Amélie (soundtrack)

Untitled

Amélie is the soundtrack to the 2001 French film Amélie, a motion picture set in Paris, France, about a young woman endeavouring to help and improve the lives of those around her. Having been home-schooled since childhood, Amélie finally leaves her lifelong home and begins to discover her true vocation in life: awarding her neighbours and colleagues love and happiness. But when Amélie chances upon her own romance, her adventure truly begins—ever captured by the music of Yann Tiersen.

Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet chanced upon the accordion- and piano-driven music of Yann Tiersen while driving with his production assistant who put on a CD he had not heard before. Greatly impressed, he immediately bought Tiersen's entire catalogue and eventually commissioned him to compose pieces for the film. The soundtrack features both compositions from Tiersen's first three albums, but also new items, variants of which can be found on his fourth album, L'Absente, which he was writing at the same time.

Beside the accordion and piano the music features parts played with harpsichord, banjo, bass guitar, vibraphone and even a bicycle wheel at the end of "La Dispute" (which plays over the opening titles in the motion picture).

Prior to discovering Tiersen, Jeunet was primarily considering composer Michael Nyman to score the film.

"Les Jours tristes" was co-written with Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy. The track later received English lyrics, and was released by The Divine Comedy as a b-side to the Regeneration single "Perfect Lovesong." The English-language version also appeared on Tiersen's L'Absente.

Track listing

All music is composed by Yann Tiersen, except where noted

No.	Title	Length
1.	"J'y suis jamais allé"	1:34
2.	"Les jours tristes" (Instrumental) (written by Tiersen and Neil Hannon)	3:03
3.	"La valse d'Amélie"	2:15
4.	"Comptine d'un autre été : L'après-midi"	2:20
5.	"La noyée"	2:03
6.	"L'autre valse d'Amélie"	1:33
7.	"Guilty" (performed by Al Bowlly; written by Gus Kahn; composed by Richard A. Whiting and Harry Akst)	3:13
8.	"À quai"	3:32
9.	"Le moulin"	4:27
10.	"Pas si simple"	1:52
11.	"La valse d'Amélie" (Orchestral Version)	2:00
12.	"La valse des vieux os"	2:20
13.	"La dispute"	4:15
14.	"Si tu n'étais pas là" (performed by Fréhel; written by Gaston Claret and Pierre Bayle)	3:29
15.	"Soir de fête"	2:55
16.	"La redécouverte"	1:13
17.	"Sur le fil"	4:23
18.	"Le banquet"	1:31
19.	"La valse d'Amélie" (Piano Version)	2:38
20.	"La valse des monstres"	3:39

French CD bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
21.	"L'autre valse d'Amélie" (Version quatuor à cordes et piano)	1:43
22.	"Les deux pianos"	2:00
23.	"Comptine d'un autre été : La Démarche"	2:03
24.	"La maison"	2:03

Personnel

Musicians

• Yann Tiersen – piano, toy piano, carillon, banjo, mandolin, guitar, harpsichord, vibraphone, accordion, bass, melodica
• Ensemble Orchestral Synaxis – orchestra on "Les Jours tristes" and "À quai"
• Christine Ott – ondes Martenot on "À quai"
• Christian Quermalet – drums on "Les Jours tristes"

Production

• Uwe Teichert – mastering
• Fabrice Laureau – mixing
• Marc Bruckert – artwork
• Laurent Lufroy – film poster

Awards and nominations

The list is made with the information from IMDb.

Awards

• 2001 — World Soundtrack Award for Best Original Score of the Year
• 2002 — César Award for Best Music Written for a Film

Nominations

• 2001 — BAFTA Award for Best Film Music
• 2001 — World Soundtrack Award for Soundtrack Composer of the Year
• 2001 — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Soundtrack of the Year

Charts

Soundtrack album

Charts (2001)	Peak position
Austrian Albums Chart	35
Belgian Albums Chart (Vl)	3
Belgian Albums Chart (Wa)	2
Dutch Albums Chart	31
French Albums Chart	1
Swiss Albums Chart	28
US Billboard Top World Music Albums	2

Template:Multicol-break "Comptine d'un autre été : L'après-midi"

Chart (2001)	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)	41
songid field is MANDATORY FOR GERMAN CHARTS	47
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)	34

Certifications

Country	Certification	Sales/shipments
Canada	Platinum	100,000
Germany	Gold	100,000
Poland	Gold	50,000

Covers

The band New Found Glory covered "J'y suis jamais allé" on their second covers album From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II. The song was also used by Expression crew in their dance act, Marionette.