Transcript for the Piece Audio version of Bonjour Chanson Series 7, Episode 32

Bonjour Chanson Series 7, Episode 32

Play Track 01 (seconds 0:12 to 0:38) ? “Marilou Sous La Neige”.

Start text segment 1 ? Welcome to “Bonjour Chanson”. In this program, specially created for English speakers, you will not only enjoy the beautiful melodies of French Popular music, but will be introduced to the artists and the lyrics of the songs in English, greatly enriching the experience.
You heard an excerpt from the song “Marilou under the Snow” by Serge Gainsbourg.. More about this controversial artist at the end of the show, when we’ll play the entire song.
We’ll start with the song “In your Pupils” by Marianne James who is a French Jazz Singer born in Montelimar, France in 1962. She was a childhood friend of jazz pianist Michel Petrucciani and the latter’s father became her guitar teacher. Marianne rose to national renown when she co-starred in the musical spectacle “L’Ultima Recital”, a show seen by more than 700,000 Frenchmen between 1999 and 2001. This show, impossible to describe verbally,, operated at several levels and made a great impact in France. James also served as a Jury member on the TV show “La Nouvelle Star”. Let’s listen to her song “In Your Pupils” from 2006. “I see your gaze shift like the vodka in your glass. And you are mistaken if you think I don’t see how you avoid my eyes. Yes, you are wrong if you think I do not suspect anything. In your pupils I see the dance of the memory of another girl, but the worst is that tonight I do not care any longer. There will be no tears in my eyes when I’ll say goodbye.” Ms. Marianne James”. End text segment 1

Play Track 02 (fadeout at 3:15) ? Dans tes Pupilles

Start Text segment 2 ? We heard Marianne James in “Dans tes Pupilles”

French rap music has its origins in both West Africa and the U.S. The French rap star MC Solaar with his extraordinary talent and sensitivity has created rap music that fits into the idiom of French Popular Music and has a huge following in France. MC Solaar who was born in Dakar, Senegal in 1969, was only a few months old when his parents moved to France. He is a Citizen of the World who brought his style of music to many countries. In the U.S. his music was certainly noticed when his song “The Belle and the Bad Boy” was featured in the final Episode of the HBO Series “Sex and the City.” Let’s listen to the song “Caroline” from 1991. “I was cool, sitting on a bench. He picked a daisy, they are two lovers with an overdose of sweetness. They play like children ’Love you, Love you Not. But following a painful sentimental betrayal I turned from a warm disposition to a nasty one. Hating another being is not one of our prerogatives. Caroline was a wonderful girl. I think again of her, of us, of her bulimia of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, of her futile tempers and her trashy style.” Here is MC Solaar in “Caroline" ? End Text segment 2.

Play Track 03 (start at 0:45, fadeout at 3:40) ? Caroline

Text segment 3 ? We listened to MC Solaar in “Caroline”

The French singer Rose was born in Nice, France in 1978. She abandoned a teaching position to become a singer. She writes all her own texts and arrangements. People refer to her as a “chanteuse a texte” in French, meaning that lyrics of her songs are as important as the music. She was noticed by Alain Souchon and he invited her to open for him on his tour.“. We now listen to her song “From my Window” from her 2009 Album. From my window I see a little girl who shouts that no one is listening to her, and who from the top of her little voice, dresses me in my memories. From my window I see other windows, people who watch other people. Sorrows that cross the path of torments. Torments that will run loose.” Here is Rose. ? End of Text segment 3.

Play Track 04 ? De Ma Fenetre.

Text segment 4 ? You listened to Rose in “De Ma Fenetre”.

Renan Luce is a French singer/songwriter who rose to prominence through sheer musical talent and his dexterity with words. Born in Paris in 1980, he spent most of his youth in Finistere, the most Western region of France. From singing in a choir with his siblings, he moved to playing the saxophone and finally the guitar. The singers Renaud and Benabar took him under their wing and he was the opening act on one of the latter’s tours. Let’s listen to his 2009 song “Nantes” (which is the name of a town in Western France.). “It was her little face that made me slow down, even before I saw her extended thumb. Her voice through the opened door has the pleading tone of those who know how to lie. I am neither lost nor a beggar, are you headed for Nantes in this boneshaker? Of course, it was not my destination, but I felt my hands grasp the steering wheel. I was not one to be bold, but I felt my gaze lower to her tights. Here is Renan Luce ? End of text segment 4.

Play Track 05 (fade-out at 3 :20) ? Nantes

Text segment 5 ? Renan Luce sang « Nantes »

Zoe Avril was born in a family with 5 children. All had an artistic bent. Zoe loved music and poetry. At 11 she received her first guitar and a couple of years later she was composing her own songs. After communications studies she worked as a photo-journalist for 4 years, but then the inevitable happened. She quit in order to devote herself fulltime to music. She moved to Paris where she performed in numerous small venues, gaining a following. She won a contest organized by the mobile phone company SFR. That company organized a tour in the provinces for her in 2008. She will sing for us “All is Well in Paris”, from 2008. “Dad, Mom if I write to you it is to tell you that all is well. Even being shut away in my place at the Porte de Vincennes suits me fine. I’ve learned to ride the metro an all that entails: make a face even on a beautiful day, to walk fast, Use a short tone of voice when asking passers by for the time. ” Ms. Zoe Avril” ? End of text segment 5.

Play Track 06 (fade-out at 2:55) Paris Tout Va Bien.

Text segment 6 ? Zoe Avril interpreted « Paris Tout Va Bien. ».

Born in Paris in 1928, Serge Gainsbourg inherited his musical talent from his father, who worked as a jazz musician. He started his musical career as a bar pianist. In short succession he discovered jazz and songwriting. He is recognized as an innovative songwriter. He was, however, an incorrigible womanizer and later in life was always seen through a cloud of cigarette smoke with an alcoholic beverage in his hand. Whatever demons resided within him caused him to take great delight in shocking the public. Love him, or hate him. There is no denying that he was immensely talented. We now listen to his song “Marilou under the Snow” from 1976. (“Marilou is resting under the snow, When I was excluded from her erotic games, it made me sick. Marilou felt trapped within an exclusive arrangement. I naively thought I had some copyright on her. O Malou, I had to abbreviate your existence. This is how Marilou sleeps under the fire extinguisher foam ” So, it appears that when Marilou did not want an exclusive relationship with her lover and pushed back his advances, she met an untimely death at the hands of a fire extinguisher, perhaps when the house was set on fire. Here is Serge Gainsbourg. In “Marilou Under the Snow”. ? End of text segment 6

Play Track 01 ? Marilou Sous la Neige.

Text segment 7 ? That was unmistakably Serge Gainsbourg in “Marilou Sous La Neige”.

This is the end of our show. Bonjour Chanson was recorded in the studios of WYPR in Baltimore. Jonathan Ehrens and Claire Caplan co-produced this episode. We hope you liked what you heard and that you will tune in to our next episode.