Earlier entries of this series can be found here: http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/forums/vi ... ive#p45337
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“On aurait pu vivre/ Plus d'un million d'années/ Et toujours en été”
66. Nino Ferrer – Le Sud
The facts:
Year: 1975.
Genre: Rock.
Country: France.
Album: Nino and Radiah.
Acclaimed Music ranking: #2938.
Song ranking on Acclaimed Music in the artist’s discography: 1st, the only one.
Ranks higher than Club Foot by Kasabian, but lower than Xpander by Sasha.
Place in the Acclaimed Music Song Poll 2015: Not ranked.
The people:
Written by Nino Ferrer.
Lead vocals by Nino Ferrer.
Background vocals by Radiah Frye.
Electric guitar by Larry Jones.
Bass guitar by Lafayette Hudson.
Drums by Danny Donath.
Keyboard by Franck Abel.
Trumpets by Arthur Young & Ronnie James.
Percussions by Kino Speller.
The opinion:
Nino Ferrer was famously annoyed by the songs that brought him fame. In the sixties he became a commercial force thanks to several comical hits, which he quickly claimed to hate. So no matter that he wrote and performed these songs himself, it seems like he regretted recording them instantly. What happened then was that he tried his hand in several genres of the time, which led to a wide-ranging experiments in genre in the seventies, including even prog rock, a style that seemed far removed from what brought Ferrer fame.
But success always hounded him like a desirable spell that turns out to be a curse. Even though Ferrer had burned the bridges with the commercial side of the music industry, praise reached him at exactly the place he didn’t want it: with Le Sud. He spend a lot of time on that song, trying to perfect it. It clearly meant a lot to him. And what was the thanks he got? Money and acclaim. The nasty audiences were so taken with the song that they basically made Le Sud his signature song and it even became a standard in French pop. Poor Ferrer. Well, at least he could buy a castle in the south of France for the money he got from this song alone. I hope that was some consolation.
Le Sud was first recorded with English lyrics as South, using a largely American band. At the time, to escape glory in France, Ferrer decided that it might be a good idea to move his musical projects to the States. This change of scene wasn’t unusual for him. Though known as a Frenchman, he was actually born in Italy to a French father and an Italian mother. He spend a large part of his childhood in Italy, including the Second World War. He also recorded songs in Italian.
The English language South opens the record Nino and Radiah, while the French Le Sud closes it. It’s the only French track on the album. It blows everything out of the water, including South. Ferrer was right when he thought the English version wasn’t quite the definitive take. It’s more than okay when taken on its own; the song has a nice melody after all. It’s just that the French redo adds so much more to it.
Let’s just begin with the lyrics. The gist of it is the same, but the French version sounds more poetic; it has better imagery. The song basically paints an idyllic picture of the south (American or French? Does it matter?). In the final verse Ferrer claims that the idyll will not last and that the south will lose its magic. In the English version he simply puts the blame on some coming darkness and he hopes he can spend the bad times in the south at least. In the French lyrics he actually says that there once will be a war and the peace of the south will inevitably end. But wistfully, he says we at least will have had beautiful moments in the south. There’s nothing wrong with the English verses, but in French Ferrer adds more melancholy, a deeper sense of longing and loss. In a funny reversal, it is actually the French version were Ferrer compares the south to Louisiana, in the opening lines.
Notice too, how these final lines are sung in both verses. There seems to be little change in the vocal approach to those and other verses in the English version, but in the French take Ferrer starts a passionate cry when he gets close to the end, as if the war that will destroy the south is there already. With some well-timed echo effects Ferrer sounds distant already. Happiness will not last.
The French version sounds fuller as a whole. The instruments are just played better. The guitar line is lovely in both versions, but the drums seem to add a rock punch to the proceedings in the second version. The piano sounds more melancholic. It’s the same song, but it is as if Ferrer only fully knew how the song had to be played and sung after a while.
I guess he still added South to the album because it fit with the American nature of the song, but I’m glad he also decided to add Le Sud to the end, as if it was to signal a return to his home country. As said, Ferrer would buy a castle in the south of France a little while later, where he would live for the rest of his life. Darkness eventually came to his castle in 1998, but not in the way he could have predicted in 1975. The dark came from himself, as he shot himself in his own heart in a wheat field in the south. It’s a scary, but hauntingly poetic end for a singer who desperately wanted to do things his way, and perhaps never felt he succeeded in doing just that.
8/10
Other versions:
No wonder Ferrer could buy a castle from his royalties for Le Sud, as there a lot of covers. It’s done in many genres with a big variety of instruments, but even so everything sounds very faithful. Let’s face it, Le Sud has a killer melody, so why try to better it? It’s also a very gentle song, so all these covers will do little to disturb you. Most work, but let me just highlight a couple of favourites.
Nino Ferrer’s own take is marked by a feeling that few can match, but I need to tip my head to Steeve Estatof, who seems to wring every inch of passion, beauty and pain out of the track. With that one and Ferrer’s you basically don’t need anything else, but you get it anyway.
I like the Gregorian or churchlike takes. Somehow it complements the song, so the covers by Les Boix Basques and Choeur d’hommes “La Concorde” are worth checking out. Also, there is a pan flute version. This isn’t unique in any way and not particularly good, but I like it that a group called Los Incas actually pay homage to the French south. Don’t ask me why.
See also:
Romain already added Nino Ferrer’s Le Sud to his exhaustive topic France – One song per day. In fact, it was one of the first songs on his list. You can find it here: http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/forums/vi ... 768#p18768
The playlist: