Friday, May 9, 2008

Stress Down Friday - French Lessons


Although I'm fluent in theatrical flailing and gesturing I don't actually speak a second language - I know a few scraps of French, but couldn't structure or shape a single sentance of any use.

So this track intrigues me, not just with its hypnotic loose grooves and repetitive riffing on a 'Get Carter' style bass motif - but what exactly in the name of Serge Gainsbourg is Yves Montand 'lapin'ing on about.

I'd be eternally greatful if anyone could explain the essence of his monologue as I'd love to know what's getting this homme so heated

Yves Montand - Pour Faire le Portrait d´un Oiseau





'Pour Faire le Portrait d´un Oiseau' is taken from volume 1 of the always excellent Hotel Costes series

NEWS JUST IN................

I've found a cartoon with the same title as this tune - although I'm still 'non' the wiser after a viewing...



FIN

I've just had confirmation from a real life Frenchman (a myspace friend of mine Mr Number Neuf) That the title translates as 'To make the painting of a bird'

10 comments:

Cocktails said...

I'm afraid that my ongoing struggle through French lessons is not helping here. Even the title is weird - making a portrait for a bird, I think??!! I suspect Monsieur Montand is just wittering about the bird and er.. the general surroundings. There is definitely stuff about 'profound silence', and waiting for the bird to sing and that its a bad sign when it doesn't...

I'm intrigued though and hope that there is somebody else out there with a better grasp of French than me!

Cocktails said...

By the way, I don't think its meant to be very sexy song.

But I might be missing something.

BLTP said...

Intriguing it's not a proto green thing on a " silent dawn" tip pesticides killing all the birds etc is it?

Mondo said...

I've just found a vid' with the same title - a bird seems to be theme of it, but I'm not sure if it's the same monologue though

Cocktails said...

It's definitely not a green thing, BLTP - more an arty musing on the nature of ah, drawing a bird.

Is that on Youtube Mondo?

And don't you two do any work?! :)

Mondo said...

I try to give it a swerve - as it does interfere with busy business of blogging.

BLTP said...

was moving office so sat tapping away pretending to do stuff becasue they didn't do the right thing and just give us the afternoon off to sit in the sun and drink cold drinks, all my files and that were packed...

Cocktails said...

I think that the words are the same, but I am now even more confused as to what the songs about.

In any case, I can't believe that I actually watched that vid all the way through. It's way too surreal for Monday lunchtime!

Mondo said...

It's a brain fryer isn't it - the sort of thing BBC 2 would drop in to fill in gaps in the scheduling years ago.

I can see why those birdy type string 'chirrups' are on the track now.

Mondo said...
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