The song originated as a 1981 recording in French by Martine Clmenceau for whom "Solitaire" was a modest hit with a French chart peak of #50 on the French pop charts where it remained for 22 weeks.[1] Written by Clmenceau herself, the French version of "Solitaire" concerned a recluse who shuts himself away from a world moving toward nuclear war. The English lyrics of "Solitaire" reinvent the song's narrative, with the playing of the card game solitaire employed as a metaphor for the singer enduring the neglect of her lover. "Solitaire" would launch the hitmaking career of Diane Warren, who had recently been employed as a staff writer by Branigan's producer Jack White; Warren gave White the completed lyrics for "Solitaire" the day after he asked her to give the song an English rendering.[2]