Just a quick followup on that crazy carousel song from last week. As I mentioned, it was written by Jacques Brel, who was a big French singing star in the 1950s-1970s.  He wrote his own songs and then performed them, and of course he wrote the songs in French.

But Brel also became popular in English-speaking countries when his songs were translated into English. It turns out that this was done with his blessing and his involvement, although he did not actually write the English lyrics himself.

I bring that up, because when Chris found a clip of him singing that same tune, but in French, we were a little surprised to see that the original French lyrics had nothing to do with a carousel. The name of the song in French is La Valse à Mille Temps, “waltz 1000x fast”. However, the video of Brel singing this song is curious. It is from 1959. Think of it like a music video, except way before MTV, I guess. Anyway, from the staging of the video it’s clear that while the lyrics in French don’t talk about the carousel, he had the idea for the connection to the carousel already.  If you play it to the end you’ll also hear him sing at a crazily fast speed in keeping with the melody of the song. (The video is subtitled in English, so you can see the translation of the words he’s singing, which are all about  a 1000-time waltz (as opposed to one in  3/4 time ) and Paris:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3awyz_jacques-brel-la-valse-a-mille-temps_news

Clearly, when the time came to write the lyrics in English, perhaps someone – maybe Brel himself— thought singing about a waltz Paris in English wasn’t so exciting. But then, remembering the staging of the music video, they decided that the theme of carousel would do quite nicely for the English version of the lyrics.

I hadn’t known much about Jacques Brel before reading up on him in researching this song. Years ago I saw a musical review of his songs called Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris. It’s from that show that I remember the English version of the carousel song, plus another song called Madeline, which is kind of catchy and fun.

That review of his songs was first done — by him — as an English language version of his songs in the late 1960s. Therefore, it predated many of his hits in the 1970s, including one that was a big hit in the U.S. when I was in middle school.  In English it’s called Seasons in the Sun. I remember that song from when I was a kid – it’s about a solider dying in the war and writing a goodbye letter to his family, friends, and wife about how they had “joy, fun and seasons in the sun”.  I remember liking the tune, but finding the lyrics in English a mix of sad and sappy sentimentalism.

But once again, the version we got in English is not completely like the original song. In the original French version, Le Moribond, the hero of the song writes a goodbye letter to his family, friends and wife … as well as to his wife’s lover. A slightly different twist on the tale. And decidedly less sentimental than the English version. You can compare for yourself by trying to click here to listen to the English version of Seasons in the Sun.  That linked worked from here in Germany, but there were many more links I found that didn’t work from Germany. If the previous link doesn’t work for you, do your own internet search for “Terry Jacks” and “Seasons in the Sun” and you should find some links. (Most of the ones I found that way are restricted and can’t be played in Germany, but I’m guessing they will play if you’re in North America).

Interesting how all of these bits of information arose from a slightly tilted photo of a children’s carousel… 😉