To France

"To France"
Single by Mike Oldfield
from the album Discovery
B-side	"In the Pool" "Bones"
Released	16 June 1984
Format	7", 12" vinyl
Recorded	"In the Swiss Alps at 2000 metres within sight of Lake Geneva on sunny days"[1]
Genre	Europop, rock
Length	4:33
Label	Virgin
Writer(s)	Mike Oldfield
Producer(s)	Mike Oldfield Simon Phillips
Mike Oldfield singles chronology
"Crime of Passion" (1984) "To France" (1984) "Tricks of the Light" (1984)

"To France" is a single by musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1984. It is from the album Discovery and features Maggie Reilly on vocals.

The musical theme used in "To France" was also used on the first track on side two of the Discovery album, "Talk About Your Life". It references Mary, Queen of Scots, in its chorus. The B-sides for the single are the non-album tracks "In the Pool" and "Bones".^[2] The B-sides later reappeared on the reissue of the "Moonlight Shadow" single in 1993.

The music video that appears on the Elements – The Best of Mike Oldfield video for "To France" is a mock-live performance of the song. Oldfield plays a Fender Stratocaster in the video.

Track listing

7" Single

1. "To France" (4.33)
2. "In the Pool" (3.40)

12" Single

1. "To France" (extended version) (5:32)
2. "In the Pool" (3:40)
3. "Bones" (3:19)

Charts

The song reached the top 10 in a number of countries in 1984 and topped the French charts for one week in October 1984.

Chart (1984)	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[3]	9
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[4]	2
France (SNEP)[5]	1
Germany (Official German Charts)[6]	6
Italy (FIMI)[7]	12
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[8]	3
Spanish Singles Chart	3
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[9]	7
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[10]	48

Year-End Chart

Chart (1984)	Peak position
Spanish Singles Chart	17
Belgian VRT Top 30	33
Dutch Singles Chart	37
German Media Control Charts	37
Italian Singles Chart	56

Maggie Reilly version

"To France"
Single by Maggie Reilly
from the album Elena
Released	March 1, 1997
Format	CD
Recorded	1996
Genre	Folk pop
Length	5:09
Label	EMI
Producer(s)	Nick Patrick
Maggie Reilly singles chronology
"Walk on By (The Mixes)" (1996) "To France" (1997) "Listen to Your Heart (The Mixes)" (1997)

In 1996, Maggie Reilly re-recorded "To France" on her solo album Elena, and in 2009 she recorded another version of the song for her album Looking Back Moving Forward. Compared to the original, this version is significantly Pop-heavy. Maggie Reilly released their version under her initials M. R.

Track listing

Maxi-CD

1. "To France" (JPO & Beam Video Mix) 3:46
2. "To France" (Intro) 1:08
3. "To France" (JPO & Beam Spanish Dream Mix) 5:50
4. "To France" (JPO & Beam Club Mix) 8:03
5. ""To France" (Espirito Remix) 6:40
6. "Mike Oldfield & Maggie Reilly - "To France" (Radio Edit) 3:34

Part II - CD-Maxi

1. "To France" (DJ Beam's Radio Mix) 3:54
2. "To France" (De Donatis Remix) 6:16
3. "To France" (DJ Beam's Club Mix) 6:29

Charts

Chart (1997)	Peak position
German Singles Chart	19
Austria Singles Chart	17
Swiss Singles Chart[11]	22
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)	53

Kim Wilde version

"To France"
Single by Kim Wilde
from the album Snapshots
Released	2 December 2011
Format	Digital download
Recorded	2011
Genre	Pop rock
Length	3:59
Label	Columbia SevenOne
Writer(s)	Mike Oldfield
Producer(s)	Andrew Murray Ricky Wilde
Kim Wilde singles chronology
"It's Alright"/ "Sleeping Satellite" (2011) "To France" (2011) "Ever Fallen in Love" (2012)

"To France" is the second single to be released from Kim Wilde's twelfth studio album Snapshots. It was released digitally on 2 December 2011. Included on the single is a brand new Christmas remix of the song as well as an exclusive remix of "It's Alright" by German Euro-dance band Groove Coverage.

Track listing

1. "To France" (Christmas edit) – 3:56
2. "To France" – 3:59
3. "It's Alright" (Groove Coverage remix edit) – 2:55
4. "It's Alright" (Groove Coverage remix) – 4:26

Other cover versions

• In 1996, Blind Guardian released a Power metal cover of "To France" on their album The Forgotten Tales.
• In 1998, Yamboo used parts from the song in their song "Come With Me".
• In 1997, Marina Kapuro recorded a Russian version, called "Маленький остров" ("little island").^[12]
• In 2002, Novaspace released a cover of "To France" as a single.
• In 2002, Hungarian pop group Crystal released a Hungarian language version called "Itt megtalálsz"
• In 2004, Under:Cover released a trance cover version.
• In 2006, The Highstreet Allstars released a jumpstyle cover version.
• In 2008, Alien Market released a house cover version.
• In 2008, Liz Kay released a techno cover version called "To France 2008".
• In 2009, E-Mine vs. Disco Punks released a commercial dance remix bundle digitally.
• In 2010, Brisby & Jingles released an electro house cover version as a digital single.
• In 2011, Leaves' Eyes released a cover of "To France" on their album Meredead.
• In 2011, French singer Nolwenn Leroy covered the song on the re-issue of her album Bretonne.
• In 2015, The German Band Santiano released a cover version called "Lieder der Freiheit" (Songs of freedom).

References

1. "Mike Oldfield Discography - Discovery". Tubular.net. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
2. "Singles". Amadian. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
3. "Austriancharts.at – Mike Oldfield & Maggie Reilly – To France" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 2013-04-08.
4. "Ultratop.be – Mike Oldfield & Maggie Reilly – To France" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2013-04-08.
5. "Lescharts.com – Mike Oldfield & Maggie Reilly – To France" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 2013-04-08.
6. "Musicline.de – Mike Oldfield & Maggie Reilly Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved 2013-04-08.
7. http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/indici/per_interprete/ao.htm
8. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Mike Oldfield & Maggie Reilly search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 2013-04-08.
9. "Swisscharts.com – Mike Oldfield & Maggie Reilly – To France". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 2013-04-08.
10. "Mike Oldfield & Maggie Reilly: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2013-04-08.
11. hitparade.ch
12. Marina Kapuro - "Маленький остров" on YouTube

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics