Paris: Ne me quitte pas and other songs

“Ne me quitte pas” is the title of a song of Jacques Brel and is now one of the classic when one thinks of Chansons Françaises (French songs). It has since been sung by many others including Nina Simone who sang it in a manner that made the song still recognizably Brel but in her very own style and giving it a totally new dimension. If Brel sang it with visible prosodic emotions (stringing and dragging you along on an emotional ride), Simone sang it with such utter calmness and flatness that only emphasized the emotions in her unique voice and demure and submerges you in it. Either way, both will make you feel spent, pitched and goosebumps all over at the end of their song.
You can see the video of Simone here:
Nina Simone Ne me quitte pas (Video, click here)

Part of the process of becoming Parisian or French involves getting to know these standard repertoire of songs that anyone can sing on cue! There are bars in Paris where certain nights you could sing a long to these standards (Brel, Piaf, Aznavour, Dalida etc.) and this could really be fun if you could overcome the feeling that you’re doing something totally ringard (outdated!). Many of these songs we know too, such as Non je ne regrette rien sung by Piaf or Les feuilles mortes (I know the version sung by Yves Montand). It seems like every singer in France would have to try to tackle these legendary repertoire to prove to the public that they are worthy of their adoration. And singing it prettily is not going to cut it with the French public who asks for real emotions. Mon manage à moi has been sung by Patrick Bruel, L’hymne à l’amour has been sung not only by every French singer today (including a rap and rock version) but also by Josh Groban!

If emotions were asked, it is that these songs usually tell fairly complicated stories (they seem in any case more complicated than English pop songs). This may have to do with many of these songs were sung in cabaret (I guess sort of like Jazz and blues that developed more in clubs etc.). Piaf’s songs (many are written by Prevert), for instance, may be about a young woman who works as a prostitute who dreamt of owning a bar with her boyfriend who had to go to war and never came back and the life that followed…Brel is a raconteur and not just any old raconteur as the words used not only communicate a lot of emotions and images but also touches on all dimensions of emotions (colors, visions, feeling, physical sensations such as sound and smell…you could find them all in his songs). No wonder that the French seems to put on pedestal aged singers that in the US, except for blues and jazz singers, would have been long forgotten. Age gives these singers the maturity that is probably necessary to sing these songs with convictions: it is like comparing new Beaujolais to old wine. New wine may have aroma that pleases, but only old wine can have bouquet that transports you!

Infos :
To listen to jazz, check ou the Duc de Lombards (rue des Lombards and blvd de Sebastopol in Chatelet), also check out the New Morning (their programme is on the net...also the jazz festival in Paris and La Cité de la musique, you can google both). In Pigalle, there are bars with life music and karaoke (tucked amid the sex shops...and beware of touts of these sex shops).