Chanson Pour L'Auvergnat

I've been volunteering with an organization that helps people who are homeless in Cork. Often my work is inspiring, but unfortunately some days I see things that make me very sad and disheartened. Yesterday was one of the sad days.
In the evening, when I was feeling very tired and down about the events of the day, my mother just happened to tell me that she was listening to this song and it reminded her of me. It was exactly what I needed to hear.
Thank you, Ima.

Chanson Pour L'Auvergnat - by Georges Brassens
(French with English translation)

Elle est à toi cette chanson
It is for you this song
Toi l'Auvergnat qui, sans façon,
You the man from the Auvergne who without any fuss,
M'a donné quatre bouts de bois
Gave me four pieces of wood
When it was cold in my life.
Quand dans ma vie il faisait froid.

Toi qui m'a donné du feu quand
You gave me a fire when
Les croquantes et les croquants
The yokels, women and men
Tous les gens bien intentionnés
All the very well meaning people
M'avaient fermés la porte au nez.
Had slammed the door in my face.

Ce n'était rien qu'un feu de bois
It was nothing more than a wood fire
Mais il m'avait chauffé le corps
But it warmed my body
Et dans mon âme, il brûle encore
And in my soul it burns still
À la manière d'un feu de joie...
Like a bonfire

Toi, l'Auvergnat quand tu mourras
You, the Auvergnan, when you die
Quand le croc-mort t'emportera
When the undertaker carries you away
Qu'il te conduise à travers ciel
May he take you straight to heaven
Au père éternel.
To the eternal father.

Elle est à toi cette chanson
It is for you this song
Toi l'hôtesse qui, sans façon,
You the landlady who, without any fuss
M'a donné quatre bouts de pain
Gave me four pieces of bread
Quand dans ma vie il faisait faim.
When in my life there was hunger


Toi qui m'ouvrit ta huche quand
You who opened up your bread box, when
Les croquantes et les croquants
The yokels, women and men
Tous les gens bien intentionnés
All the well-meaning people
S'amusaient à me voir jeuner.
Were enjoying seeing me starve.

Ce n'était rien qu'un peu de pain
It was nothing but a piece of bread
Mais il m'avait chauffé le corps
But it warmed my body
Et dans mon âme, il brûle encore
À la manière d'un grand festin...
Like a great feast.

Toi, l'hôtesse quand tu mourras
You, the hostess, when you die
Quand le croc-mort t'emportera
When the undertaker carries you off
Qu'il te conduise à travers ciel
May he take you straight to heaven
Au père éternel.
To the eternal father.

Elle est à toi cette chanson
It is for you this song
Toi l'étranger qui, sans façon,
You, the stranger, who, without any fuss
D'un air malheureux m'a sourit
Looking unhappy gave me a smile
Lorsque les gendarmes m'ont pris
When the police picked me up.

Toi qui n'a pas applaudi quand
You didn’t applaud when
Les croquantes et les croquants
The yokels, women and men
Tous les gens bien intentionnés
All the well-meaning people
Riaient de me voir rammené.
Laughed at seeing me led away

Ce n'était rien qu'un peu de miel
It was nothing but a spot of honey
Mais il m'avait chauffé le corps
But it warmed my body
Et dans mon âme, il brûle encore
And in my soul it burns still
À la manière d'un grand soleil...
Like a great sun

Toi, l'étranger quand tu mourras
You, the stranger, when you die
Quand le croc-mort t'emportera
When the undertaker carries you off
Qu'il te conduise à travers ciel
May he take you straight to heaven
Au père éternel.
To the eternal father.

Being Showy

A few week ago J & I decided that we would like to see more theatre in the upcoming months. Cork has a lot of cultural events to offer, so we thought we'd check out some shows. We live a few steps away from the Cork Opera House, which is a major hub of drama, music, dance, comedy, and opera. After checking out their program, we chose to buy tickets to the musical Rent and to the Cork Cine Club, an art house cinema club. We have already enjoyed two of the Cine Club films, and this past Friday we went to see Rent. For those of you who don't know about this show, here is a bit of background from wikipedia:

Rent is a rock opera with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème. It tells a story of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York's Lower East Side in the thriving days of Bohemian Alphabet City, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS...The musical is largely responsible for helping to increase the popularity of musical theater amongst the younger generation.

It won heaps of awards, including a Tony award, and in 2005 it was also made into a movie with most of the original cast members.

To be perfectly honest, I was expecting a mildly entertaining evening. I just didn't think Cork City in 2010 was necessarily the best place to see a show that was so very NYC of a few decades ago. I was willing to give it a chance though, and it paid off. What a great show. The music is catchy, and I guess it's even more famous than I'd realized because I knew a few of the songs! This was the one I knew enough to sing along with, and the one that was best performed in my opinion.

Here is another one that was really good, and now that I looked up the movie version it may even be better.

The next show that I'd love to go to is the Kodo drummers. Here is a bit about them from their website:

Exploring the limitless possibilities of the traditional Japanese drum, the taiko, Kodo are forging new directions for a vibrant living art-form... The sound of the great taiko is said to resemble a mother's heartbeat as felt in the womb, and it is no myth that babies are often lulled asleep by its thunderous vibrations... Since their debut at the Berlin Festival in 1981, Kodo have given over 3300 performances on all five continents, spending about a third of the year overseas, a third touring in Japan and a third resting and preparing new material on Sado Island.

Kodo strives to both preserve and re-interpret traditional Japanese performing arts. Beyond this, members on tours and research trips all over the globe have brought back to Sado a kaleidoscope of world music and experiences which now exerts a strong influence on the group's performances and compositions. Collaborations with other artists and composers extend right across the musical spectrum and Kodo's lack of preconceptions about its music continues to produce startling new fusion and forms.

The videos look gorgeous and sound cool. Hopefully we'll get tickets.

OK Go Part Two

Some background into how OK Go made their video here.

OK Go

This new video by OK Go is being lauded by blogs, twitter posts, facebookers, and others all over the internet, but it is just too good not to mention again. It isn't even the song, This Too Shall Pass, that really does it for me. It's the video itself. And who would have thought? Usually I find music videos boring, repetitive, and totally inartistic. It doesn't help that they tend to use half-naked women as sex objects. Ugh. But this one - this one - is so creative and delightful and silly and *fun*! Well, go see for yourself.

Whoever makes OK Go's videos is just so awesomely awesome. Here is an older one.

Into This Night I Wander

Possession - Sarah McLachlan

Listen as the wind blows
From across the great divide
Voices trapped in yearning
Memories trapped in time
The night is my companion
And solitude my guide
Would I spend forever here
And not be satisfied

And I would be the one
To hold you down
Kiss you so hard
I'll take your breath away
And after I'd wipe away the tears
Just close your eyes dear

Through this world I stumble
So many times betrayed
Trying to find an honest word
To find the truth enslaved
Oh you speak to me in riddles and
You speak to me in rhymes
My body aches to breathe your breath
You words keep me alive

And I would be the one
To hold you down
Kiss you so hard
I'll take your breath away
And after I'd wipe away the tears
Just close your eyes dear

Into this night I wander
It's morning that I dread
Another day of knowing of
The path I fear to tread
Oh into the sea of waking dreams
I follow without pride
Nothing stands between us here
And I won't be denied

And I would be the one
To hold you down
Kiss you so hard
I'll take your breath away
And after I'd wipe away the tears
Just close your eyes dear

Alone

Well, Jon has left for his sciencey escapades and I am here freezing my butt off alone. Good time to write blog posts under the blankets.

In December I took part in a really neat gift exchange. My artsy, funky, creative ex-roommate who now lives in Vancouver decided to organize a holiday CD swap via facebook. She invited lots of people to particpate, so most of us didn't know each other. Then once she had all our names & addresses, she randomly gave each of us one of the other participant's contact info. We were assigned the task of making a CD for that person as well as decorating it in some way (collage, drawing, etc). I had lots of fun with mine. Here is the playlist I finally created:

Woo Hoo - The 5 6 7 8s (OST Kill Bill Soundtrack)
Big Time Sensuality - Björk (Greatest Hits)
Both Hands - Ani DiFranco (Living In Clip, Disc 2 [Live])
Nothing - Edie Brickell & New Bohemians (Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars)
All Shook Up - Elvis Presley (Billboard Top Rock & Roll Hits: 1957)
The Passenger - Iggy Pop
I Just Want to Make Love to You - Etta James
Jealous Of Your Cigarette - Hawksley Workman
In one ear & out the other - Fujiya & Miyagi (Transparent things)
Always on My Mind - Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson (VH1 Storytellers)
Daddy Sang Bass - Johnny Cash (Gospel Glory)
Jolie Louise - Daniel Lanois
Fever - kd lang
Bongo Bong - Manu Chao (Esperanza)
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Nina Simone (Finest Hour)
Compositor Confundido - Ibrahim Ferrer (Putumayo Presents: Cuba)
Instant Pleasure - Rufus Wainwright
Oh What A World - Rufus Wainwright (Want One)
Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar) - The Doors
Mustang Sally - Wilson Pickett
Mack the Knife (aka "Morit'at") - Ella Fitzgerald
It's True That We Love One Another - The White Stripes (Elephant)


The one I received is also great and visually gorgeous. Lovely combination of songs I know (and like) with songs I'm still digging my teeth into. I'm so curious about who sent it...

Title: Kowalksi's Last Sandwich
Count Basie/Topsy
Roberto Grela/Milonga Triste
Amsterdam Klezmer Band/Sadagora Hot Dub
Band of Horses/Our Swords
The Cinematic Orchestra/To Build A Home
Peter Bjorn & John/Amsterdam
Fred Hughes/Baby Boy
Lowell Fulson/Tramp
Billie Holiday/Getting Some Fun Out of Life
Desmond Dekker/Rudy Got Soul
Dusty Springfield/Little By Little
Belle & Sebastian/Funny Little Frog
Holly Golightly/Tell Me Now So I Know
Fantasia/When I See U
Dilated Peoples/Night Life
Jurassic 5 with Dave Matthews Band/Work It Out
Kelis/Trick Me
Rockin Squat-Supernatural/Undergroud Connexion
Perez Prado/Guagliane
Vampire Weekend/A-Punk
Lhasa De Sela/Los Peces
The Shins/Red Rabbits
Iron & Wine/Each Coming Night

Great Lyrics: I Like Giants by Kimya Dawson

When I go for a drive I like to pull off to the side
Of the road, turn out the lights, get out and look up at the sky
And I do this to remind me that I'm really, really tiny
In the grand scheme of things and sometimes this terrifies me

But it's only really scary cause it makes me feel serene
In a way I never thought I'd be because I've never been
So grounded, and so humbled, and so one with everything
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything

Rock and roll is fun but if you ever hear someone
Say you are huge, look at the moon, look at the stars, look at the sun
Look at the ocean and the desert and the mountains and the sky
Say I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye

When I saw Geneviève I really liked it when she said
What she said about the giant and the lemmings on the cliff
She said 'I like giants
Especially girl giants
Cause all girls feel too big sometimes
Regardless of their size'

When I go for a drive I like to pull off to the side
Of the road and run and jump into the ocean in my clothes
*I'm smaller than a poppyseed inside a great big bowl
And the ocean is a giant that can swallow me whole

So I swim for all salvation and I swim to save my soul
But my soul is just a whisper trapped inside a tornado
So I flip to my back and I float and I sing
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything

So I talked to Joan Baez and almost cried when she said
That the giant on the cliff wished that she was dead
And the lemmings on the cliff wished that they were dead
So the giant told the lemmings why they ought to live instead

When she thought up all those reasons that they ought to live instead
It made her reconsider all the sad thoughts in her head
So thank you joan Baez, cause you take what is in your head
And you make things that are so beautiful and share them with your friends

We all become important when we realize our goal
Should be to figure out our role within the context of the whole
And yeah, rock and roll is fun, but if you ever hear someone
Say you are huge, look at the moon, look at the stars, look at the sun
Look at the ocean and the desert and the mountains and the sky

Say I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
And I don't wanna make her cry
Cause I like giants

This past weekend was a bank holiday in Ireland (a 3-day weekend), which coincided with the Guiness Jazz Festival here in Cork. Over 120 acts appeared on 28 stages around the city, in theatres, hotels, pubs, and lounges.

On Friday night we joined J's workmates at South's, the bar of the Imperial Hotel, for some big band and types of jazz. The place was packed, mostly with tourists who had come just for the Jazz Festival!

On Saturday night a couple of my Quebecois friends invited me to see one of the headline acts, which they heard was a band from Montreal. We were excited to support our fellow Canadians! When we arrived at the Jury's Hotel it turned out that the show actually consisted of two bands from Montreal, the Francois Bourassa Quartet and the Alain Bedard Auguste Quartet. Both were good, and I especially enjoyed the first quartet.

Next week is another major festival in Cork, the Cork Film Festival. It runs Nov 1-8, and we leave for Amsterdam on the 6th, so I'm hoping to catch a few films before we take off. They look very appealing.

So, to end off this time, here is a little taste of Irish pop culture. This is a song by an Irish singer, Julie Feeney, that has been playing non-stop on the radio around here lately. I just saw the video for the first time tonight , and I like the cool headpieces. Enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI1TGrkNUmg&feature=player_embedded

Nina Simone - Don't Let me Be Misunderstood

(B.Benjamin/S.Marcus/C.Cadwell)


Baby do you understand me now
If sometimes you see that I'm mad
Don't you know that no one alive can always be an angel?
When everything goes wrong you see some bad

Well I'm just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood

You know sometimes baby I'm so carefree
with a joy that's hard to hide
Then sometimes again it seems that all I have is worry
And then you're bound to see my other side

But I'm just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood

If I seem edgy
I want you to know
I never meant to take it out on you
Life has its problems
and I get more than my share
but that's me one thing I never mean to do

Cause I love you
Oh baby
I'm just human
Don't you know I have faults like anyone?

Sometimes I find myself alone regretting
some little foolish thing
some simple thing that I've done

I'm just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood

I try so hard
So don't let me be misunderstood.

Cockles and Mussels

We met a couple at the communal Passover Seder that I mentioned a few weeks ago. We've hung out with them a couple of times, and it turns out that they really enjoy singing. He, in particular, has a great voice and actually led the Seder ceremony. They told us about a weekly singing session they go to at a pub called An Spailpín Fánach. Every Sunday night the Cork Singers' Club meets on the 2nd floor of the pub and people take turns singing. The only rule is that people must not use instruments - Voices only.

Jon and I just watched, but we had a great time! One man led the evening, letting people know when it was their turn to sing. Most people seem to be regulars but newcomers were welcome as well. The majority of people were middle-aged or older, but nobody seemed to care about us being there. It was all very casual.

The people who sang were amateurs, but some of their voices were unbelievable. So beautiful! The songs they chose varied widely (love songs, war songs, humourous songs, etc), but they seem to like songs with a repetitive chorus so that everyone can join in and sing along. Some songs were performed in Irish.

We'll definitely go back. It was really fun and very Irish!

And now, I leave you with a great traditional Irish song (everyone here knows this song):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXKLkLcdtjI

House of Light

I've chosen to stay home on this Saturday night, and by some lucky fluke the radio is having a full hour of Roy Orbison. Mmm, just the right atmosphere.

Next weekend is a long weekend here because May 1st is what they call a Bank Holiday. It means we get a 3-day weekend, which is great timing since Jon's parents arrive on that day. After some research, we decided to spend those days here.

For those of you who don't feel like checking out the website, the short story is that The Irish Landmark Trust restores old properties:

The Irish Landmark Trust Ltd. was founded in 1992 with a remit to save interesting and unusual 'landmark' properties throughout the whole of Ireland and to re-use them, once restored, as good quality self catering holiday accommodation. At its heart is the principle that the structure iself is of prime importance and any interventions must respect this.

The landmarks include castles, schoolhouses, mews, lighthouses, and others. For geographic and financial reasons, we chose a property called Loop Head Lighthouse. The landscape there looks gorgeous. However, it is quite remote. We actually have to bring our own drinking water. That part is a bit of a pain, but overall I'm excited! Check out the description on the website:

Perched proudly on an enclosure at the tip of Loop Head stands the lighthouse station. Surrounded by birds and wild flowers, cliffs and Atlantic surf, Loop Head offers holiday accommodation with all of the spectacular appeal of the rugged west coast. The surrounding coastline is of a dramatic character with cliffs sculpted by Atlantic storms where rock ledges and caves are home to seabirds, seals and other maritime animals.
Loop Head Lighthouse station is a major landmark on the northern shore of the Shannon River. The Lighthouse station is built on a clifftop with 300 degree views of the sea down to Kerry Head and Dingle and across to the Cliffs of Moher.

Here are some photos:

Minnie

I've been on the move a lot these days. In the last few weeks I've been on two car trips that have covered a large part of southwest County Cork. What a beautiful place. But more on that later! For now, a quick note to say that last night Jon & I watched the movie The Blues Brothers. He could not believe I hadn't seen it, and right he was. What a cast. I had no idea Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway, and James Brown all made singing appearances in this film. Wowee zowee.

After the movie we just had to re-watch this a few times:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NTozy51AY0

And that eventually brought me to this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08wOPt-2PeE

I'll be back as soon as I can to blog about my adventures these last couple of weeks. However, the excitement never stops around here... My parents are in Dublin right now and on their way to Cork to visit us for a few weeks. This is great news. More Irish trips will ensue over Easter weekend, and general family bonding and chaos will be felt by one and all.

Videos from St. Patrick's Day

Waterford

My trip to Waterford was a nice little getaway. I was not enchanted with the town itself, but there were some nice things to see there. Also, my relationship with Waterford got off to a bad start when the Bed & Breakfast we had booked in advance told us upon our arrival that the heating had stopped working! We decided to stay there anyway, but it did get rather chilly by the end of our stay.

The main thing I enjoyed in Waterford were the Viking and Medieval remains. There are some walls and towers scattered in the downtown that are leftover from the old walled city, and it is amazing to see them.


























Reginald's Tower is the only one people can still enter and it has a small historical museum inside.















































On Saturday night Christina & I decided to catch some live trad music at the pub. It was a local Waterford band called Homebrew - 3 guys with guitars, a banjo, a harmonica, and beautiful voices. It turned out we had hit upon some truly great craic! The band was FANTASTIC. Unfortunately they had no CD for sale, but we had a great night.