Tuesday, June 25, 2013

A Heartbreaking French Song



Adapted from French poet Louis Aragon’s poem, “Il N’y A Pas d’Amour Heureux” is a song that Francoise Hardy has interpreted in heart-breaking perfection. The quiet melancholy of the poem is powerful and evokes readers’ emotions about the despair of love and life – for the poet, no true love can exist without sadness and pain. Hardy’s performance lets the lyrics gently drop like pebbles into a pond, making sad ripples in the audience’s hearts.


Famous French songwriter/poet/singer Georges Brassens was the composer and original singer of this song. He adapted Louis Aragon’s poem, which had been written during World War II, to his composition, cutting out the last stanza about the French Resistance and applying the tune of “La Priere” to it. Since then, the song has been interpreted at least sixty times by different artists.
“Il N’y A Pas d’Amour Heureux” (“There’s No Happy Love”):-
Rien n'est jamais acquis à l'homme, ni sa force
Ni sa faiblesse ni son coeur, et quand il croit
Ouvrir ses bras son ombre est celle d'une croix
Et quand il veut serrer son bonheur il le broie
Sa vie est un étrange et douloureux divorce
Il n'y a pas d'amour heureux

Sa vie elle ressemble à ces soldats sans armes
Qu'on avait habillés pour un autre destin
A quoi peut leur servir de se lever matin
Eux qu'on retrouve au soir désarmes incertains,
Dites ces mots ‘Ma vie!’ et retenez vos larmes
Il n'y a pas d'amour heureux

Mon bel amour mon cher amour ma déchirure
Je te porte dans moi comme un oiseau blessé
Et ceux-là sans savoir nous regardent passer
Répétant après moi ces mots que j'ai tressés
Et qui pour tes grands yeux tout aussitôt moururent
Il n'y a pas d'amour heureux

Le temps d'apprendre à vivre il est déjà trop tard
Que pleurent dans la nuit nos coeurs à l'unisson
Ce qu'il faut de regrets pour payer un frisson
Ce qu'il faut de malheur pour la moindre chanson
Ce qu'il faut de sanglots pour un air de guitare
Il n'y a pas d'amour heureux
My English Rendition of the Lyrics:-

Nothing ever belongs to a man, not his strength,
Not his weakness, not his heart; and when he thinks
He’s opening his arms, his shadow forms a cross;
And when he wants to seize happiness, he crushes it.
His life is one strange and painful divorce;
There’s no happy love.

His life is like that of soldiers without arms;
Who are groomed as if for a different life.
What’s the point of getting up at sunrise,
Only to find themselves at dusk, daunted and in fear?
Say these words ‘My life!’ and hold your tears;
There’s no happy love.

My fair love, my dear love, my heartbreaker;
I carry you with me like a wounded bird.
And those who unknowingly watch us pass,
Repeating after me the words I’ve invented,
And who for your fair eyes have already died;
There’s no happy love.

The chance to learn to live is long gone;
Let our hearts weep at night in a bond.
How much in regrets must it take to pay for a thrill?
How much in sadness must it take to pay for one little song?
How much in sobs must it take to pay for one guitar tune?
There’s no happy love.

Sunday, June 23, 2013

A Couple of Poetic French Songs



Francoise Hardy’s magical rendition of a couple of very poetic French songs has plucked at my heartstrings and put me in translation mode. 



In my very young days, I used to be (still am) a big fan of the Carpenters. I found Karen Carpenter’s deep velvety voice very endearing and calming and knew many of her songs by heart. In later years I heard of French singer Francoise Hardy (whose singing career took off before the Carpenters’ did) through her rendition of “All Over the World”, which was adapted from the original “Dans Le Monde Entier” (music and lyrics both written by her). Her irresistible husky yet delicate voice radiated a certain warmth that reminded me of Karen’s. It was only quite recently when I embarked on a discovery tour of Hardy’s repertoire that I became totally bewitched. Her relaxed, coming-from-within, natural singing style has captured my heart.

Two French songs to which Francoise Hardy gave moving interpretation have very poetic lyrics and I’m tempted to render them into English. One is “La Mer” and the other is “Le Temps de L’Amour”. The latter song was picked as a dance song for the 2012 movie Moonrise Kingdom.

“La Mer” (“The Sea”) (music and lyrics by Charles Trenet):-

La mer qu'on voit danser le long des golfes clairs
A des reflets d'argent, la mer
Des reflets changeants sous la pluie

La mer au ciel d'été confond ses blancs moutons
Avec les anges si purs, la mer
Bergère d'azur infinie

Voyez près des étangs ces grands roseaux mouillés
Voyez ces oiseaux blancs et ces maisons rouillées

La mer les a bercés le long des golfes clairs
Et d'une chanson d'amour, la mer
A bercé mon coeur pour la vie

La mer les a bercés le long des golfes clairs
Et d'une chanson d'amour, la mer
A bercé mon coeur pour la vie

My English Rendition:-

The sea that you see dancing along the clear bay,
Has silvery reflections, the sea,
Reflections that change in the rain.

The sea under a summer sky mistakes its white waves
For the angels so pure, the sea,
An infinite azure rocking chair.

Behold the bushy wet weeds near the water,
Behold the white birds and the rusty mansions.

The sea has cradled them all along the clear bay,
And like a love song, the sea
Has cradled my heart, for life.

The sea has cradled them all along the clear bay,
And like a love song, the sea
Has cradled my heart, for life.

“Le Temps de L’Amour” (“Time of Love”):-

C'est le temps de l'amour,
Le temps des copains et de l'aventure
Quand le temps va et vient,
On ne pense a rien malgre ses blessures
Car le temps de l'amour
C'est long et c'est court,
Ca dure toujours, on s'en souvient

On se dit qu' a vingt ans on est le roi du monde,
Et qu' éternellement il y aura dans nos yeux
Tout le ciel bleu

C'est le temps de l'amour,
Le temps des copains et de l'aventure
Quand le temps va et vient,
On ne pense a rien malgre ses blessures
Car le temps de l'amour
Ca vous met au coeur
Beaucoup de chaleur et de bonheur

Un beau jour c'est l'amour et le coeur bat plus vite,
Car la vie suit son cours
Et l'on est tout heureux d'etre amoureux

C'est le temps de l'amour,
Le temps des copains et de l'aventure
Quand le temps va et vient,
On ne pense a rien malgre ses blessures
Car le temps de l'amour
C'est long et c'est court,
Ca dure toujours, on s'en souvient.

My English Rendition:-

It is the time of love,
The time for friends and for adventure.
When the time comes and goes,
You don’t give a thought despite the wounds,
Because the time of love –
It can be long and it can be short.
It always lasts, and you’ll remember it.

One says when you’re twenty you are the king of the world
And that for eternity you’ll have in your eyes
All that blue sky.

It is the time of love,
The time for friends and for adventure.
When the time comes and goes,
You don’t give a thought despite the wounds,
Because the time of love –
It will fill your heart with
A lot of ardor and happiness.

One fine day love comes and your heart beats faster.
Because life follows its own path,
And you are just happy to be in love.

It is the time of love,
The time for friends and for adventure.
When the time comes and goes,
You don’t give a thought despite the wounds,
Because the time of love –
It can be long and it can be short.
It always lasts, and you’ll remember it.