{{Short description|1938 song by Charles Trenet}} [[File:Action. Rodeo - Charles Trenet BAnQ P48S1P12764 crop.jpg|thumb|Charles Trenet, the song's author, pictured in 1946]] "'''Boum!'''" ({{IPA|fr|bum|lang|small=no|LL-Q150 (fra)-Mecanautes-boum.wav}}; onomatopoeia similar to ''boom'' in English, but referring to a heartbeat) is a popular 1938 song by the French singer/songwriter Charles Trenet which won him the Grand Prix du Disque.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mWe0AAAAIAAJ |title=You See, I Haven't Forgotten |last1=Montand |first1=Yves |last2=Rotman |first2=Patrick |last3=Hamon |first3=Hervé |name-list-style=amp |translator-last=Leggatt |translator-first=Jeremy |isbn=978-0-679-41012-6 |page=49 |year=1992 |publisher=Knopf |location=New York}}</ref> It was one of several songs that Trenet wrote for the film ''La Route enchantée'', for which he also wrote the screenplay and played the leading role. The film was directed by Pierre Caron, and was released in November 1938.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0187463/ |title=La Route enchantée |website=IMDb |access-date=20 October 2023}}</ref> The song was initially released in 1938 by Columbia Records on a 10" single as the B-side to "Vous êtes jolie".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/14458985-Charles-Trenet-Vous-%C3%8Ates-Jolie-Boum- |title=Charles Trenet – Vous Êtes Jolie / Boum !!... |website=Discogs |access-date=20 October 2023}}</ref>
Its light, irreverent lyrics express a ''joie de vivre'' typical in French popular music produced during the late 1930s,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rearick |first1=Charles |title=The French in Love and War: Popular Culture in the Era of the World Wars |date=1997 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn=978-0300064339 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/frenchinlovewarp00rear/page/212 212-4] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/frenchinlovewarp00rear/page/212}}</ref> reflecting the political unrest and economic uncertainty of that time.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rearick |first1=Charles |title=The French in Love and War: Popular Culture in the Era of the World Wars| date=1997 |publisher=Yale University Press| location=New Haven |isbn=978-0300064339 |page=[https://archive.org/details/frenchinlovewarp00rear/page/212 212] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/frenchinlovewarp00rear/page/212}}</ref>
It includes depictions of the sounds made by various animals and also various onomatopoeia. The lyric to the refrain is: {| style="margin:auto; width:480px;" cellpadding="0" |- | ''Boum!''|| Boom! |- | ''Quand notre coeur fait Boum!'' || When our heart goes "Boom!" |- | ''Tout avec lui dit Boum!'' || Everything goes "Boom!" with it, |- | ''Et c'est l'amour'' || And it is love |- | ''Qui s'éveille.'' || Which awakes. |}
"Boum!" has been recorded by other artists and in English translation. In 1994 the song was covered by Belgian singer Maurane.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jukebo.fr/maurane/clip,boum,vv8rp.html |title=Clip Maurane, Boum, vidéo et Paroles de chanson |website=Jukebo.fr |access-date=2012-01-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307133833/http://www.jukebo.fr/maurane/clip,boum,vv8rp.html |archive-date=2012-03-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The song has featured in a variety of films and documentaries, including ''The World at War'', ''Something's Gotta Give'', ''Toto the Hero'', ''Skyfall'', and ''A Good Year''. In the BBC TV-series '''Allo 'Allo!'', Edith Artois often sings it, saying that it is one of her favourites. It has also been used in commercial advertising.
==Other recordings== *Andy Williams released a version on his 1960 album, ''Under Paris Skies''.<ref>{{cite web|title=www.allmusic.com|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/under-paris-skies-mw0000100078|website=allmusic.com|accessdate=July 6, 2024}}</ref> *Blossom Dearie released a version on her 1961 album, ''My Gentleman Friend.''<ref>{{cite web|title=www.allmusic.com|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/my-gentleman-friend-mw0000040845|website=allmusic.com|accessdate=December 28, 2025}}</ref>
==Parody== In Hergé's ''The Adventures of Tintin'' comic ''Land of Black Gold'', Trenet's "Boum!" is transformed into a radio advertising jingle for a fictional roadside assistance company, "Simoun" ("Autocart" in the English editions). In the animated film ''Mortadelo and Filemon: Mission Implausible'', Jimmy el Cachondo sings it with an alternative lyric in Spanish.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.frmusique.ru/texts/t/trenet_charles/boum.htm Lyrics in French]
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Category:French songs Category:Charles Trenet songs Category:Songs written by Charles Trenet Category:1938 songs