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!
Showing posts with label Jean-Jacques Goldman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jean-Jacques Goldman. Show all posts
I will be posting on this music blog again soon - I'll tell you all about my time in France, about my two trips to Spanish Catalonia and about the music that for me will always resonate with memories of this unique year.
In 2011 I went to the south of France with my sixth-form college, a trip that changed my life. I made a film about it, and wrote a blog post about the songs I used in the film. In 2012, I returned there and had another great trip. Again, I made a film, and in this post I will let you know the stories behind the songs I used.
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The first song I used, for the Montpellier segment of the film, is "In This City" by Iglu & Hartly.
I first discovered this song on a trip to Oxford, and I thought of it for the film as its chorus describes perfectly how I feel about Montpellier:
"And I know that down here, in this city,
That I won't disappear in this city,
I have nothing to fear in this city..."
I adore Montpellier and would love to live there some day. It is definitely my favourite city. I have even written a novel set there. It just seems to be to have its own vibe, its own air even. I find it to be a truly unique place.
I first discovered this song on a family trip to London when I was sixteen. We were driving through a very green neighbourhood with lots of trees, and now hearing the song always brings me back there. We went on to visit Hampton Court Palace, somewhere I'd dreamed of going for a long time as I was fascinated by the Tudors. It was a wonderful trip.
I rediscovered this by chance when I was making my film and tried it with the beach photos, not really expecting it to work - but it really did. So I kept it, and now I really like this part of the film - it may be my favourite part.
I did a post with a bit more about why I love this song.
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The third and final song covers Carcassonne, and is "Famille" by Jean-Jacques Goldman.
I first encountered this song when I was exploring Goldman's music - I did a post all about it. When it came to the film, this was probably the easiest song to choose: throughout the trip, the group had referred to each other as "ma deuxième famille" - "my second family." So I thought of this song right away.
Plus, it's a nice song to end the film on: it has that "ending" feel to it, but in a happy, celebratory way, rather than a sad, "it's over" kind of way.
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Overall, I really like the film. I had a limited amount of time in which to finish it - much less than I had for the first film - and I worried at the time that it wouldn't be able to match the first one. However, I think I managed it, and the music was a huge part of that.
I will start this post by explaining what D of E is, as readers outside the UK may not have heard of it. D of E stands for Duke of Edinburgh's Award. It is a programme available to 14-25 year olds in the UK, which involves volunteering, learning new skills, doing a physical activity on a regular basis and the expedition.
The expedition involves spending one to four days walking eight hours a day in a scenic part of the UK - with me it was the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales - and spending the nights camping.
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There are three levels of D of E; Bronze, Silver and Gold. I did Silver between the ages of fifteen and sixteen, and Gold between the ages of sixteen and eighteen. Each level involves different lengths of expeditions. For my Silver I did two practices of one and two days and an assessed expedition of three days.
For Gold I undertook three practices of between one and three days, one assessed that ended prematurely due to bad weather, and finally the assessed that I saw through to the end.
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The reason that I am doing this post isn't to promote D of E, although I would recommend doing it if you live in the UK as I found it to be a great experience.
No, the reason I am writing this post is because there are various songs that remind me of my D of E expeditions for various reasons, and I wanted to share with you these songs and the stories behind them, and to demonstrate how powerful music can be in bringing back memories.
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My first ever experience with D of E expeditions was my one-day practice walk for Silver, which took place in the Yorkshire Dales, near Malham to be precise. As we travelled there by minibus I was nervous about the day ahead; I didn't know what to expect or whether I would be able to keep up with the others, navigate well enough, etc.
This song came on the radio, and I think I had heard it before but I had never realised how much I liked it.
Now this song reminds me of that first journey to the Yorkshire Dales for D of E.
That day turned out to be really enjoyable; we saw lots of sheep and some really nice views from the top of hills. It was good to get to know the group with whom I'd be doing the rest of my Silver expeditions.
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Next came our two day practice in the Lake District. We saw some cows this time, which made a nice change to sheep, and some more lovely scenery.
This had been playing on the radio on the way there and it stayed with me throughout the weekend.
Somehow it turned into "I walked all night" in my head, what with all the walking we did!
We spent the night camping at Gibraltar Farm, one of the best campsites I have ever been to. It was big and spacious, with amazing stars due to lack of light pollution, and a view of the sea. The sunset was sensational.
At night I had to find my way to the toilet block by torchlight - and it was quite a long way from where we had pitched our tent. I was slightly scared of falling over or walking into something, when I heard someone playing "Telephone" by Lady Gaga and Beyonce in their caravan.
I won't post the video as I know people who don't like it, and I find parts of it questionable. But it was kind of reassuring to me to hear a familiar song in such an unfamiliar place, and I stopped feeling scared and realised how wonderful the stars were, and altogether felt much better.
I survived that trip to the toilets and back, and in the morning I was sad to leave Gibraltar Farm. I'd love to go back there some day.
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My next adventure was our final and assessed Silver expedition in the Yorkshire Dales. We saw some beautiful places - including Malham Cove, which I was pleased to later see feature in one of the last two Harry Potter films - but I was very homesick and felt ill during the weekend.
I got through it, and got my Silver Award. But during that expedition I couldn't help playing this over and over in my head.
I had got into a tradition of having my mam's homemade pizza and listening to Nick Grimshaw and Annie Mac on Radio 1 the Sundays I returned from a D of E expedition. When I got back from my Silver assessed, this was on the radio and, bizarrely, will always reminds me of D of E:
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The next year I started my Gold expeditions. The first was a day's practice near where I live, and it was an enjoyable day.
We then had a two-day practice in Yorkshire and that was also nice - I had a new team this time, different to my group for Silver, and we played cards and word games (I went to the moon and I brought...).
This song by Jean-Jacques Goldman really reminds me of that weekend; it's a song about setting out on an adventure and leaving all the baggage behind.
We then had our assessed expedition in the Lakes which went pear-shaped due to bad weather but while it lasted, Losing My Religion by R.E.M. - again, it had played on the minibus radio on the way to our starting point - was its soundtrack for me.
As I plodded on through the rain I played it over and over again in my head, even though my grasp of the lyrics was shaky and I only knew parts of it. What I did know, I held onto. It kept me going through what was for me a very challenging couple of days.
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Happily I got the chance to finish my Gold D of E expedition the next summer. We would be in the Lake District again, which suited me as I love that part of the world.
I have written a blog post describing the practice expedition and the two songs I associate with it in more detail, which you can reach via the green link above.
I will recap here though: the two songs were We Don't Need Another Hero by Tina Turner, which stuck in my head at a particular point - it was the third and last day and we were gradually ascending a mountain and it was drizzling rain and it generally wasn't very nice, and I used this song to spur me on.
The other song was in my head more generally over the three days, and was These Days in an Open Book by Nanci Griffith. As this song has other significances for me, it is weaker as a D of E memory song than others such as Losing My Religion which I associate more with D of E than with anything else.
It's not the song's fault, it's just that I happen to have other memories linked with it. Still, it certainly played a part in motivating me during that Gold practice expedition.
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The day arrived of my Gold assessed expedition. It's strange, I had to hope this would be my last one as that would mean I had passed Gold D of E, as opposed to having to redo it. Yet in another way I wished it wasn't my last, as D of E had been such a big part of my life and the expeditions had been so special and I would be sad when they were over.
I felt really comfortable with my group after the practice, and really enjoyed travelling with them through the Lakes. The first night we camped on a farm by Lake Ullswater, and across the lake was what I think must have been either a hotel or some kind of party boat, and it played 80s music so we could hear it clearly all the way across the lake - either sound carries really easily or they were just playing it really loud!
Among the songs were Livin' on a Prayer and Sweet Child of Mine, and it was nice drifting to sleep in our tents with these old, familiar songs playing in the background.
We walked around Ullswater, we saw Aira Force, we followed the old coach road and felt like we were walking on the top of the world.
Overall it was a really brilliant weekend, we passed, and I'm so glad that my last D of E expedition was probably the best I've ever been on.
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Music for me played a huge part in the D of E expedition experience, as it has in all aspects of my life. I can hear a song and I'm back there, in the hills or the forest or the meadow or at camp. I'm glad I have this musical memory, as it means I can bring back magical moments in seconds just by listening to a song. Never underestimate the power of music!
Thanks for reading,
Liz x
Songs:
Gravity - Pixie Lott - 2010
I Drove All Night - Roy Orbison - 1992
Home - Michael Bublé - 2005
Rock That Body - Black Eyed Peas - 2010
On Ira - Jean-Jacques Goldman - 1999
Losing My Religion - R.E.M.- 1991
We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) - Tina Turner - 1985
It's about time I did a blog entry on Jean-Jacques Goldman; after all he is one for my favourite singer/songwriters and I also owe a lot of the French I know to him!
Firstly, if you don't speak French, please don't be put off listening to his music. There is a strong case for music being THE universal language. Whilst the lyrics are important, there is also so much of the song in the voice, the emotion, the melody and the instruments. And if you can understand the lyrics, that's a bonus, especially with Jean-Jacques Goldman because his lyrics are generally very beautiful.
I will share with you some of my favourite Goldman songs and why I love them, and I will quote and give my translation of some of my favourite Goldman lyrics.
I discovered this singer through my brother; and I am very grateful to him for leading me to this musical genius. It came about because my brother and I often listen to a French compilation CD we have, named "Platine 45," after the Jacky TV music show of the same name that ran in France in the 80s. The compilation contains songs of the time mainly from France but with a few British or German additions. One of the French songs is "Je Marche Seul," by Jean-Jacques Goldman.
I had never listened to this song; I don't know why. Many of the songs on that CD I have only discovered recently, because I once had the somewhat cowardly tendency to stick to the English language songs that I understood. More recently that has changed completely and now I listen to French music as much as English; maybe more if I'm in a particularly French sort of mood.
Anyway, at the time I discovered Jean-Jacques, I had listened to and enjoyed a few of the French songs on the CD, and then my brother suggested listening to this. I did, not expecting much because I arrogantly thought I had already sniffed out all the good songs on the CD.
However, within a verse's worth of Je Marche Seul, I was in love. Well, maybe not quite yet, but I certainly thought it was a very good song.
I then went away and forgot about it. Then, a bit later, I was on YouTube and I decided to find it. I did, and I enjoyed it so much I set to learning the words to it, which I managed pretty quickly. I still know them to this day.
The first video here is the version I first saw and fell in love with. The second appears to be the official video, but I find it a bit odd. It might help if I understood Russian (if that's what language it is).
Having discovered this, I searched YouTube for other Jean-Jacques videos, and came across several similarly up-tempo songs such as Encore Un Matin (which taught me how to form possessive pronouns in French).
These songs I liked, but it wasn't until I found Famille that I realised I had been missing out on the other side of Goldman; the side I would come to love so dearly. Besides the writer of catchy and powerful pop/rock songs, there is also the tender, gentle side, who writes beautiful, inspirational, moving and emotional songs. I honestly don't know now how I lived before I discovered his music.
Famille is just stunning; so beautiful. He plays piano gorgeously, and he sings with such emotion and love. The lyrics are beautiful, although admittedly at one point not very politically correct. But the overall sentiment of this chanson is just adorable. I love it. One of those songs you can always, always listen to, and that you can listen to again and again without getting tired of it for one minute.
From this song, I discovered On Ira, in the list of associated videos at the side on YouTube. This has become perhaps my favourite Goldman song, and even one of my favourite French songs (and I listen to a lot of French music nowadays, so that is a strong accolade!) It is just so incredibly beautiful.
I searched in vain for a long time to find out who the actress in this video is; eventually it transpired it is Elodie Navarre. I had thought she seemed familiar to me, and looking up Navarre I found out she was in a French film I saw a few years ago called, "Jeux d'enfants" (Love Me If You Dare seems to be the English title). That might explain the familiarity, although I don't think I can really remember her character.
Anyway, I think she does a really good job in this video, although I don't by any means condone rude hand gestures. But basically, I think this song is amazing.
"Oh belle, on ira, on suivra les étoiles, et les chercheurs d'or,
Si on en trouve, on cherchera encore!"
"Oh my beautiful, let's go, we'll follow the stars and the gold-diggers,
And if we find them, we'll keep searching!"
But every line of this song is amazing and so moving. It will always be one of my favourite songs in any language.
The next JJ Goldman song I came across was Au Bout de mes Rêves.
It is more bouncy and upbeat than the previous two songs I have highlighted, but I find it is also very beautiful and the lyrics are very good if, like me, you like analysing songs, because I find them a bit ambiguous and therefore interesting to look into, not to mention pretty and poetic.
Plus, the musicianship in this song is just amazing, and the song itself is so happy! It can really make you feel better if you're not in too good a mood. It makes me smile :)
And in the second video, I think the way they put a music note in the middle of their "Melody" channel logo is quite clever. (Not very relevant, but I thought I'd mention it!)
I then found, "Là-Bas." Need I say more? I don't think any words can do justice to such a beautiful, wonderful song. Here it is:
The beautiful, talented woman who sings in this is called Sirima, and I think she is simply amazing.
So beautiful, such a good voice - and an unusual voice - and plays the part of her character in this song and video so convincingly and with such raw, tender emotion.
She would have been a superstar, I know it. But sadly she died two years after Là-Bas was released; murdered at the age of twenty-five. I cannot believe what a waste this was; of life, of talent; and even if she hadn't been a talented singer, ending anybody's life at twenty-five is just horrendous.
Although it is little consolation, at least we have this song and video to remember her by.
For those who can't understand the French (although I think a lot of it is illustrated well in the video) this is a song about emigration. Well, that is how it appears to me. Goldman's character ponders leaving their rural home to try to find a better life in an unknown place referred to only as "Là-Bas" - "over there." Meanwhile, Sirima, playing the role of his girlfriend/fiancée, begs him to stay because she wants to marry him and start a family. She worries that;
"N'y va pas; il y a des tempêtes et des naufrages.
Le feu, les diables, et les mirages.
Je te sais si fragile parfois,
Reste au creux de moi."
"Don't go there; there are storms and shipwrecks,
Fire, devils and mirages
I know you to be so fragile sometimes,
Stay here close to me."
Words cannot describe how much I love this song ♥ It's almost humbling to listen to; it's so stunning and... just perfect. You couldn't ask for more in a song. This is in serious contention with On Ira for the title of my favourite JJ Goldman song. It is so beautiful.
Also, because of the time when I discovered it and first listened to it a lot, it is connected to certain memories and sentiments for me personally. Just hearing the beat can transport me to another place and time. I hadn't anticipated this happening, but it does, and it's yet another thing to make me love this song.
I mentioned this song and how much I liked it to my French teacher, also a Goldman fan, and she recommended that I listen to Puisque Tu Pars (Since You Left), a Goldman song on the same album as Là-Bas. I gave it a listen, and I have to admit that the first time I heard it I wasn't that keen on it. However, the second time I listened to it, I fell in love with yet another Jean-Jacques Goldman song.
Listening to it now I can't believe I didn't realise straight away how astoundingly good it is. So beautiful and heartbreaking. The video as much as the song. Both are so simple, yet work so perfectly to convey their message, and both are so moving and can make me feel quite emotional.
The next (and penultimate) JJG song I wanted to share with you is Il Changeait la Vie.
Another song that I didn't like the first time for some reason but I loved from the second listening onwards. I think it forms the bridge between Goldman's softer, gentler songs, and the more up-tempo, high energy anthems. This song is tender and emotional and the lyrics are so touching; whilst the beat is fast and catchy and I love it.
It tells the story of how ordinary people can really make a mark on somebody's life; he highlights a cobbler, a teacher and a saxophone player. I really like the tune, but with this song it is certainly les paroles - the lyrics - that make me love it.
About the saxophone player:
"Et il mit tant de temps, de larmes at de douleur;
Les rêves de sa vie, les prisons de son cœur."
"And he put in so much time, so many tears, so much pain;
The dreams of his life, the prisons of his heart."
I love it ♥
The final JJG song I wanted to tell you about is Juste Après - Just Afterwards.
I must warn you now that the video is very graphic and contains scenes which you might find upsetting. It is centred around a baby being born not breathing, and the medics' attempts to save the child. It is very moving but also, as you would probably imagine, very scary, graphic and could be upsetting. So proceed with caution.
The video may not be watch-able for certain people, but I would recommend the song itself to anyone. It is just so beautiful. I would just love to be able to play it on the piano.
His guest singers, whom I believe to be Michael Jones and Carole Fredericks (although I would appreciate this being in the YouTube video description! They don't even credit Sirima in Là-Bas on YouTube), are brilliant too, and I think the three of them singing together is what elevates this from a very good Goldman song to a stunningly beautiful celebration of human life.
It is so haunting, yet so positive and hopeful at the same time. I have truly never heard another song quite like it.
I haven't been trying to put these songs in the order of when they were released; it's more the order in which I discovered and inevitably fell in love with them. However, I've realised that by chance the first and last song of this blog entry were released a decade apart - not only showing that JJ Goldman was on the French music scene for a long time, but a sign, I think, that Goldman's music and way of writing songs will never get old. It is timeless.
Yet another contender for my favourite Goldman song! I don't know if I'll ever be able to decide for sure which is my favourite. I'll just accept that they're all amazing. One thing is for sure, Jean-Jacques Goldman is sans doute - without doubt - my favourite French singer and I know I will always listen to and appreciate his music.
So merci tellement to my brother and my teacher for helping me discover and learn more about this wonderful artist whose music has made me so happy over the year or so since I first found it.
I hope that you, my reader, enjoy his music too.
Merci d'avoir pris le temps de lire cet article.
Liz x
Songs:
Je Marche Seul - Jean-Jacques Goldman - 1985
Famille - Jean-Jacques Goldman - 1985
On Ira - Jean-Jacques Goldman - 1998
Au Bout de mes Rêves - Jean-Jacques Goldman - 1983
Having got back from a week in the South of France, I am now obsessed with French music!
Here is a sample of what I have been listening to:
I study French and I love the French language and culture, and I love French music! I know that I have only just scratched the surface; that there is a whole world of French music out there, and I am truly looking forward to many happy years of discovering it.
