Where Do You Go to ( My Lovely ) ? - Wikipedia Where Do You Go to ( My Lovely ) ? This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( July 2009 ) `` Where Do You Go To ( My Lovely ) ? '' Single by Peter Sarstedt from the album Peter Sarstedt B - side `` Morning Mountain '' Released January 1969 ( 1969 - 01 ) Format 7 '' Genre Folk pop waltz Length 4 : 42 Label United Artists Songwriter ( s ) Peter Sarstedt Producer ( s ) Ray Singer Peter Sarstedt singles chronology `` I Am a Cathedral '' ( 1968 ) `` Where Do You Go To ( My Lovely ) ? '' ( 1969 ) `` Frozen Orange Juice '' ( 1969 ) `` I Am a Cathedral '' ( 1968 ) `` Where Do You Go To ( My Lovely ) ? '' ( 1969 ) `` Frozen Orange Juice '' ( 1969 ) `` Where Do You Go To ( My Lovely ) ? '' is a song by the British singer - songwriter Peter Sarstedt. Its recording was produced by Ray Singer, engineered by John Mackswith at Lansdowne Recording Studios and released in 1969. It was a number - one 1 hit in the UK Singles Chart for four weeks in 1969, and was awarded the 1969 Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. In the United States, the record reached No. 61 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles. The single also peaked at No. 70 on the Billboard Hot 100 that May. The music has been described as `` a faux European waltz tune '' and the arrangement is a very simple one of strummed acoustic guitar and bass guitar, with brief bursts of French - style accordion at the start and the end. The arranger and conductor was Ian Green. Contents 1 Lyrics 2 Inspiration 3 Reception 4 Sequel 5 References Lyrics This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( March 2014 ) The song is about a fictional girl named Marie - Claire who grows up on the poverty - stricken backstreets of Naples, becomes a member of the jet set, and goes on to live in Paris. The lyrics describe her from the perspective of a childhood friend ; it is left unclear whether they have remained close. The rhetorical question of the title suggests that her glamorous lifestyle might not have brought Marie - Claire happiness or contentment. Even though Sarstedt himself was not French, the song benefited from the contemporary awareness in Britain of such French and Belgian singers as Serge Gainsbourg and Jacques Brel ( Belgium - born of Flemish descent ). The lyrics contain a large number of contemporary and other references : Marlene Dietrich : German American actress and singer Zizi Jeanmaire : French ballerina Pierre Balmain : French designer of elegant fashions Boulevard Saint - Michel : street in the Latin Quarter of Paris The Rolling Stones : popular British rock and roll band Sacha Distel : French singer and musician Sorbonne : University of Paris Picasso : Spanish pioneer of modern art Juan - les - Pins : fashionable beach resort on the French Riviera Topless swimsuit : first conceived by Austrian - American fashion designer Rudi Gernreich in 1964 Saint Moritz : fashionable ski resort in the Engadin, Swiss Alps Napoleon brandy : a blended brandy in which the youngest brandy of the blend has been aged for at least six years Aga Khan : world - travelling Islamic leader and racehorse owner The version on the album Peter Sarstedt is longer than the radio edit version released as a single, having extra stanzas beginning `` You go to the embassy parties... '' and `` You 're in between twenty and thirty... ''. Inspiration It is often suspected that the name Marie - Claire is inspired by Marie Claire magazine, a women 's fashion weekly that began in 1937 in France. One theory says that the song is about the Italian actress Sophia Loren, who was abandoned by her father and had a poverty - stricken life in Naples. Another theory has the song being inspired by Danish singer and actress Nina van Pallandt. According to Alan Cooper, `` Sarstedt insisted it was not written with actress Sophia Loren in mind. ' Yes, it 's a portrait of a poor - born girl who becomes a member of the European jet - set. And yes, there 's reference to her growing up on the ' back streets of Naples ', so I can see why people may think it was written with Sophia Loren in mind. But that 's just a coincidence. I really was n't thinking of anyone specific. ' '' The song was written in Copenhagen. In 2009, Sarstedt spoke to a gossip columnist for the Daily Express. He admitted he had lied about the song being about a socialite who died in a fire. He said that the song was about his girlfriend at the time, whom he later married and then divorced. According to Mark Steyn, `` Anita is now a dentist in Copenhagen. Peter Sarstedt has spent 40 years singing about wanting to look inside her head. And for most of that time Anita has made a living by looking inside yours. '' Reception The song was a hit far exceeding Sarstedt 's other work, although he is not a one - hit wonder. In 1998 he was earning £ 60,000 annually in royalties from it. DJ John Peel repeatedly stated that the song was one of his least favourites. On his show on BFBS radio on 1 July 1989, he said : ' It 's a terrible, smug, self - satisfied, hideous record. Really have hated it ever since I first heard it '. The song was used as a soundtrack in Wes Anderson 's 2007 film The Darjeeling Limited, and in Jennifer Saunders ' 2016 film Absolutely Fabulous : The Movie. Sequel In 1997 Sarstedt recorded a sequel, `` The Last of the Breed ( Lovely 2 ) '' on his CD England 's Lane. This picks up the story of Marie Claire twenty years on, living now in London. It names more people and places, including Belgravia, Ballets Russes, Cape Town, Claridge 's, Gstaad, John Galliano, Harrods, Jerusalem, Long Island, Milan, Rudolf Nureyev, Palm Beach, Rio de Janeiro, and Isabella Rossellini. In recent years, Sarstedt and a co-writer were working on a further sequel, `` Farewell Marie - Claire '', in which the story was brought to a conclusion. The song was to feature the same waltz feel as the original. But Sarstedt 's retirement from the music industry meant that the track was abandoned. References Jump up ^ Roberts, David ( 2006 ). British Hit Singles & Albums ( 19th ed. ). London : Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 229 -- 30. ISBN 1 - 904994 - 10 - 5. Jump up ^ Lister, David ( 27 May 1994 ). `` Pop ballads bite back in lyrical fashion ''. The Independent. Retrieved 26 June 2017. Jump up ^ Eder, Bruce. `` Peter Sarstedt : biography ''. Allmusic. Retrieved 7 October 2012. Jump up ^ `` Record Details ''. 45cat. Retrieved 26 June 2017. Jump up ^ `` 60 's chart topper Peter Sarstedt visits the KZN Midlands ''. Treeroutes.co.za. Archived from the original on 2014 - 07 - 22. Retrieved 2014 - 03 - 26. Jump up ^ Confirmation of this can be found on the CD cover of The Best of Peter Sarstedt, EMI, nr. 8297622, Australian CD. Jump up ^ `` One of those songs by Sarstedt ''. Sydney Morning Herald. 27 June 1982. Retrieved 2014 - 05 - 11. Jump up ^ Steyn, Mark. `` Where Do You Go To My Lovely ''. Steyn Online. Mark Steyn. Retrieved 10 January 2017. Jump up ^ Murphy, Peter ( 27 May 1998 ). `` So Where Did You Go To, My Lovely ? ''. Hot Press. Dublin. Retrieved 2 September 2016. Jump up ^ England 's Lane released as Round Tower RTM CD89 Jump up ^ `` Untitled '' ( PDF ). Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 2 May 2006. Retrieved 26 June 2017. Preceded by `` ( If Paradise Is ) Half as Nice '' by Amen Corner UK number one single 26 February 1969 Succeeded by `` I Heard It Through the Grapevine '' by Marvin Gaye Ivor Novello Awards -- Best Song Musically and Lyrically 1960s She 's Leaving Home ( 1968 ) 1970s Where Do You Go To ( My Lovely ) ? ( 1970 ) Something ( 1971 ) Do n't Let It Die ( 1972 ) Without You ( 1973 ) Daniel ( 1974 ) Streets of London * ( 1975 ) Do n't Cry for Me Argentina ( 1978 ) Baker Street ( 1979 ) 1980s The Logical Song ( 1980 ) Woman in Love ( 1981 ) Memory ( 1982 ) Have You Ever Been in Love ( 1983 ) Every Breath You Take ( 1984 ) Against All Odds ( 1985 ) Nikita ( 1986 ) Do n't Give Up ( 1987 ) Something Inside So Strong ( 1988 ) They Dance Alone ( 1989 ) 1990s The Living Years ( 1990 ) Sacrifice ( 1991 ) The Whole of the Moon ( 1992 ) Why ( 1993 ) If I Ever Lose My Faith in You ( 1994 ) Think Twice ( 1995 ) Common People ( 1996 ) Too Much Love Will Kill You ( 1997 ) Paranoid Android ( 1998 ) Believe ( 1999 ) 2000s Strong ( 2000 ) Babylon ( 2001 ) Walk On ( 2002 ) The Other Side ( 2003 ) Leave Right Now ( 2004 ) Dry Your Eyes ( 2005 ) Suddenly I See ( 2006 ) Elusive ( 2007 ) Love Is a Losing Game ( 2008 ) One Day Like This ( 2009 ) 2010s The Fear ( 2010 ) Becoming a Jackal ( 2011 ) The A Team ( 2012 ) Next to Me ( 2013 ) Strong ( 2014 ) Take Me to Church ( 2015 ) Was n't Expecting That ( 2016 ) Black Man in a White World ( 2017 ) * Awarded as The Best Song Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Where_Do_You_Go_To_(My_Lovely)%3F&oldid=833408387 '' Categories : 1969 singles 2006 singles UK Singles Chart number - one singles Number - one singles in Australia Irish Singles Chart number - one singles Peter Sarstedt songs 1969 songs United Artists Records singles Cultural depictions of Pablo Picasso Songs about The Rolling Stones Songs about Naples Songs about Paris Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from July 2009 All articles needing additional references Articles with hAudio microformats Articles needing additional references from March 2014 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from March 2018 All articles with vague or ambiguous time Vague or ambiguous time from January 2017 Articles with unsourced statements from January 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español Français Italiano עברית Norsk Edit links This page was last edited on 31 March 2018, at 10 : 36. 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Question: who is the song where do you go to my lovely about
Answer: a fictional girl named Marie-Claire who grows up on the poverty-stricken backstreets of Naples, becomes a member of the jet set, and goes on to live in Paris