Dear fashion & music lovers,

I wish you a fashionable Wednesday morning!

Today’ s story I want to dedicate to my favorite French chansons, music from the capital of fashion and home of FashionTV, Paris.

Chanson Française is the typical style of French music (chanson means “song” in French) and is still very popular in France. Some of the most important artists included: Édith Piaf, Juliette Greco, Mireille Mathieu, Jacques Brel, Georges Brassens, Georges Moustaki, Serge Reggiani, Gilbert Bécaud, Monique Serf (Barbara), Léo Feré, Charles Aznavour, Salvatore Adamo and Dalida plus the more art-house musicians like Brigitte Fontaine. Also during the 1950s one of the more representative of Montmartre cabaret singers was Suzanne Robert.

Today I’d like to present you my all time favorite French chansons with English translation of their wonderful lyrics.

Here’ s a chanson written by Georges Moustaki that I always used to play when it happened in my life that a women left me, and it always gave me very much new energy.

I prefer the interpretation by Serge Reggiani which is really legendary.

Original Title: “Ce soir mon amour”
Text: George Moustaki

This evening my love, I do not love you anymore
You are further than the distance between us
And even more absent because you are nowhere
More a stranger than the first to come along

This evening my love I do not look for you anymore
Among my memories at the bottom of my memory
I do not wait for you anymore on the platform of any station
I barely remember having waited for you there

I know that we were drinking wine after love
That our nights started when the day rose
Like a torrent of ebony your hair on your neck
And your hurt gaze when you make sheep eyes

This evening my love I do not cheat on you anymore
with that girl sleeping by my side
I was alone I asked her to stay
I’m alone very often and I get used to it

This evening my love I do not miss you anymore
I do not miss you. I miss loving
not being useless, inanimate
having nothing to lose and having lost everything

I know your madness I know your modesty
I know that we look alike like brother and sister
I know your smell, I know your perfume
I know you by heart and I do not know anything nomore

About you my love whom I do not love anymore
without succeeding to finally feel free
Alike to a dancer who would lose balance
Like a prince into disgrace, like a fallen angel.

Here’ s a song written by Georges Moustaki that I used to sing and  play on my guitar when I was very young, to open the heart of beautiful girls during the sunset at the beaches of Cote D’Azure.

Georges Moustaki
Le métèque

With my face of a foreigner
Of a wandering Jew, of a Greek shepherd
And my hair to the four winds
With my eyes totally waterlogged
That give me a look of a dreamer
That never dreams very often
With my hands of a petty thief
Of a musician and of a prowler
Who has been caught in so many gardens
With my mouth that drank
that kissed and bit
without ever satisfying its hunger
With my face of a foreigner
Of a wandering Jew, of a Greek shepherd
Of a petty thief and of a vagrant
With my skin that rubbed
With the sun of all the summers
and with everyone who wore underskirt
With my heart that knew how to make
Suffering a lot whom has suffered
Without making stories for that
With my soul that no longer has
the least chance for salvation
To avoid the purgatory
With my face of a foreigner
Of a wandering Jew, of a Greek shepherd
And my hair to the four winds
I will come, my sweet captive
My soul mate, my living source
I will come to drink your twenty years old
And I'll become the prince of blood
A dreamer or even a teenager
As you will like to choose
And we will make of everyday
all the eternity of love
that we will live till we die
and we will make of everyday
all the eternity of love
that we will live till we die

When I’m feeling lonely sometimes, I listen to this beautiful song written by Georges Moustaki as well.

My loneliness

Because of having slept so much
with my loneliness
I almost made it my friend
a sweet custom

She doesn’t deviates from my side

Faithful like a shadow

She followed me here and there

at the four corners of the world

No I’m never alone

with my loneliness

When she’s in the middle of my bed

She takes all the place

And we spend long nights together

Both of us, face to face

I really don’t know how far

this accomplice will go

Will i have to take a fancy on it

Or will I have to react?

No I’m never alone

with my lonelines

Because of her, I learned as much

as I cried tears

If sometimes I deny her

She never desarms me

And If I would prefer love

from another courtisane

She will be on my last day,

My last companion

No I’m never alone

with my loneliness

No I’m never alone

with my loneliness

Here’ s another giant of French chanson, Gilbert Becaud. This one of his most famous songs I want to dedicate
to a girl friend from Russia, Nathalia Bourian. She doesn’t talk with me anymore since a long time because she has a new jealous boy friend now.

Nathalie

the Red Square was hollow (empty)

in front of me was Nathalie walking

she has a beautiful name, my guide

nathalie

 

the red square was white

snow mades a carpet

and i continued in this cold sunday

nathalie

 

she spoke with modests senteces

about october’s revolution

i alreday thought

that after Lenin fall

we would go to Pouchkine caffee

to drink a chocolate

 

the red square was empty

i have taken her arm, she has smiled to me

my guide had blonde hair

nathalie, nathalie

 

at the university room

a group of students

was waiting for her impatiently

we have laughted, we have talked a lot

thay wanted to know everything

nathalie translated

 

moscow, thw fields of ukraine

and the champs elisees

we haev mixed everything

and we have singed

 

and after they have unkorked ( a bottle i suppose)

we have laughed first

about french champagne (not sure about this)

and we have danced

 

and when the room was empty

all the freinds were gone

i have stayed alone with my guide

nathalie

 

no more modest sentences

no more october’s revolution

we werent there anymore

finished lenin’s grave

the chocolate at Pouchkine

that, that was far away now

 

my life seems empty to me

but i know that someday at paris

i will be her guide

nathalie nathalie

The bonus  track of today is a very special track, performed by Gilbert Becaud in German language.

I wish you a stylish Wednesday and come back very soon with the next story.