing Nun
B-side	"Entre Les Étoiles"
Released	October 1963
Recorded	1963
Studio	Philips Studios, Brussels
Genre	Folk
Length	2:53
Label	Philips
Songwriter(s)	Jeanine Deckers

It was a top selling record in 11 countries in late 1963 and early 1964.

Commercial performance

"Dominique" reached the Top 10 in 11 countries in late 1963 and early 1964, topping the chart in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It reached the Top 5 in Norway, Denmark, Ireland and South Africa, with the song making it into the lower reaches of the Top 10 in the Netherlands, West Germany, and the United Kingdom. The song reached and stayed at No. 1 on Top 40 radio station WABC in New York City for the four weeks of 19 November through 10 December.^[3] On WLS Chicago, the song was No. 1 for the three weeks 15–29 November 1963.^[4] On both the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and "Easy Listening chart", "Dominique" was No. 1 for the four weeks 7–28 December 1963.

The song won the Grammy Award for Best Gospel or Other Religious Recording (Musical) in 1964.^[5] It was also a nominee for Grammy Award for Record of the Year, and Sœur Sourire was a nominee for Best Female Vocal Performance.^[5] It was the second foreign language song to hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 1963, the first being "Sukiyaki" by Kyu Sakamoto. For the next ten years or so, although there were a number of hits with most of the vocals in a language other than English (e.g., The Sandpipers' "Guantanamera", René y René's "Lo Mucho Que Te Quiero", etc.), no other purely foreign language song reached the Billboard Hot 100's top 40 until the Spanish language hit "Eres tú (Touch The Wind)" in 1974.^[6] "Dominique" outsold Elvis Presley during its stay on the Billboard Hot 100; it was the second to last No. 1 hit before the British Invasion.

The song

"Dominique" became a worldwide hit in 1963 and was the first, and only, Belgian number-one hit single in the American Billboard charts.

It is remembered chiefly for its refrain, which goes:

Domi-nique -nique -nique s'en allait tout simplement,

Routier, pauvre et chantant.

En tous chemins, en tous lieux,

Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu,

Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu.

A literal English translation is:

Domi-nic -nic -nic went about simply,

a poor singing traveller.

On every road, in every place,

he talks only of the Good Lord,

he talks only of the Good Lord.

The lyrics of the chorus of Regney's English-language translation are:

Domi-nique -nique -nique, o'er the land he plods along,

And sings a little song.

Never asking for reward,

He just talks about the Lord,

He just talks about the Lord.

Chart history

Weekly charts Chart (1963–1964) Peak position Argentina Singles Chart[7] 1 Australian Singles Chart[8] 1 Brazil Singles Chart (IBOPE)[9] 1 Brazil EP's Chart (IBOPE)[10] 2 Canadian (CHUM Charts Top 20)[11] 1 Danish Singles Chart[12] 2 Dutch Singles Chart[13] 6 German Singles Chart[14] 7 Finland Singles Chart (Suomen virallinen lista)[15] 23 Irish Singles Chart[16] 3 Japanese Singles Chart[17] 2 Mexican Singles Chart (AMPROFON)[18] 1 New Zealand Hit Parade[19] 1 Norwegian Singles Chart[20] 2 South African Singles Chart 1 Swedish Singles Chart[21] 12 Swiss Hitparade[22] 4 Uruguay Singles Chart[23] 2 UK Singles Chart[24] 7 US Billboard Hot 100[25] 1 Venezuela Singles Chart[7] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1963) Rank US Cash Box [26] 100 Chart (1964) Rank South Africa (Springbok)[27] 5 US Cash Box [26] 11 All-time charts Chart (1958–2018) Position US Billboard Hot 100[28] 412

Cover versions

• Sandler and Young revived the song in late 1966,^[29] a version that appeared on the Billboard easy listening chart. The performance was a medley including other religious-themed songs including "Deep River" and "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen".

See also

• List of 1960s one-hit wonders in the United States