#and I listened to the songs

[bookwyrminspiration]

no clue if you're into Les Misérables at all but i just need to yell about something for a second. and that something has to do with the english musical and the french concept album, specifically how gavroche seems So Fucking Angry in the french version compared to the english one.

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS ALL OPINION AND I'M PRETTY SURE I'M TALKING OUT OF MY ASS FOR HALF OF THIS ANYWAY. THE ENGLISH MUSICAL IS GOOD I JUST LOVE FABRICE BERNARD'S GAVROCHE.

like, first off, the french version of Little People is... honestly depressing if you really think about it. like, little people is great! it's a fun song about how children are more than people think they are!

it's a lot happier than anything a french gavroche could sing.

the french counterpart is called La Faute à Voltaire [1], and i'm not even gonna try to explain that reference here because it's honestly just a Lot, but in between the chorus when it's not satirizing about Voltaire and Rousseau you get these lines:

I can't really translate these because there's lots of lines that can't be translated [2], but each of them speak about the fact that gavroche lives in a constant state of poverty with no garauntee of food and safety. gavroche literally calls himself a va-nu-pied, which is a degrading term for someone who is extremely poor (literally "go barefoot", before they don't have money for shoes.)

(fun fact, when i was trying to translate this before i gave up, i used GT to double check the basic meaning of my tl of "joyeux drilles en guenilles" and it gave me "merry ragged bitches". do with that what you will.)

needless to say, it's not exactly the same as simply being looked down upon for being a child.

Also, just listen to the difference in tone in the english and french version. (ian tucker and fabrice bernard respectively). maybe it's just me, but gavroche in the french version sounds constantly at least a little angry (mostly because this is an angry song in french!)

the other song that particularly strikes me is the french counterpart to Look Down, which is called Donnez, Donnez. (If i'm wrong about this, someone please correct me though!)

Now, Look Down is incredibly powerful and i fucking love it, and honestly I think I honestly love both versions equally. but something strikes me about fabrice bernard's gavroche, and i think that something is just how much cruder he is than english gavroche, and how much more alone he seems.

on the first note (crudeness), english gavroche does say hell, which some people consider a swear, but french gavroche uses the words "j'me démerde", which essentially means "i manage/get by", but uses 1. shortenings/skipping sounds with j'me (very much not Proper) and 2. the word "démerde", which literally has "shit" in it (merde.) So, essentially, deshit or deal with shit.

He also uses "V'la" instead of "voilà", which is another shortening and even worse, because he pronounces it not very similar to the original word. It also denotes a certain amount of uncaringness towards his family due to the nature of type of speech, whereas english gavroche says "these are my people", which is much nicer.

english gavroche also says "not much to look at, nothing posh / nothing that you'd call up to scratch" while french gavroche says "nothing in my hands, nothing in my pockets / everything in the heart of my song", which to me reads more of an emphasis on the fact that he has nothing, rather than what he does have being subpar.

back to the deshitting stuff, though, the line "this is my school, my high society", which is once again denoting a sense of at least somewhat belonging or claiming this place, is turned into "j'ai pas de sous, et pourtant j'me démerde," which literally means "i have no money, but i manage" (but in the rudest phrasing they could get away with), which is fascinating, since it's once again highlighting a lack of something!

finally, "think you're poor? think you're free? follow me!" is changed to "les timides, les caïds, suivez l'guide!" which.... i don't really know if i can translate caïds? but once again, it's much more degrading language.

Oh, and once again: good angry voice. My god. (kicks in at 1:13)

From beyond that, there's differences in the english version i can listen to and the english lyrics i can actually find, so i don't really want to get back into compairisions here, but i just want to note that gavroche basically yells "vive moi, pas le roi, ça ira, ça ira [3]", meaning "long live me, not the king", which is an interesting thing to have when the original english (as far as i can tell) actually had the words "long live us" instead!

Oh, oh, and the phrase "parce qu'à Paname, y a plus d'oseille" (when he sings about thénardier) is entirely reliant on slang, which is super cool! (specifically, paname is an old name for paris, and oseille means money, so basically "cuz in paris there's more money")

oh. and his death in both versions. good lord. SO.

in the english version, as far as i can tell, gavroche sings Little People until the end. he quite literally never gives up. it's heartbreaking and it makes me bawl my eyes out.

but french gavroche.... to an extent, he does this too, as he dies on the second line of La Faute à Voltaire, but i want to point to a specific line:

"c'est comme ça, on gagne pas, à chaque fois..." "it's how it is. you don't win every time."

this gavroche already knows he's lost. because he knows he's miserable, and poor, and never going to get better, not really. he's essentially already accepted his death. it's horrifying.

i don't really have any concluding thoughts other than "french gavroche good (english gavroche also good but not fav)", but i really do think it's fascinating that gavroche is a much more raw and beaten down kid in the french version. like i know why he's not in the english version (two words: oliver twist), but... this fits. this really fits les mis. and it's my favorite book, so.

oh shit. oh man i really wrote all that. um. whoops?

[1] the song directly lays blame at the feet of Voltaire and Rousseau for some kind of injustice, as it is a satirization of the fact that, due to Voltaire and Rousseau's influence on the revolution, lots of royalists blamed them directly for it.

[2] for example, "Je suis un va-nu-pieds / Mais, nu, le pied va quand même" is a play on words. Va-nu-pieds is a word for an incredible poor and/or homeless person (literally "go barefoot" because they can't by shoes). Gavroche calls himself this, but in the next line says "but, barefoot, the foot can still walk", which says a LOT about him tbh

[3] those "ça ira"s are a reference to a revolutionary song, literally called 'Ça ira'!

(2/2) IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT THE LONG GAVROCHE ASK:

if i said "ça ira" translates to "it'll do", i was wrong (though not entirely)! it's could also translate to "it'll go/it'll pass"! <- in fact, i think that translation is the correct one lol.

Okay okay. This is a lot there's even footnotes, I'm going to do my best to have a cohesive response. I am not currently into Les Mis and I have no idea who Gavroche is, but glad to be yelled at over it!

I see what you're talking about--though undoubtedly not as clearly as you do as my French is little and very rusty--and it makes complete sense with what I know about you as a person that French Gavroche is more appealing. I agree as well, the...added depth? Not shying away from making it gritty and bare and plain to see his situation instead of softening it? is almost always more of a motivating and captivating character, even when the softer counterpart is endearing.

I do also hear the tone shift you're talking about between songs! Maybe I'm being subconsciously influenced by you because you said it first, but at the very least the English version is incredibly cheery. Which doesn't match the lyrics of the second, if I'm understanding right.

Also! The slang/shortening of words and the shit thing are very interesting, I love seeing language get played with like that, so I appreciate you explaining the meanings. The i have things but not a lot vs I don't have anything is a fascinating comparison of perspective!

Which also comes up in the variations of their deaths, and I think I can get what you're highlighting about it being horrifying but also compelling and fascinating. You don't always win! I can't compare it to Les Mis as I haven't read it, but it tracks that this would fit with the book based on the very little I do know.

I also don't have any concluding thoughts because this is a lot and it's difficult to convey *sits here eagerly listening nodding along focused* in words because I'm on the receiving end of all the words and info. But this is very fascinating to see and I appreciate learning all this! I now know significantly more about Gavroche and his portrayal! I don't, however, know who Gavroche is

[xzyumi]

tang dynasty miku

[killingmyselfbutnotdying]

"Friends dont look at friends that way" COWARD. I look at my friends with awe in my eyes, my chest is filled with love, im glowing because i get to be near my friends. I look at my friends and i would give them my everything. SO SKILL ISSUE, look at your friends with all the love that you have

[the-halfling-prince]

You can keep a hundred boys in jars or whatever it is that Chappell Roan said

[s0up1ta]

ANYONE ELSE WANT A PIECE 🤬🤬😡👹🗣️

alt versions under the cut:

couldn't decide so take all of them

edit: I MADE A DESKTOP VERSION !!

[desiresign]

I want to live like this image

[image id: 5 colorful dinosaur clay figures depicting a green sauropod, blue triceratops, red t-rex, yellow stegosaurus, and pink pterodactyl. end id]

artist credit

[applestruda]

Chemical overreaction / compound fracture

[junglejim4322]

“Touch me while your bros play grand theft auto” the tortured poet screams

[creme-meme]

Lil Nas X is someone who tragically had to have a wildly successful music career in order to support his true passion, being a top quality internet troll

[meziniart]

Ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves

[oof-i-did-it-agaaiiin]

Beautiful from Ordinary Days

[elyfonart]

NO they're not 'having fun' UGH you just dont get it!!!

[skydoescrime]

im straight up “against it” and by it haha well. lets justr say. the kitchen floor

[aeonmnei]

— “‘samu, stop,” you whisper, as he finds you at the opposite corner of the bed yet again. “it’s so hot.” the fan drones on, making little creaks as it oscillates. it does nothing to quell the heat. if anything, it just cycles the hot air around you, making the bedroom akin to a rotary oven.

what also doesn’t help is the six-foot human space heater in your bed.

osamu groans, his arm coming around your waist to pull you against his bare chest. “stop kickin’ me,” he mumbles. “i wanna hold ya.” he nuzzles his face in your neck, kissing it.

it would be sweet, if his body heat wasn’t the same as an elephant’s. he’s sweltering, and your shoulder sticks to his chest as you try to move away. osamu practically whines as you do. “stop leavin’ meeeee.”

a blast of heat envelopes you as he tries to pull you close again, and you let out a huff. “m’not leaving you, ‘samu, i told you, it’s boiling in here,” you tell him, hitching a leg over his hip to get some air. “s’not my fault,” he mutters petulantly, his big, hot hand reaching over to rest on your leg.

this boy…!

you give another huff. not even thirty seconds later, there’s a low snore that rumbles behind you. “how are you even asleep?” you whisper incredulously, turning to see his peaceful expression. “m’holdin’ ya,” he mumbles sleepily in reply. he inhales deeply, breathing you in. “i love ya.”

guess you can’t be mad about that.

[mellozheist]

The Red means I love you // Tragedy of 3rd life Animation

Watch The animation on Youtube >:D

@inthelittlewood 

[phantom-of-the-memes]

Saying this as an Irish person since the new Hozier album just came out and there are lyrics in Irish; it’s Irish or Gaeilge (pronounced “gwhale-ga” or “gale-ga” depending on region), not Gaelic or Celtic or any other name people come up with.

It’s just a normal language that people speak in their everyday life. We learn it in school in the republic. People like myself are bilingual in Irish and English. It’s not a “fairy aesthetic cottage core leprechaun” language.

Please respect it. Our language is a touchy subject seen as how England tried to erase it by forcing English on us and severely punishing those who spoke Irish.

At the same time that does NOT mean it is a dead language. Our (in the republic) road and safety signs are in both Irish and English, same with legal documents. Our politicians speak it, and we are trying to preserve the language!

Anyways enjoy the album!