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| The songs |
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What the lyrics mean..... |
C....l....i....c....k...... ....o....n....... t.....h....e........ t....i....t....t....l....e........ t....o..... ...l....i....s...t....e....n.... ...t....o........ t....h....e........ ...s....o....n....g....------------------------------> |
Pensées des morts.... by Georges Brassens (1970s) |
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Click : Thoughts of the dead... an Autumn meditation ; what the dead want to tell us ; a wonderful poem by Lamartine and a powerful message |
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Le temps des cerises ... by Yves Montand (1870s) |
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Click : The time of cherries ... a metaphor : what life will be at the time of cherries in the Spring time, meaning when a revolution will have changed social and economic conditions ; written during the Commune in 1871 ; if you are politically Right Wing you like this song less ... |
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Les corons .... by Pierre Bachelet (1960s) |
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Click : The mining village ... a man remembers his youth in a family of miners ; if you play this in the Northern part of the country, the region of former coal mines, half of the audience will cry |
| Parlez moi d'amour .... by Lucienne Boyer (1930s) |
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Click : Talk to me about love ... a woman tells her lover that he can talk endlessly about love : she will never be bored |
| Avec le temps ... by Leo Ferré (1970s) |
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Click : With time .... whatever has happened to you, you will forget it with time but you will never be the same |
| Hymne à l'amour ... by Edith Piaf (1950s) |
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Click : An hymn to love ... there is nothing above love, greater than life ; Edith Piaf is said to have sung it in New York the day her lover Marcel Cerdan was killed in a plane crash |
| Ma plus belle histoire d'amour ... Barbara (1970s) |
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Click : My most wonderful love story is you.. a love song and, at the end, you understand that she is singing her love to her audience ; Barbara used to end her recitals with that song. |
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Ma bohème .... by Charles Aznavour (1970s) |
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Click : One is happy ... a successful artist remembers his youth in Montmartre when he was much poorer and much happier |
| Vous qui passez sans me voir ... by Jean Sablon (1930s) |
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Click : You who did not look at me ... to a woman who walked past me without giving me a look : please give me some hope, I am so sad ... |
| The lament of Maitre Pathelin ... by Roberto Alagna (from an opera by François Bazin - 1856) |
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Click : Maitre Pathelin, .... I think about you from the moment I wake-up ... I would love to tell you but I am too afraid of you .... |
| La montagne ... by Jean Ferrat (1960s) |
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Click : The mountain .... why did they move to the big city, work hard to make their living and have a stupid life when they were born in a beautiful region, enjoying their life ? |
Warning ! Please don't ask for the lyrics in English. My page on French songs has between six and seven million hits per year : I can't answer specific questions. Try to find the lyrics in French (I give several very useful links) and try to translate them...... |
| To related pages : French songs, more songs, regional and ethnic French songs, French movies, French literature,intercultural differences, etc... |
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Harriet Welty
Rochefort writes articles and books about France and the French.
Order her books:
- "French Toast, An American in Paris
Celebrates The Maddening Mysteries of the French", St.Martin's Press,
New York, 1999
- "French Fried, The Culinary Capers
of An American in Paris", St.Martin's Press, New York, 2001
More on Harriet's books (excerpts, upcoming
events, testimonials, etc..)
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Many sites about
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with a plus. You'll get an insider's view of the Franco- American
scene: working in Paris, tips about food, what's new, etc.. All
these and much more from a Franco- American couple in Paris. |