french song at end of tinker tailor soldier spy
La Mer (song) The French original is featured prominently in a variety of films, including L.A. Story, in which it is played during the opening montage; French Kiss (1995), in which it is sung by lead actor Kevin Kline[19] and Mr. Bean's Holiday, which uses a recording of Trenet himself in its final scene. It also is played in the last episode of White Collar (TV series) named AÃº Revoir started on a record player by Mozzie and then it plays over Neal Caffrey cracking a safe and Neal Caffrey walking through the streets of Paris. The song is sung in the French documentary film Blood of the Beasts (1949). Julio Iglesias' 1976 live recording is used instead of dialogue and other sounds (including a gun shot) during the last three and a half minutes of the 2011 British spy-film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, directed by Tomas Alfredson. The film and the song both end in the same moment (credit credentials aside). It is performed in the film A Life Less Ordinary (1997) by Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz. The Trenet recording is heard over the end credits of an episode of The Simpsons titled "The Squirt and the Whale".[2][20][21][22][23][24][25]
Travelin' Soldier The song is a tale about a shy, lonesome, young American soldier who strikes up a conversation and later a correspondence with a high school girl during the Vietnam War era. Americana details pervade the lyrics as the song details the correspondence as a relationship forms between the two, despite the insurmountable distance. The last letter from the soldier mentions that "it's gettin kinda rough over here" and he "won't be able to write for a while" before skipping ahead to a football game at the girl's high school. After the anthem and Lord's Prayer, the local Vietnam dead are announced. The soldier's name is on the list, but only the girl, who is there, recognizes his name, and she mourns for him as stated in the line "One name read and nobody really cared but a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair."