Tas de riz, tas de rats…

Tas de riz, tas de rats.
Tas de riz tentant, tas de rats tentés.
Tas de riz tentant tenta tas de rats tentés.
Tas de rats tentés tâta tas de riz tentant.

tahd ree, tahd rah.
tahd ree tah-tah, tahd rah tah-tay.
tahd ree tah-tah tah-tah tahd rah tah-tay.
tahd-rah tah-tay tah-tah tahd ree tah-tah. Click below to hear this.*

Heap of rice, heap of rats.
Heap of tempting rice, heap of tempted rats.
Heap of tempting rice tempted heap of tempted rats.
Heap of tempted rats pawed heap of tempting rice.

Don’t worry, it’s just another tonguetwister. No need to call the exterminator, nor the health department.

What makes this tonguetwister so much fun? It’s all the identical and similar sounds: the ten and tan spellings are pronounced exactly the same. And then there are all those /a/ sounds: ta, tas, and tâ are all the same sound, which rhymes with rat.

In case you don’t recognize the tense of the verb in lines 3 and 4 (tenta and tâta), that’s the passé simple, also known as the passé historique and the passé littéraire. It hasn’t been part of everyday spoken French for over 100 years, but it still shows up in books, proverbs, folk songs, and the like. Just treat it like a plain old past tense.

Now see if you can say this tonguetwister without stumbling!

*Some mobile phones, such as Blackberries, won’t display the audio player. If no player appears, here’s an alternative link to the audio file:

tas_de_riz_tas_de_rats.mp3

Une Cape d’invisibilité ?

Entièrement en français !

Une Cape d’invisibilité ?

ewn kaap daa-vee-zee-bee-lee-TAY? Cliquez ci-dessous pour écouter.

A cape of invisibility?

Et s’il était possible de se rendre invisible ? Oh, dans la science-fiction, oui, ça existe déjà. Dans les livres et les films Harry Potter aussi, apparemment. (Je ne les ai ni lus ni vus.)

Mais il paraît que la science a fait un pas vers cet avenir invraisemblable. Des chercheurs ont trouvé le moyen de créer un petit instant d’invisibilité, non pas dans l’espace, mais dans le temps.
Leur méthode exige l’emploi de rayons de lumière de couleurs différentes, plus un laser. Tout se passe très, très vite, en bien moins que le clin d’oeil proverbial. Voici une petite description du phénomène, extrait d’un article publié sur lemonde.fr:

« Cette cape d’invisibilité “temporelle” commence par diffuser un rayon de lumière verte dans un câble en fibre optique. Ce rayon traverse ensuite une lentille qui le divise en deux fréquences distinctes : une lumière bleue qui se propage un petit peu plus rapidement que le rayon vert d’origine, et une lumière rouge légèrement plus lente.
La différence de vitesse entre les deux rayons ainsi obtenus est encore accentuée en interposant un obstacle transparent. »

Les deux faisceaux de lumière sont alors recombinés. Dans l’infime intervalle de séparation, on fait décharger un laser d’une fréquence différente. Et cette décharge ne laisse aucune trace de son existence ! Invisibilité extraordinaire.

Naturellement, j’explique mal le phénomène. Je ne suis pas scientifique, et d’ailleurs c’est un peu long. Vous pouvez lire l’article entier en cliquant sur ce lien. C’est fascinant.

Mais considérez cette question : si c’était possible, aimeriez-vous assumer l’invisibilité ? Pendant combien de temps, et pour quel motif ?

*Some mobile phones, such as Blackberries, won’t display the audio player. If no player appears, here’s an alternative link to the audio file:

une_cape_dinvisibilite.mp3

Le vent se lève!

Le vent se lève! –Il faut tenter de vivre!

luh vah sLEV! eel fo tah-taid VEE-vruh! Click below to hear this.*

The wind is rising!

Did you read yesterday’s post? If not, I suggest you go back and do it now. Or read it again, if you feel so inclined! Go ahead, I’ll wait. Let me know when you’re back.

Okay. In the first stanza of the poem, the speaker has been reading in a graveyard by the sea, and looks up to see the whitecaps on the glittering water. It is a calm day, and the sea appears as a “quiet roof” where doves are walking. His thoughts have been ponderous, the reading heavy, and he feels refreshed by his view of the water.

As the poem continues, the reader’s gaze turns in the other direction, towards the gravestones. He thinks about death, the end of life and movement, which brings him back to his reading.

He invokes Zeno, a Greek philosopher who argued that at any given moment, an arrow shot into the air is immobile, and therefore it never moves. So life can be, suggests the poet; we fall into stagnation and never move forward.

And then he shakes himself, turns back to the sea, feels the wind in his face and feels revived:

Le vent se lève! –Il faut tenter de vivre!

The wind is up! –We must try to live!

And this is one of my favorite lives in all of poetry. What I love about it is that it is not a counsel of perfection. We must try to live. I love the juxtaposition of the rising wind and the lean towards life. It reminds me of John Wesley’s admonition that we must always be striving for perfection. That doesn’t mean be perfect, but try: tenter de vivre.

There is a beautiful, well-thought-out analysis of this poem in the OrangeManor blog. Click on this link to read it. I hope you will read this poem over and over. It doesn’t give itself up easily, but it is powerful writing.

*Some mobile phones, such as Blackberries, won’t display the audio player. If no player appears, here’s an alternative link to the audio file:

homewpcompublic_htmlwp-contentblogs-dir24a11520781files201201le_vent_se_leve.mp3

“Le Cimetière marin”

“Le Cimetière marin”

luh seem-teeYAIR maa-RAA. Click below to hear part of this poem.*

“The Graveyard by the Sea”

Why am I writing about a cemetery? Am I being morbid?

Not at all. This is a very famous poem, written in 1920 by the brilliant French poet Paul Valéry. True, it takes place in a graveyard in Sète, a small coastal town on the Mediterranean Sea, but it is first and foremost a poem about life.

I love this poem, because it is beautiful, deep and many-layered, and nearly perfect. I struggled with it in graduate school. It is difficult and I was young, but more than 40 years later, it makes great sense to me. Life experience really does count for something!

The poem is very long, so I’m just going to quote the first stanza here:

Ce toit tranquille, où marchent des colombes,
Entre les pins palpite, entre les tombes;
Midi le juste y compose de feux
La mer, la mer, toujours recommencée.
Ô récompense après une pensée
Qu’un long regard sur le calme des dieux!

And here’s a lovely translation of that stanza by C. Day Lewis:

This quiet roof, where dove-sails saunter by,
Between the pines, the tombs, throbs visibly.
Impartial noon patterns the sea in flame —
That sea forever starting and re-starting.
When thought has had its hour, oh how rewarding
Are the long vistas of celestial calm!

You can read the entire poem and its translation at this link, and I invite you to read it all the way through.

Tomorrow, I’ll say more about this life-affirming poem. In the meantime, let it get inside your head. You won’t be sorry.

*Some mobile phones, such as Blackberries, won’t display the audio player. If no player appears, here’s an alternative link to the audio file:

le_cimetiere_marin.mp3

Réponse, réplique, riposte.

Réponse, réplique, riposte.

ray-pawss, ray-pleek, ree-PUST. Click below to hear this.*

Answer, answer, answer.

No, I’m not nagging you for a reply. I’ll leave that to people who issue invitations embellished with a hopeful RSVP, which means répondez, s’il vous plaît. They really do mean it, you know.

Une réponse is something you say as a result of something someone else says. It can be an answer to a question, a question for clarification, or a second question. It can be a snort of derision, a complicit laugh, a wan smile…as long as it communicates something that relates to what was previously said.

Then what is une réplique? It’s an answer to an answer. He asks a question, you answer, he comes back with another answer. And une riposte? Ah, those are the most fun. They are sharp, even acerbic replies to someone’s statement. They are the kind of quick and clever remark we all wish we could master, and the stuff of vicious arguments and witty but heartfelt conversation alike.

Good friends may discuss politics, the origin of the universe, or the merits of a legal argument, tossing out one riposte after another. If they respect each other, they won’t come to blows over it. But beware the riposte flung down by a stranger or a drunk. Best to walk away.

Just don’t walk away from this distinction among synonyms. There will be a quiz!

*Some mobile phones, such as Blackberries, won’t display the audio player. If no player appears, here’s an alternative link to the audio file:

reponse_replique_riposte.mp3

Je lui ai rendu la monnaie de sa pièce.

Je lui ai rendu la monnaie de sa pièce.

zhuh lwee ay rah-dew lah muh-naid sah peeESS. Click below to hear this.*

I gave her tit for tat.

She’s not too polite. She made some snippy comment to me, and I returned it in kind. Another translation would be I paid her back in her own coin, but I’ve never heard anyone say that, so it must not be a very common expression. Maybe it only lives in dictionaries.

It is, however, closer to the French expression. Je lui ai rendu la monnaie de sa pièce literally means I gave her the change from her coin.

French has a number of words for money. Usually, it’s l’argent, which also means silver, but la monnaie is change, as in what you get back when you buy something. It never means money in general. Une pièce is any single coin, without specifying its value.

So when you buy something, you are entitled to receive that item plus the return of any excess in the amount you paid for it–in other words, your change. In the same way, if she chooses to insult me, she is “buying” a response from me. She gets her own peculiar form of satisfaction for her rudeness, and in addition, she gets a change in my attitude towards her, which may include my insulting her in reply.

*Some mobile phones, such as Blackberries, won’t display the audio player. If no player appears, here’s an alternative link to the audio file:

je_lui_ai_rendu_la_monnaie_de_sa_piece.mp3

Ils m’ont mise dans un chenil.

Ils m’ont mise dans un chenil.

eel maw meez dah zuh shuh-NEE. Click below to hear this.*

They put me in a kennel.

Guest post by Isabella the Dog.

Can you imagine the indignity? They go off for a two-week lark, talking happily about visiting “family”, and they put me in a kennel. What do they think I am? Aren’t I family? They should put their money where their mouth is.

Never mind that I actually kind of like the place. I’m really good at putting the guilt in their hearts, but I admit that this time I sort of forgot myself and ran right in. That Kathy is a pretty good human, and so are her people.

Anyway, even though I had other dogs to schmooze with, I had plenty of time to think. I heard the people at the kennel talking about something they call “resolutions”, which seem to have something to do with things that are going to happen some other time. As a dog, that’s a concept that’s pretty hard for me to wrap my head around.

I think it has to do with being the best dog I can be. So here’s what I do best:

• I come right away when they say “treat”.
• I let them know the moment I see the mailman come into sight. That goes for anyone else on the street, too.
• I stay out of the way of those small humans they bring into the house sometimes. They seem a little dangerous, and besides, my people seem to lavish a good deal of attention on them. Maybe I’m a little jealous.
• I stay in the room with my big humans when they seem sad or sick. I think they like the company, but I give them their space too.
• I sit around looking pretty. They seem to like that, so I take pride in my appearance.

There’s one thing I can’t get the hang of at all. The female in the house (she thinks she’s the alpha, but that’s really me!) sometimes talks funny, with words I don’t understand at all. She calls it “French”. Could one of you drop me a line and explain that, please?

Thanks, and Happy New Year!

*Some mobile phones, such as Blackberries, won’t display the audio player. If no player appears, here’s an alternative link to the audio file:

ils_mont_mise_dans_un_chenil.mp3

C’est un drôle d’oiseau, celui-là!

C’est un drôle d’oiseau, celui-là!

say uh droll dwah-zoh, slwee LAH! Click below to hear this.*

He’s an odd one!

Do you know someone like that? Most of us do. Some of us know we are one, and rather revel in it. Being a little odd can be fun!

The direct English translation is He’s a funny bird, that one. Some Brits will call him an odd duck, but a duck is still a bird, so there’s not a lot of difference there.

You say c’est instead of il est because it’s followed by a noun. Yes, drôle is an adjective, but it’s being used as a noun in this expression. You can tell because of the article un before it.

Why the de before oiseau? Good question. Do you really want to know the answer? You’re sure? Shhh, don’t tell anyone. The answer is: Because. What, you don’t like that answer? Sorry, that’s just the way the expression works. It’s like saying in English He’s an odd sort of bird.

And that celui-là tacked on to the end? That’s just for emphasis. It’s a very common turn of phrase in French, that one is.

*Some mobile phones, such as Blackberries, won’t display the audio player. If no player appears, here’s an alternative link to the audio file:

cest_un_drole_doiseau.mp3

Un point à temps en vaut cent.

Un point à temps en vaut cent.

uh pwaa ah tah ah voh sah. Click below to hear this.*

A stitch in time saves nine.

Last day of vacation! This morning at breakfast, my sister and I were reminiscing about our grandmother’s bookshelves, and my brother-in-law suddenly said, “Counterpane.” He was remembering the Robert Louis Stevenson poem where the little boy, sick in bed, was marching his toy soldiers up and down the counterpane. What on earth is a counterpane, anyway?

So of course we had to look it up, and learned that it is a bedspread, which in French is called un dessus-de-lit, or top-of-bed, or un couvre-pieds, feet-cover. Then how did a counterpane get its odd name? It sounds like a glass window set into a work surface.

Nope. The pane part has nothing to do with glass. It’s from the Latin pannus, meaning a strip or patch of cloth, which became pan in more modern French. Does that begin to sound familiar?

An older French word for this thing is une contrepointe, which is also a quilt, and not to be confused with le contrepoint, which is musical counterpoint.

And that contrepointe became corrupted to courtepointe, the modern word that describes quilting, possibly because courte means short and un point is a stitch.

And that brings us to Un point à temps en vaut cent. in English, A stitch in time saves nine, which sounds euphonious because of the false rhyme. In French, the number of stitches changes all the way from nine to 100, in order to maintain the rhyme (temps-cent).

There now, Bruce, aren’t you sorry you asked?

*Some mobile phones, such as Blackberries, won’t display the audio player. If no player appears, here’s an alternative link to the audio file:

un_point_a_temps_en_vaut_cent.mp3

C’est bête comme chou.

C’est bête comme chou.

say bett kum SHOO. Click below to hear this.*

It’s easy as pie.

Or, as my granddaughter likes to say, easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy. And today’s expression translates literally as It’s simple like cabbage. What is it with all the food references?

So here’s another English translation for these “easy” sayings: I could do it standing on my head.

Bête is often translated as stupid or dumb, but it’s really not such a strong word as that. It’s more like simple, as in unpretentious. Le chou is that kind of dish, something you serve en famille: inexpensive, plentiful, easy to prepare, un-fussy.

It turns out that I wrote about another “easy” expression last year about this time, in this post. That expression, C’est simple comme bonjour, usually suggests something that is very easy to do. Today’s expression, on the other hand, usually suggests something that is obvious, unmistakable. The meta-text? You’d have to be dumb to miss it.

*Some mobile phones, such as Blackberries, won’t display the audio player. If no player appears, here’s an alternative link to the audio file:

cest_bete_comme_chou.mp3

Ma soeur joue du piano.

Ma soeur joue du piano.

mah suhr zhoo dew pee-yah-NO. Click below to hear this.*

My sister is playing / plays the piano.

When I started writing this post, on Monday evening, we were sitting in Maman’s apartment, and my sister really was playing the piano. Clearly I didn’t get very far with my post. Now, as I finish it up, the French sentence is still true. My sister has gone off to the guest house where she is staying, but that doesn’t change the fact that Ma soeur joue du piano: My sister plays the piano.

Any verb in the present tense in French has several meanings in English, which the French doesn’t distinguish one from another. So elle joue means she plays, she is playing, she does play.

If you really need to convey one of those nuances in French, you will need to use more words: For example, she is playing (right now) can be rendered by saying elle est en train de jouer. For she does play, you might say En effet, elle joue…

Don’t forget that jouer de means to play (an instrument), while jouer à means to play (a game or sport). You’ll need the article (le, la, les) after the verb, so you’ll have to modify the à or de accordingly.

*Some mobile phones, such as Blackberries, won’t display the audio player. If no player appears, here’s an alternative link to the audio file:

ma_soeur_joue_du_piano.mp3

Sinon gare!

Sinon gare!

see-naw GAAR! Click below to hear this.*

Or else!

You may need this the day after Christmas! The gifts aren’t broken yet, kids are still excited and can’t decide what to play with first, you’re exhausted and just a bit on edge.

So you bark Tu te comportes bien, sinon gare! You behave yourself, or else! If you remember this post from the other day, you will remember that gare! means watch out!

When you dissect sinon into the two words that compose it, you get if not. Sounds like a line of computer programming, right? If you behave, all’s well in the world. If not (ELSE in Basic computer language, if I remember correctly), you are in deep trouble!

Another English word for sinon is otherwise. If you are a Spanish speaker, however, gare à toi: the Spanish word sino looks pretty much the same, but is used differently. Its English meaning is more like but rather. Don’t be misled, sinon gare! People will not understand you.

*Some mobile phones, such as Blackberries, won’t display the audio player. If no player appears, here’s an alternative link to the audio file:

sinon_gare.mp3

Noël des enfants du monde

Noël des enfants du monde

no-ell day zah-fah dew MAW-duh. Click below to hear this.

The Christmas Carol of the Children of the World

Are the gifts all wrapped? Tree decorated? Tomorrow’s feast planned? Stockings hung?

Then take a moment to listen to this lovely contemporary Christmas carol from France. The French words are superimposed on the YouTube video, but here are the words in English:

Children of Palestine
Or children of Israel,
From America or China,
This Christmas Day,
Whether your eyes look
On the earth or the heavens,
Just remember one thing:
We must believe in Christmas.
A day will come, perhaps,
A day that tastes like honey
When we will see
A bird appearing in the sky,
An eternal bird,
A dove for the earth,
A Christmas bird.

To me, the song means that the peace, love, joy, and hope that we celebrate at Christmas are universal values that the world needs and that we can all believe in. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or another holiday in this season, I hope you will resolve to live the spirit of

PAIX * CHARITÉ * JOIE * ESPOIR

In case the YouTube doesn’t work on your mobile device, here’s another link to the video:

http://www.youtube.com/iwatch?v=ebPLi3tcl8o&feature=related

Ça se laisse boire!

Ça se laisse boire!

sah sless BWAAR! Click below to hear this.*

That goes down easy!

Have you ever read those descriptions of wines? It’s a whole nother language. A wine may be floral, mineral-y, oaky, with tobacco or leather or licorice notes. Does that mean it sings? And what does licorice sound like?

What’s more, it has a bouquet and a finish, a nose and maybe legs. It can be soft, velvety, or even chewy. When the experts talk, can the rest of us understand it?

But here’s one thing we can understand: When ordinary folks sip a glass of wine that goes down easy, they may say Ça se laisse boire! Literally, That lets itself be drunk! Which is to say, the wine does not put up a fight on the way down.

I suppose that means that the layers of taste and the bouquet and the texture of the wine are all harmonious, that they marry well, that one taste or aroma sensation leads naturally and easily to another. Like a well-written piece of music or a poem, every note, word, taste is perfectly placed and seems inevitable even when it surprises you.

*Some mobile phones, such as Blackberries, won’t display the audio player. If no player appears, here’s an alternative link to the audio file:

ca_se_laisse_boire.mp3

Deux bébés dans une crèche

Deux bébés dans une crèche

duh bay-bay dah zewn KRESH. Click below to hear this.

Two babies in a cradle.

Ou, puisque nous sommes près de Noël, pourquoi pas le bébé Jésus avec son nounours?

Voici le petit guide illustré pour faire d’un mouchoir deux bébés dans une crèche. C’est un truc que ma grand’mère m’a enseignée, il y a des années de ça.

1. Étaler un mouchoir ou une serviette de table, pas trop grand(e).

2. Plier en triangle.

3. En commençant par un coin du côté long, rouler en saucisse vers le centre.

4. Assujetir le rouleau avec un objet lourd, et roulez l’autre coin de même.

5. Prendre le double rouleau, les deux coins libres en haut, dans une main.

6. Doubler les rouleaux en pliant plus ou moins en deux vers l’arrière.

7. Tenir fermement les rouleaux dans une main, en gardant assujetti le coin intérieur sous le pouce.

8. Renverser le pli du coin extérieur, en le tirant vers le bas. (C’est le seul pas qui présente des difficultés.) Celui-ci formera la base de la crèche, alors que les deux saucissons représentent les bébés et le coin intérieur, le capuchon de la crèche.

Arranger au besoin, et voilà.

9. Si vous n’avez plus besoin de votre mouchoir ou de votre serviette, vous pouvez vous servir d’un stylo-feutre pour ajouter des yeux et une petite bouche aux bébés.

Nota: Ce petit jeu est bien plus facile à réaliser avec un tissu encore un petit peu empesé, pas trop usé, sinon le capuchon a tendance à s’affaisser. Il ne faudrait pas suffoquer les bébés….

Sans crier gare, il s’est mis à chanter.

Sans crier gare, il s’est mis à chanter.

sah kree-yah gaar, eel say mee zah shah-TAY. Click below to hear this.*

Without warning, he started singing.

In my household, people do start singing without warning, anything from “balladoo, balladoo-ee, boop, boop” to Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus. But in many households, such an event would be startling indeed.

Hence today’s phrase. Literally, it means without yelling “watch out!”. Interestingly, the French word gare and the English word warn come from the same ancient Germanic and Frankish roots, meaning to take care of, to keep, to provide.

So you can see how la gare (train station–the place where provisions are delivered) and gare! (watch out!) are related.

None of which changes the fact that, if you are unaccustomed to breaking out in song, you really should crier gare before you start. It’s like yelling “fore!” on a golf course. It’s only fair to those around you, and gives them time to scatter for cover.

*Some mobile phones, such as Blackberries, won’t display the audio player. If no player appears, here’s an alternative link to the audio file:

sans_crier_gare.mp3

Comestible ou mangeable?

Comestible ou mangeable?

koh-may-stee-bloo mah-ZHAH-bluh? Click below to hear this.*

Edible or…edible?

Uh-oh, here she comes again with her conundrums. I’m sure that’s what you’re thinking.

But pay attention. This one’s important, assuming you enjoy life and want to continue doing so.

Some things are comestibles and some are not. The things that are not include most of the stuff in your bathroom cabinets, certain mushrooms, many houseplants, and even chocolate, if you happen to be a dog. In other words, comestible means edible as in “not poisonous”.

Mangeable, on the other hand, concerns gourmands (people who like to eat) and picky eaters: people with opinions about what’s worth eating and what’s not. In my book, pickles, tripe, and eggplant are not particularly mangeables. I’m sure you have your own list. The word does mean edible, but in a more frivolous way. Personal opinions are allowed.

Note that there are stores in France that sell COMESTIBLES. They are grocery stores, or they sell groceries among other items. That label does not imply any distinction between poisonous and non-poisonous. It’s just food.

Some items cross the line between mangeable and comestible. The Christmas fruitcake is one. I actually like a slice of good fruitcake, but some of it tastes more like the phone book. Not comestible.

*Some mobile phones, such as Blackberries, won’t display the audio player. If no player appears, here’s an alternative link to the audio file:

comestible_ou_mangeable.mp3

Papa, tu m’achètes ces auto-collants de Noël?

Papa, tu m’achètes ces auto-collants de Noël?

pah-pah, tew maa-shett say zo-to-ko-lahd no-ELL? Click below to hear this.*

Daddy, will you buy me these Christmas stickers?

The eternal refrain of the small child surrounded by desirable objects. Happily for Daddy, les auto-collants aren’t usually very expensive. They’re bright and colorful, and every kid loves them.
La colle is glue. Un collant, therefore, is something that sticks or clings. Watch out, though! It’s a false friend. Un collant is a pair of pantyhose or tights.

But un auto-collant is safe territory. It’s a thing that sticks by itself–so it’s a no-lick sticker, or a self-stick sticker.

If your youngster begs for des auto-collants pour Noël, he wants them in his Christmas stocking. If she asks for des auto-collants de Noël, they will have cute little Christmas pictures on them and the desire is probably for immediate delivery. I leave the negotiations up to you.

*Some mobile phones, such as Blackberries, won’t display the audio player. If no player appears, here’s an alternative link to the audio file:

tu_machetes_ces_auto_collants_de_noel.mp3

Trois petites notes (bis, en anglais)

Trois petites notes (bis, en anglais)

trwah puh-teet nut (beess, ah nah-GLAY) The audio file is below. Click to listen to the song!

Three little notes (again, in English)

We’re on a roll here! Remembering the things we are trying to forget is so entertaining. Here’s another post about the Yves Montand song we talked about yesterday .

First the sound file, in case you want to listen again, and then the English translation:

Three little notes of music
Have closed up shop
In the depths of memory
Their racket is done
They’ve turned over a new leaf
And gone to sleep

But one day without a word of warning
They come back into your memory

You wanted to forget
A brazen little tune
In the summer streets
You’ll never forget
A street, a summer,
A girl who was humming.

La, la, la, la, I love you
Sang the refrain
La, la, my love
Words without sublimity
As long as the rhyme
Always brings

A vacation romance
Which, stabbing, sets you off again
True: she was so pretty
So fresh and blooming
And you didn’t gather her in
True: for her first shiver
She offered you a song
To be sung in unison

La, la, la, la, every dream
Rhymes with “done”
Yours doesn’t make any sense
Over before it started
As long as a dance
The space of a refrain

Three little notes of music
That nag you
From the bottom of your memory
Raise a cruel stage-curtain
On a thousand and one troubles
That refuse to die.

The translation is my own, and I chose not to try to make it poetic or musical, or to match the meter of the French. That pretty much always destroys the original.

One of the things that I like about this song is its rhythm. It establishes a simple pattern, one-two-three, one-two-three like a waltz. But the moment the expectation is set in the accompaniment, the song starts off-kilter. The pattern (6-2-6 lines) occurs twice, but disintegrates towards the end, and the song finishes with a four-note descending scale that sounds as definitive as it can be.

And that tinkling piano accompaniment? It’s strongly reminiscent of a music box, especially as it “winds down” at the end.

*Some mobile phones, such as Blackberries, won’t display the audio player. If no player appears, here’s an alternative link to the audio file:

Trois Petites Notes De Musique

Trois petites notes de musique…

Trois petites notes de musique…

trwah puh-teet nut duh mew-zeek… The audio is the song file today! Click below to listen.

Three little notes of music…

Remember yesterday’s post? It was about not being able to forget. Here’s the ultimate song about that condition. It’s sung by Yves Montand, and I’ll give you the words just below the audio player icon:

Trois petites notes de musique
Ont plié boutique
Au creux du souvenir
C’en est fini de leur tapage
Elles tournent la page
Et vont s’endormir

Mais un jour sans crier gare
Elles vous reviennent en mémoire

Toi, tu voulais oublier
Un p’tit air galvaudé
Dans les rues de l’été
Toi, tu n’oublieras jamais
Une rue, un été
Une fille qui fredonnait

La, la, la, la, je vous aime
Chantait la rengaine
La, la, mon amour
Des paroles sans rien de sublime
Pourvu que la rime
Amène toujours

Une romance de vacances
Qui lancinante vous relance

Vrai, elle était si jolie
Si fraîche épanouie
Et tu ne l’as pas cueillie
Vrai, pour son premier frisson
Elle t’offrait une chanson
A prendre à l’unisson

La, la, la, la, tout rêve
Rime avec s’achève
Le tien n’rime à rien
Fini avant qu’il commence
Le temps d’une danse
L’espace d’un refrain

Trois petites notes de musique
Qui vous font la nique
Du fond des souvenirs
Lèvent un cruel rideau de scène
Sur mille et une peines
Qui n’veulent pas mourir

I’m sure you’d rather see Yves Montand singing this song. I would. He sings with such ease and grace. He doesn’t make it look like hard work, as some singers do. But he speaks intimately to the listener, and makes you feel as if this is your song.

Tomorrow, the English translation and a couple of remarks about the song.

* Some mobile phones, such as Blackberries, won’t display the audio player. If no player appears, here’s an alternative link to the audio file:

Trois Petites Notes De Musique