Hello! As you may have guessed from the name of this blog, my name is Liz and I am fascinated by song lyrics. I hope you enjoy my waxing lyrical about lyrics and about music generally. I also review albums and gigs and have interviewed several wonderful musicians. Enjoy!
If you would like to learn more about my time in Spain, check out my travel blog - the post where I first arrive in Salamanca can be found here and you can then go through the others in the Blog Archive on the left.
I hope to share more articles and reviews on this blog soon, especially with the Eurovision season coming up!
I must hasten to add that the point of this blog entry is not to question whether or not Céline Dion is successful. I love her to bits and it is clear that she is one of the biggest and most influential artists in the world.
However, unlike ABBA, whose international career was without doubt jump-started by their Eurovision win, I have to ponder, wouldn't Céline have made it anyway?
Someone with such an amazing voice, such beauty, such charisma and stage presence, and the driving forces of René Angélil and Jean-Jacques Goldman on her side, this talented woman would always have eventually become a global superstar.
That is my opinion, anyway.
However, we can't deny that appearing on Eurovision - and winning it - helped her a great deal when it came to gaining international exposure. She represented Switzerland in 1988 with the song, "Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi."
Although I had known that she won the competition one year for Switzerland, I had never actually heard the song until quite recently.
Listening to it for the first time, I had high standards, because I love Céline Dion's music, especially when she sings in French as she does in this song, and I love Eurovision, so I was hoping this would be something spectacular.
In reality, I was a bit disappointed at first, because I found the verses a bit too slow, and the changes between the verses and the faster choruses a bit too abrupt and unnatural-sounding.
I also thought it was all a bit clichéd and generic (how many times have I said that about Eurovision songs! But then, I guess back then there was a winning formula and it kind of made sense to stick to it).
However, Céline fans, don't storm off in fury yet! Because when I listened to this song again a few days later... I really liked it. I kind of "got" the change in the verse and the chorus speed this time, and how it can sound quite effective. And I love the lyrics...
"Vous qui cherchez l'étoile,
Vous qui vivez un rêve."
"You who seek the star,
You who live a dream."
It is a very beautiful song.
I also love how she is one of those artists who are always changing their image - though in Céline's case, it seems like a natural change as she has grown and matured, unlike some people who change their image just to expand their market.
However, I feel that the magical thing about Céline is that while she has changed so much, in essence she has stayed the same - same big voice, same emotion when she is singing, same presence.
And she is recognisable; she hasn't metamorphosed physically like many artists of her age have since their younger days. I think what we can gather from this is that firstly, Céline stays true to herself and her natural musical style, and secondly, her music is timeless.
I really like this song now, and I will always love Céline ♥ A worthy winner!
I love this song by Céline Dion; it is such a message of hope; not just in love,which seems to be the main focus of the song, but in life generally. It's a song which tells us not to give up, never to give up. Plus it's a nice song musically too!
Because Dion does a lot of covers, I thought before hearing this song that it would be a cover of The Way It Is by Bruce Hornsby and the Range (which I like), yet it is a completely different song. A very nice song, too.
I quite like how basic and minimalist the video is; in fact I generally approve of Céline Dion videos more than those of similar artists whose videos are often over-the-top and not worthy of the song they are supposed to be showcasing. Yet Céline's videos tend to be sensible and show the song in it's best light - they let the song do the talking instead of distracting from it.
I love Céline Dion's voice. It is simply amazing. So beautiful and distinctive. She deserves a lot of the credit as she must have spent so long training it and taking care of it, yet to have a voice so unique I believe is something you have to be blessed with. And some people just are: Cyndi Lauper, Stevie Nicks and Marie Fredriksson from Roxette to name a few.
Anyway, I will sign off for now, and remember, never give up hope.
