. . . reluctantly but very beautifully. The musical setting may be offputtingly florid but her immaculate vocal makes it one of my favourite tracks. Beyond the sumptuous longing she invokes all through, she adds something very creative and particular: when she mentions the river Seine at the start, before the song's narrator has been to Paris, she pronounces it “sayne" - but in the last stanza, sung when living there, she pronounces it, with the knowledge of familiarity, “senn". Inspired.
I only found this small prefacing outtake today, in which Simone professes to struggle to identify with the song (which is by Judy Collins). It makes her mastery of it seem greater - and a fine demonstration of the difference between personal and artistic sincerity.
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