Transcript for the Piece Audio version of Bonjour Chanson Series 7, Episode 33

Bonjour Chanson Series 7, Episode 33

Play Track 01 seconds 00 to 22 ? “L’Annonce”.

Start text segment 1 ? Welcome. This is “Bonjour Chanson” where we bring French Language Popular Music to English Speakers. We tell you about the artists and their songs in English. When you’ll hear the songs in French, you’ll know what they are about. My name is Charles Spira and I’ll be your host. You heard an excerpt from the song “the Personal Ad” by Marie Espinosa. More about this artist at the end of the show when we’ll play the entire song.

Benabar who was born in 1969 and grew up in Essonne, a Parisian suburb, loves to observe people and look at their behavior under a magnifying glass. No wonder that he got into movie making and produced a number of shorts. Bur the discovered that he could chronicle humanity just as well through music. We select “The Butterfly Effect” from 2008 as the first song of our show. “If the flapping of a butterfly wing in Cambodia, triggers a violent storm on an other continent, and the choices made by a few in a Western Office turn the lives of millions upside down, only the Polar bear is surprised that the ice floe is melting.” Here is Benabar. ?. End text segment 1

Play Track 02 ? L’Effet Papillon

Start Text segment 2 ? We heard Benabar in “L’Effet Papillon”.

Juliette Greco is one of the great names in French Chanson who managed to remain at the top of her profession throughout the fifties, sixties and seventies, It did not hurt that she had some of France’s greatest talents writing for her such as composer Joseph Kosma and the poet Jacques Prevert. We listen to “On the Banks of Old Paris” from 1967. “On the Banks of Old Paris along the Seine, happiness smiles. On the banks of Old Paris love is strolling, searching for a nest. Old bookseller, pretty flower girl, how we love you, a living poem.” Here is Juliette Greco" ? End Text segment 2.

Play Track 03 ? Sur les Quais du Vieux Paris”.

Text segment 3 ? You heard Juliette Greco in « Sur les Quais du Vieux Paris».

Marc Lavoine who was born in 1962 in a Paris neighborhood, has alternated between being a singer and an actor. His spectacular good looks and his warm voice, caused him to be typecast as a singer of love ballads. He played along for a while, but later was able to break that mould and let his true, more serious nature shine through in his songs. We catch him in a lighter mood in the song “Next week” from 2009. “Ah, we shall go, you’ll see, next week, to the banks of the Seine, at the Café Verlaine, I can imagine the scene. And then you’ll smile at me in your woolen cardigan, If you feel sad and if it is cold.” Here is Marc Lavoine ? End of Text segment 3.

Play Track 04 ? La Semaine Prochaine.

Text segment 4 ? You listened to Marc Lavoine in “La Semaine Prochaine”.

Isabelle Boulay who was born in 1972 in a small town in Gaspesie, Quebec, has a silken voice. She started by performing for patrons in her parents’ restaurant, which led to her participation in a number of singing contests where audiences and judges were stunned by her beautiful voice Over the years she has divided her time between Quebec and France. She will sing for us “A song for the Winter Months” from 2009. “A song for the Winter Months, a song to dream by, a bitter sweet song. In the heart of December, stars of snow are falling. Autumn is long gone, and the snow covered forest soothes the anger. There is this silence that haunts the mountains and the plains. Light the fire and warm me as much as you can. ” Ms. Isabelle Boulay ? End of text segment 4.

Play Track 05 ? Chanson Pour les Mois d’Hiver

Text segment 5 ? Isabelle Boulay sang “Chanson Pour les Mois d’Hiver.”

Benjamin Biolay was born near Lyon in France in 1973. His father was an amateur musician and he enrolled his son in the Lyon Conservatory where Benjamin earned top awards, but at the same time he watched MTV and taught himself to play the guitar. His musical career took off rapidly after he started a songwriting partnership with the singer Keren Ann. We listen to his song “Your Inheritance” from 2009 which he wrote for his daughter. “My child, if you like rainy evenings, the backstreets of Italy, the footsteps of passersby, the constant litany of the dead leaves in the wind that utter their last scream, scream my child. If you fear the bomb and the sky that is too large, it is not your fault, it is your inheritance and it will get worse when you’ll be my age. ” Here is Benjamin Biolay in “Your Inheritance” ? End of text segment 5.

Play Track 06 ? Ton Heritage

Text segment 6 ? You heard Benjamin Biolay in “Ton Heritage”

Our last song is performed by Marie Espinosa whose first album “She who is taking off” was an immediate sensation when it was published in January 2010. Yet, Espinosa was not exactly a newcomer. Born in 1983, she received a classical music education, appeared in several productions at the Paris Opera and played parts in a number of films We listen to the song, “The Personal Ad.”. “Charming young woman of 25, who bites into life with full teeth and wants to live intensely, wishes to share an apartment. I advertise and advertise, still no reply. Charming young woman of 25, no husband and no children, who does not believe in Prince Charming any longer, would be content with a good lover. ” Ms. Marie Espinosa.

? End of text segment 6

Play Track 01 ? L’Annonce

Text segment 7 ? You heard Marie Espinosa in “L’Annonce”.

This is the end of our show. Bonjour Chanson was recorded in the studios of WYPR in Baltimore. Jonathan Ehrens has found many opportunities in the Maryland Music Scene and has decided to put his move to the West Coast on hold. He has returned to our show as producer and Claire Caplan will fill in for him should he not be available. I am Charles Spira. We love our audience, Be sure to tune in to our next show.

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