for a rape victim

for michelle

in your baby steps

the little measures you 

took to make a life

i see you shining

the light you bear

makes my breathe white

my eyes glisten

the slow singing of sirens

is not audible

i think about living

instead of dying

because if you can live

with all you bear

and still break open

a cold new morning

then nothing we've spoken of

wept or whispered in the dark

can erase the vindication

of creating light

of ending the silence

and the warm embrace

of rebirth awaiting you

trop mignon...

merci à paxandroses...

Vertige de l'amour

(Boris Bergman/Alain Bashung)

J'ai crevé l'oreiller
J'ai du rêver trop fort
Ça m'prend les jours fériés
Quand Gisèle clape dehors
J'aurais pas du ouvrir
A la rouquine carmélite
La mère sup' m'a vu venir
Dieu avait mis un kilt
Y a du avoir des fuites
Vertige de l'amour.

Mes circuits sont niqués
D'puis y a un truc qui fait masse
L'courant peut plus passer
Non mais t'as vu c'qui passe
J'veux l'feuilleton à la place
Vertige de l'amour.

Tu t'chopes des suées à Saïgon
J'm'écris des cartes postales du front
Si ça continue j'vais m'découper
Suivant les pointillés yeah !

Vertige de l'amour
Désir fou que rien ne chasse
L'cœur transi reste sourd
Aux cris du marchand d'glaces
Non mais t'as vu c'qui s'passe
J'veux l'feuilleton à la place
Vertige de l'amour.

Mon légionnaire attend qu'on l'chunte
Et la tranchée vient d'êtr' repeinte écoutez
Si ça continue j'vais m'découper
Suivant les pointillés yeah !

Vertige de l'amour
J'ai rêver trop fort
Ça m'prend les jours fériés
Quand Gisèle clap' dehors
J'ai crevé l'oreiller
J'ai du rêver trop fort.

Ça m'prend les jours fériés
Quand Gisèle clap' dehors
J'ai crevé l'oreiller
J'ai du rêver trop fort. 

à pleurer...

merci à jeanvincenti

You can find an earlier translation I did of "Avec le temps" here:  
http://moineauenfrance.blogspot.com/2009/11/alain-bashung-avec-le-temps.html

Des trésors d'INA

Retrouvez des archives audiovisuelles d'Institut Nationales de l'Audiovisuel (INA) de tous les thèmes, comme celle de Jean Louis Barrault qui parle de son réalisation de la pièce "Paravents" de Jean Genet à l"Odéon en 1966 (12 min). Recherchez n'importe quel musicien, artiste, comédien ou écrivain; il y a beaucoup de trésors gratuit et à acheter sur le site d'INA.

http://www.ina.fr

    retrouver ce média sur www.ina.fr

Jean Ferrat, chanteur engagé et amoureux des mots

Une revue de presse du Monde en sept articles

Jean Ferrat, chanteur engagé et amoureux des mots
LEMONDE.FR | 19.03.10

©

1 - Jean Ferrat, chanteur populaire et engagé  publié 16.03.10
2 - "Un homme debout, un combattant"  publié 16.03.10
3 - Une absurde tendresse   publié 07.12.97
4 - Sur un air de liberté   publié 28.12.97
5 - Ferrat chante Aragon publié 17.11.94
6 - Un entretien avec Jean Ferrat  publié 27.10.91
7 - Jean Ferrat reste un ardent défenseur de la chanson française  publié 24.01.87


5 000 personnes ont assisté aux obsèques de Jean Ferrat à Antraigues

De l'article: 

Le chanteur Georges Moustaki, qui a qualifié d'"exceptionnelle" l'œuvre de Jean Ferrat, a évoqué "quelqu'un d'exemplaire", qui "n'a rien sacrifié de ce qui lui tenait à cœur". C'était "un homme engagé, mais il n'était pas un hurleur de sentences. Il le faisait avec poésie", a poursuivi Moustaki. "Il y avait un lien très fort entre nous, a-t-il ajouté, évoquant ensuite leur jeunesse et leurs débuts, à la même époque. Dans les années 50, on avait commencé à écrire des chansons ensemble. Il a eu très vite un grand succès par la beauté de sa voix qui était exceptionnelle."

La première secrétaire du Parti socialiste, Martine Aubry, a affirmé que le chanteur "resterait comme un militant infatigable de la justice sociale". Dans un communiqué, M^me Aubry a fait part de sa "très grande émotion" à l'annonce de la disparition de Jean Ferrat. "Il avait tiré de sa passion des mots et d'Aragon un don pour la composition. Chacune de ses chansons était un hymne à la résistance. Elles resteront longtemps dans nos mémoires", a-t-elle écrit. Pour M^me"aimait 'Sa France', chantait la beauté de ses paysages et l'air de liberté qui la traverse. Cet artiste passionné incarnait la difficile synthèse entre la révolte et l'idéal. Il était profondément engagé et aura tenté, sans jamais se lasser, de lutter contre toutes les formes de servitudes."

nothing day

Tableau: Melancolie par Constance-Marie Charpentier, 1801

this nothing day

this emptiness this melancoly

someone knocked at my door

and i had to answer it, or did i?

but i did like an idiot

father and son sell chocolate bars

in their boy scout uniforms

i feel like a fool in my striped pyjamas

i buy a crispy crunch for two bucks

and then eat it up in one gulp with closed eyes

big fucking deal

two clocks set to remind me

of my 12 o'clock meds

they both went off and i forget

how little is left of my consciousness

how little is left

twelve teeth, twelve poems

perhaps twelve friends

the best one dead, my daughter

that anniversary just days away

another movie, another cup of coffee

another charm to keep away the dolor

i'm whispering with my fingers

whispering like wind through leaves

like dreams through sleep

a big hole in my heart drains the blood

i need to carry oxygen

my ears hear, my eyes see

but there is no response

my brain is dying faster than my feelings

the only thing driving me is

this need to write a poem

and even that, dear readers

as you can see

alludes me

Laugh again with "The Jerk"!

i ran into this movie this morning on TV and laughed my ass off for, like, the 20th time! Here's one of the scenes that knocks me on the floor every time! ENJOY! :>>))) xooxoxox

Bashung Radio Program Archived

i will let the words of my dear friend Brenda Clews, who listened to, recorded, uploaded and re-uploaded my March 14th radio tribute to Alain Bashung, fill you in on the details... she wrote the following generous description. Merci beaucoup, Brenda, avec mille bisous d'Astoria. xoxoxoox

A Tribute to Alain Bashung - Laura Tattoo on Coast Community Radio, March 14, 2010

"In a gentle, adoring and informative tribute, the poet Laura Tattoo brings the music of Alain Bashung alive to an English audience. To commemorate the genius of Alain Bashung, Laura dj'd a radio show one year after his death. She plays his music, covering a span of years and styles. She includes translations of his lyrics, and a little biography, particularly his latter years. The show is one hour, and aired on March 14, 2010 on Coast Community Radio. It is a moving tribute to a great singer.

"Laura has dedicated a website to the music of Alain Bashung and is translating all of his song lyrics from French into English so that the English-speaking world may come to understand this great French musician better. Her website is called, Bashung in English: English translations of the songs of Alain Bashung, France's greatest rocker."

Click here to listen:

This audio is part of the collection: Open Source Audio

Playlist:
 1 - Dehors
 2 - Suzanne
 3 - Le Secret des Banquises
 4 - Vertige de l'Amour
 5 - Madame Rêve
 6 - J'Passe Pour une Caravane
 7 - Ma Petite Entreprise
 8 - Fantaisie Militaire
 9 - Est-ce Aimer
10 - Malaxe
11 - Angora

Thanks to DJ Nacho Bizzness for engineering... xoxoox

Jean Ferrat nous a quittés

triste jour, un an sans bashung, aujourd'hui jean ferrat...

Translation of Bash and Fauque's "Mes Bras"

from the album "L'Imprudence" (2002)

Words: Alain Bashung/Jean Fauque

Music: Alain Bashung/Mobile in Motion

Open a new window in Jiwa, close "country" message window (click "close") and play song. http://www.jiwa.fm/#track/1346093

Translation dedicated to Jean Fauque, sa chanson préférée

J'étais censé t'étourdir

i was supposed to knock you out
Sans aviron sans élixir

Without oar without elixir
J'étais censé te soustraire

I was supposed to subtract you
À la glu

From the glue

Les impasses

The impasses
Les grands espaces

The big spaces
Mes bras connaissent

My arms know
Mes bras connaissent

My arms know
Une étoile sur le point de s'éteindre

A star at the point of going out

J'étais censé te ravir

I was supposed to steal you away
À la colère de Dieu

From the anger of God

La douceur d'un blindé

The softness of the shielded
Le remède à l'oubli

The remedy of forgetting
Mes bras connaissent

My arms know
Mes bras connaissent

My arms know

Mes bras connaissent

My arms know
La menace du futur

The menace of the future
Les délices qu'on ampute

The delights that one amputates
Pour l'amour d'une connasse

For the love of some stupid bitch

J'étais censé t'encenser

I was supposed to incense you
Mes hélices se sont lassées¹

My helices were weary¹
De te porter aux nues

From carrying you to the clouds
Je me tue à te dire

I am killing myself trying to tell you
Qu'on ne va pas mourir

That one is not going to die

Sauve toi

Save yourself
Sauve moi

Save me
et tu sauras où l'acheter le courage²

And you will know where the courage is to buy it

J'étais censé t'étourdir

I was supposed to knock you out
Sans aviron sans élixir

Without oar without elixir
J'étais censé te couvrir

I was supposed to cover you
À l'approche des cyclones

From the approach of the cyclones

Mes bras connaissent

My arms know
Mes bras connaissent

My arms know
Sur le bout des doigts

At the end of the fingers

La promesse d'un instant

The promise of an instant
La descente aux enfers

The descent into hells
Mes bras connaissent

My arms know
Mes bras mesurent la distance

My arms are measuring the distance

Sauve toi

Save yourself
Sauve moi

Save me
Et tu sauras où l'acheter le courage

And you will know where the courage is to buy it

J'étais censé t'étourdir

I was supposed to knock you out
Sans aviron sans élixir

Without oar without elixir
J'étais censé t'extraire

I was supposed to extract
Le pieu dans le coeur

The stake in your heart
Qui t'empêche de courir

That keeps you from running away

Mes bras connaissent

My arms know
Mes bras connaissent

My arms know
Mes bras connaissent

My arms know
Une étoile sur le point de s'éteindre

A star at the point of going out

Mes bras connaissent

My arms know
Mes bras connaissent

My arms know
Sur le bout des doigts

At the end of the fingers

Mes bras connaissent

My arms know

Mes bras connaissent

My arms know
Une étoile sur le point de s'éteindre

A star at the point of going out

Mes bras connaissent

My arms know

Sauve toi

Save yourself
Sauve moi

Save me

Mes bras connaissent

My arms know

¹ "My helices were weary", corkscrews, spirals; may be referring to Curschmann's spirals, which are coiled, basophilic plugs of mucus formed in the lower airways and found in sputum and tracheal washings, indicating chronic obstruction.

² "où l'acheter le courage" ("where the courage is to buy it") - word play with "lacheté", cowardess, side by side with courage

Find more of my Bashung translations at http://bashung-in-english.blogspot.com. I am working to translate his entire opus.

Bashung Tribute on American Radio!

L'emission commence à 3h du lundi matin, 15 mars, en France sur le site www.kmun.org. Il n'y aura pas d'archive.

Click to enlarge (agrandir):

Alain Bashung: More accolades at Victoires 2010

During the "Victoires de la Musique 2010", Jean Fauque delivered a powerful homage with live orchestra, and Alain won yet another, his 12th, Victoire for "Live à l'Olympia" as "Music DVD de l'Année". Here is the tribute which closes with « La nuit, je me mens. La nuit, je rêve que tu es toujours vivant… C'est un songe pas un mensonge, d'avoir ta musique resplendissant toujours toujours. » :

Alain Bashung, Hommage de Jean Fauque
par Mikmm

Update: The hommage was written by Giles Verlant upon the request of Nagui, the host of the Victoires. The entire text, which was personalized by Jean Fauque, can be found here: http://www.gillesverlant.com/.

housebound

i've never been as free
as i am today in this prison
my head on the pillow
swoons with possibilities
poems and stories
to break a funny bone
i laugh at myself now
as i often laugh alone

i've never been as free
to live my life in secret
to eat belgian chocolate
screen the telephone
watch a violent film
about a serial killer
in french without subtext
for the less fluent

i've never been as free
as when you are gone
or watching you come and go
even as the clock ticks
past the hour for my pills
and i awaken waist deep
in pain and analyze the
quiet that surrounds us

once you gave me life
saving me three times
you broke the spell of
nightmares by rocking me
as i cried acidic tears
how stale things get
when they sit
without movement

if only i could read a book
if only you'd stay awhile
and talk, pull up a chair
dare me to walk
cook a pot-au-feu
make jokes until dawn
i was a good actress once
wasn't i, my love?

so much time lays
beside me on the pillow
hangs above me ripened
with desire and ego
work was my worth
now there's something else
like holding onto myself
in this graveyard

i've never been as free
from the madness of the past
even in this new prison
no hospital wards have
awaited me for years
far less suicidal
i do what i can with this body
and pray you love me

moineau reads for international women's day

i'm reading again for the second annual international women's day celebration at the performing arts center in astoria, oregon, saturday, march 6, 7pm (free). the title of my reading is "'Whistler's Mother at the Farmers Daughter' and other myths of survival through poetry". i found this lovely blurb on my performance last year in Hipfish, our local arts newspaper:

"Returning to the event is local poet Laura Tattoo who stunned audiences with her original, funny, frank and sometimes French pieces..."

thank you, editor dinah urell.

Sondage: Chanson la plus gay

If you watch this on Metacafe, there is an English translation by xDivineIdylle! :>>))

 Le MAG (Mouvement d’affirmation des jeunes gais, lesbiennes, bi et trans’) fête cette année ses 25 ans et vous propose d’élire la chanson la plus gay de ces 25 dernières années, parmi la sélection de 25 titres ci-dessous.  Si votre titre préféré (de 1985 à aujourd’hui) ne figure pas dans la liste, n’hésitez pas à le signaler dans les commentaires. 

http://www.yagg.com/2010/03/01/sondage-avec-le-mag-elisez-la-chanson-la-plus-gay-de-ces-25-dernieres-annees/

Voici le mien de 1991, qui n'y figure pas (et bref c'est de gainsbourg!)



Vanessa Paradis - Tandem
envoyé par RosaCrvx. - Regardez plus de clips, en HD !

Bloody Love

Cassandra by Evelyn de Morgan, 1898

Boys and girls, take heart

I made a hobby once

of loving you

I had a habit as

flat as a pancake

As high as

Alice B. Toklas

I had a red skull

with cross bones

But the sweetest bed

left of Lesbos

I fondled your genitals

then finished you off

with erudite love

like Sappho or Anaïs Nin

Her little birds with

little tongues

like stun guns

And I expected nothing

but blind worship

multiple orgasms and

a few good poems

I loved you, I swear

the way googly-eyed girls

love the drummer in the band

with rapid heart

and rapid eyelashes

I loved you like

mold loves bread

worms love pear

and I dare say

I loved you like

Cain loved Abel

and just as jealously

guarded my rapport

with the devil

until sex and love

were slave and master

and the easy orgasm

went by the wayside

with blood lust

Menstrual flow

became the New God

Monthly rituals

designed on the inside

like hieroglyphs on

cavern walls

Pagan chants channeled

from past voodoo

Noxious ghosts

straddling my throat

chasing the salt-bitter

tears of your cum

As in my mind

they all line up

to have their way

with bloody Kali

Now that valve is shut

Now that day is done

What do I live for

Now that I am bloodless?