#classic French song

[whathehe11]

I think I have found a song that perfectly fits Crowley and Aziraphale after the ending of season 2. It’s called à la Claire Fontaine and is about the singer listening to a nightingale singing while missing for their longtime friend to love them again.

I am currently obsessed with Good Omens (I know, total shocker) and it just hit me that this song my mom often sang to me when I was little fit surprisingly well.

Anyways, long story short I put the lyrics below the cut and I translated them in English (I tried to match the rhyming scheme and stuff but I’m not perfect)

À la claire fontaine at the pretty water fountain

M'en allant promener, while i was on a stroll

J'ai trouvé l'eau si belle, I found it was so pretty

Que je m'y suis baignée. That I went for a swim

REFRAIN

Il y a longtemps que je t'aime, It’s been so long that I’ve loved you

Jamais je ne t'oublierai. Never, will I forget you

Sous les feuilles d'un chêne under the leaves of an oak tree

Je me suis fait sécher, I laid myself to dry

Sur la plus haute branche, up on the highest branch

Un rossignol chantait. A nightingale sang high

REFRAIN

It’s been so long that I’ve loved you

Never, will I forget you

Chante, rossignol, chante, sing, nightingale please sing

Toi qui as le cœur gai, you with your heart so light

Tu as le cœur à rire, you have the heart to laugh

Moi, je l'ai à pleurer. All mine can do is cry

REFRAIN

It’s been so long that I’ve loved you

Never, will I forget you

J'ai perdu mon ami I’ve lost my very best friend

Sans l'avoir mérité, without having earned them (him/her)

Pour un bouquet de roses, for a bouquet of roses

Que je lui refusai. That I refused to take

REFRAIN

It’s been so long that I’ve loved you

Never, will I forget you

Je voudrais que la rose I would’ve had the roses

Fût encore au rosier, still perched on the rose bush

Et que mon doux ami and for my dearest friend

Fût encore à m'aimer. To still love me deeply

REFRAIN

It’s been so long that I’ve loved you

Never, will I forget you

[antigonenikk]

Eugene/Merriell

"We have lingered in the chambers of the sea By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown Till human voices wake us, and we drown."

[blvvdk3ep]

Don't mind me I'm just gonna stand in this corner and lose my mind over Joseph of Exeter's poem "De Bello Troiano" where Patroclus' severed head whispers, "Ultor ubi Aecides?" (Where is Achilles, my avenger?") after Hector slays him

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Sophie Gengembre Anderson (French-born British, 1823-1903) The song of the lark, 1881

[phieuva]

"Douce dame jolie" a 14th century medieval french poem and song by Guillaume de Machaut.

The following four stanzas comprise the entire translated song.

Sweet beautiful lady,

For God's sake, be compassionate,

Do not let me die in languish,

Without consolation or hope.

Pleasure and joy are in your gaze,

Which comforts and revives my heart.

For your sake, I am filled with desire,

Hoping for the reward of my service.

Your beauty and worth are beyond measure,

Radiant and noble in every way.

May God, in His infinite mercy,

Grant me the favor of your love.

You are my joy, my heart's delight,

In your presence, all sorrows take flight.

My devotion to you is steadfast,

Hoping for love that will forever last.

How beautiful is that.

[death-by-mercury]

𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘰, 𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘦, 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 ❤︎

𝘚𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 1937

[hammill-goes-fogwalking]

The issues & beauties of German music

(70s Kraut Rock )

Here, NOT ONE SINGLE SOUL talks about Krautrock 🌿 it seems like dead & forgotten (except CAN)

which is sad about this phenomenon :/ the only ones paying attention are prog magazines and music connoisseurs

Everyone talks about the Scorpions and Rammstein (in fact it's quality). Sometimes Boney M but... it's always the same: good music is too elite for the masses.

Even the band Eloy. Prog fans love them- the most listeners come from other places of the earth but not their origin country. Often a fault of the music industry, critics as well as the radio stations which really neglected these now in modern times.

//

The rhymes & language, pronunciation

Sure, worse languages exist. But to be honest, can you relax, with the German language? There's no flow at all, nothing like Italian or, you know, English. It's a popular opinion and what speaks against it?

Depends on the way someone sings and per region there is a difference but some harshness is always there.

//

Sung in English example: Eloy (again)

Some people are totally fine with the accent (their whole discography is in English sung by Frank Bornemann!!) others have problems getting into this band. Depends on the listener.

What often happened was that the groups had a British singer...

//

Old fashioned names

For example British rock: someone asks you, you say your idol is some random Jeff or Pete or whatever their names are. What about German musician's names? They're called Dieter or Jogi or Herbert or Udo

"Who's your favourite musician?" - Jürgen xy (sorry shouldn't sound mean)

People make jokes about old fashioned names, then why blaming yourself and getting sideeyed.

This is all a matter of coolness, let's move to the music...

//

A few information

Okay don't judge (seems extremely stereotype now) the people, musicians of the 60s and 70s were the first generation after WW2. You can imagine. The children of ex- patriots. They wanted to change something. BUT!! They were BOUND in the roots of their country.

There was a scene and later with many students and discotheques. There were artists from all over the world. The music is innovative and you can hear it even clearly. You can also hear their protest, spirit and the diversity of sounds.

There is nothing you can call THE Kraut. It's practically impossible to sum the sound up. Actually it's not a genre. That one word represents all the music made in Germany

//

An example.

You hear the instruments? The bass, drums, hard guitar, organs, saxophone EVERYTHING WORKS. SO FINE MUSIC.

Listen to it, create your own opinion.

Notes

1. So many songs by this one group called Lied des Teufels? Yeah. They're not known at all. That singer sounds like imitating Ian Gillan- Everyone can TRY to copy but they do it in their own style which is not copying, it's storytelling. (Kind of)

2. THE WHOLE THING SHOULD NOT MAKE ME SEEM PASSIONATE OR SOMETHING BECAUSE I DISCOVERED KRAUT LITERALLY YESTERDAY

3. Probably it's something that gets boring really fast

//

So...

Skillful musicians w/ ability to express themselves and the problems of their country. Wether the singing style is something for you or not- there are countless of other groups.

We HAVE TO speak about these forgotten acts again & give it a chance

[liliesbythewater]

Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert (translation by Lydia Davis) | Good Omens, 1x03 | "invisible string", Taylor Swift | Soul (script, Pixar, 2020) | "I, Carrion (Icarian)", Hozier

[always-a-joyful-note]

Wait, I'm stupid. Is Roland and Olivier from Vanitas no Carte supposed to be referencing Roland and Oliver?? The classic French friend duo who died tragically trying to win a battle that was rigged against them? Who were loyal to the other to the point of death despite Oliver being the literal braincell in the friendship and warning against Roland's pride? Who were almost brothers but couldn't be ala them dying before Roland could marry into the fam via Oliver's sister?

Because if it is...what could it MEAN?

[oldmanffucker]

thinking about artist Archie and Frenchie both pulling random fluxus/grapefruit prompts and doing them together. Then it becoming a weekly Revenge artist exercise.

Fluxus (experimental art movement) and Grapefruit (book by Yoko Ono that embodied Fluxus) - basically ‘event scores’ or prompts for (often) performance art. They were often absurd, often ephemeral or esoteric or inevitable. Examples:

(tape piece iii and walking piece from Grapefruit by Yoko Ono George Brecht. Games and Puzzles (Name Kit) from Fluxkit. 1965, Fluxus Edition announced 1965 Page from Fluxus 1, containing ‘Flux Napkin’. 1964, Fluxus Edition announced 1966) (God I’m crying reading Grapefruit now. Being a pisces is hard work but someone’s gotta do it [PDF])

but anyway I can perfectly imagine Archie’s smile and laugh and body language while they do some of the sillier prompts, and Frenchie’s little smirk. It’s the smirk of pyramid scheme and authentic planks. The events that ask for silence, they do with permanent little smiles channeling the silliest and most earnest intentionality that you can’t NOT look at it and not be soppy about it.

Fluxus isn’t just prompts or events, it’s a whole movement. It’s about accessibility of art, it’s about making art constantly, it’s about being anti-art, it’s about subverting the capitalist ideas of art. But to me it’s a beautiful exercise in opening yourself to the vastness of art. Everything is and can be art, from the sound of silence to the crushing of stones to the using of a napkin to taking a walk with someone. It’s down to intention, it’s down to openness, It’s down to earnestness and curiosity. It’s down to being receptive and most importantly PLAYFULNESS. It’s about letting art be low stakes and letting art into every moment of your life. It’s about embodying art.

Plus, Izzy would love this bc that sub loves to follow a direction. Man is lost in subspace watching the stars and turning on and off his headlights and walking in someone else’s footsteps.

(If all of those examples sounded insane and esoteric, here are more links to Fluxus things. First publication (poetry! Music! Vehicles! John Cage! Yoko Ono! Nam June Paik!) ‘An Anthology of Chance Operations’, and archive of fluxus artbooks: fluxus 1, fluxkit, and flux year box 2)

Even more emotional thinking abt how in college, in his really intense performance art and physical exertion phase, Izzy loved Fluxus and the idea of art being that and following directions and experiencing something new from it.

Then he gets to know the crew eventually, And finds out they do this. And oh, he’s taken aback. Launched back to being 19, to grieving his sister and transitioning and experiencing lack of bodily autonomy and finding refuge in performance art. And fondness bubbles up so hot and acrid he has to step outside. After that he’s part of the weekly events. He and the crew relish the events that take the most time, like the walking piece. The crew is fascinated by his earnestness and tenacity when so often before they only saw perfection and persnicketiness.

[originally posted as a twt thread]

[whywoulditho]

made a french songs playlist to help me get used to the pronunciation and overall sound of the language so i just put every french song i know in it without really thinking much and just now je veux started blasting right after vois sur ton chemin and i'm cackling what the fuck 😭😭😭😭😭

[junosmindpalace]

i think chuuya (22) is an amy winehouse michael jackson possibly aerosmith + eagles enjoyer. i think he likes jazz too

[littleragondin]

Hiii! May I ask for the top 5 French songs? Could be all-time favs or current ones. I haven't listened to anything French in ages and I would gladly reach for some.

Have a great day! :)

Hiii! Thank you so much for asking ♡ I spent the whole day thinking about it and I am (again) gonna cheat a little and do two tops I hope you'll forgive me 🙈

Top 5 all time favorite french songs :

"3eme sexe" by Indochine - specifically this live version, tho I also dearly like the original from 1985

"Virages" by Yves Duteil - i do NOT like the original instrumentation but this guitar + soft percussion version? ♡♡♡

"Je te rends ton amour" by Mylene Farmer - she's the artist I've seen the most live in my life (ノ*°▽°*)

"Le bal des Laze" by Michel Polnareff - but frankly, he has tons of gems through his whole discography

"Rimes feminines" by Juliette - this one's a utube because that live version? lives rent free in my brain (´꒳`)♡

Top 5 of recent(-ish) french songs :

"Le chrome et le coton - Lafayette remix" by Jerome Echenoz, Anna Jean - this specific remix beats both the original and all other remixes imo

"Le Monarque des Indes" by Pierre Lapointe - actually canadian but still in french! this one accompanies all my summers since 2020

"Ivre d'amour" by The Rodeo - it's a song about lycanthropic love, what else can I say?

"Charisma" by Daisy Mortem - there is always something a little ... sticky in their songs despite the strong electro aspect of it that works on me 100%

"Une danse de mauvais gout" by Mansfield TYA and Odezenne - Mansfield TYA are a long time fave of mine, and the way the voices go together?♡♡♡

[clouds-of-wings]

"The Tears of Rowena", in which the bass player of the band gets a chance to shine on vocals as well, and we get to hear a KoH song with female lead singing for a change =) My favourite from the EP! It starts as a ballad, then gets progressively more large and dramatic.

[valodia]

[spaghettithighs]

More fallout from the James Somerton debacle; local person reluctant to respond to a post about the racism of disco revival because most of their argument revolves around anecdotal or observational evidence and they're too eepy to collect citable sources