Je te veux

A valse chantée written for the singer Paulette Darty, whose accompanist Satie had been; she first performed it in 1903 at La Scala, a Paris café-concert, and the song was published the same year. It was registered in 1902, though some scholars date the composition to 1897. The words are by Henry Pacory, and Satie is said to have made him tone them down. Satie produced several versions himself — voice and piano, solo piano, brass band and full orchestra — treating a commercial song with the same care as his concert music, at a time when the cabaret was paying his rent.