Earlier entries of this series can be found here: http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/forums/vi ... ive#p45337
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Elle a dit : "Ouvre-moi ta porte/ Je t'avais suivie pas à pas/ Je sais que tes amours sont mortes/ Je suis revenue, me voilà”
77. Barbara – La Solitude
The facts:
Year: 1965.
Genre: Chanson.
Country: France.
Album: Barbara No. 2
Acclaimed Music ranking: #5082.
Song ranking on Acclaimed Music in the artist’s discography: 4th.
Ranks higher than Walking in Memphis by Marc Cohn, but lower than 2 4 6 8 Motorway by Tom Robinson Band.
Place in the Acclaimed Music Song Poll 2015: Unranked.
The people:
Lyrics by Barbara.
Vocals by Barbara.
Piano by Barbara.
Accordion by Joss Basselli.
The opinion:
Before I get deeper into this song let me first share a translation of the lyrics. Since I guess not everyone here is fluent in French (I sure am not) this might come in handy, especially since La Solitude is really a musical poem and the lyrics are very important:
Translation by “purplelunacy”, a.k.a. Elisabeth, from here: http://lyricstranslate.com/nl/la-solitude-solitude.htmlI found her outside my door,
One night, when I was going home.
Everywhere, she's escorting me.
She's back, here she is,
The dead-loves sniffer.
She has followed me, step by step.
The bitch, to hell with you !
She's back, here she is
With her fasting face
With the rings under her big eyes,
She makes us feel like lagging behind,
She makes us feel like crying,
She turns our mornings wan
And our nights long and desolate.
The bitch ! She would even
Turn midsummer into winter.
In your sad taffy dress
With your blowzy hair,
Your expression is that of despair,
You're not nice watching.
Come on, go and show elsewhere
Your sad boredom face.
I have no taste for unhappiness.
Go fly a kite !
I still want to swing my hip,
I still want to get drunk on spring,
I want to have sleepless nights,
With my heart racing, on the loose.
Before tolling for the dead
And until my last breath,
I still want to say "I love you"
And to want to die of love.
She said : "Open the door for me.
I have followed you, step by step.
I know that your love is dead.
I am back, here I am.
They decleimes their poems to you,
Your fine gentlemen, your fine kids,
Your fake Rimbaud, your fake Verlaine.
Well ! It's over, now."
From now on, she makes me stay awake all night.
She's hanging around my neck,
She's coiled around my hip
She lies down on my knees.
Everywhere, she escorts me
And she follows me, step by step.
She's waiting for me outside my floor.
She's back, she's here,
The solitude, the solitude...
A little note on the translation: although it still makes a strong impression and gets to the point of the original text, quite a few lines sound unnatural. They are probably translated a little too literally, losing some sense of the English language. It is the best I could find now, though, and I personally think it gets the job done.
Reading over these words here gives me the chills, no matter the quality of the translation. This is a real poem, that still works without the music, still somewhat rare in song writing. The way Barbara works towards the reveal at the end is very powerful. All the way through the lyrics I’m wondering why Barbara is so resentful towards this one woman, only to reveal that she’s talking to a metaphorical woman: solitude itself.
Using a metaphor like this can always be a gamble, especially if you build every line around it. It pays off wonderfully here, because the personification of solitude is spot-on. Some people have a feeling of loneliness that they can’t shake for the rest of their lives, even if they want to and this song captures this. It could easily be about depression too, it should be said.
Now I don’t know much about the mental state Barbara was in during this time of her life. It’s known that her childhood was tough. She was sexually abused by her father, who later completely abandoned his family. Barbara only heard about him again when the news came that he had died. She was also a Jew living in France during World War II and had to live in hiding for five years. It’s likely that this scarred her mentally. I don’t want to psychoanalyze someone I’ve never met, but she must have known deep loneliness. Not just because of this past, but because she reveals it so eloquently in her lyrics.
In France, Barbara is usually mentioned in the same breath as George Brassens, Edith Piaf, Léo Ferré and her close friend Jacques Brel, as one of the big masters of the chanson of her era. Indeed, her talents were not limited to strong writing, as she was a great performer too. Her interpretation of La Solitude is outstanding. In contrary to what you might expect reading the lyrics, her vocals are not heavy-handed, but have light, yet emotive touch. It’s a voice that carries melancholy easily, without strain or effect. Also, it’s simply a beautiful voice to listen to.
The music itself is very spare. It starts with just Barbara on piano, accompanying her voice solo. Not too long after a subtle accordion pops up, without ever threatening to overtake Barbara’s own instrumental. The sound isn’t quite noir-like, but has similar melancholy night-time feeling. So much so that even Joss Basselli’s accordion can’t shake the feeling that Barbara is indeed very alone here. The resulting sound is somewhat sad, although in a beautiful way. The lyrics don’t provide comfort, but the music does, even if only slightly. It makes it a great song for lonely nights.
8/10
Other versions:
Considering the popularity of Barbara in France and also because this is one of her more famous songs I thought I would find more covers than I actually did. There are a lot of songs called La Solitude on Spotify, but few have anything to do with this week’s song.
Barbara herself ‘covered’ the song, or at least rerecorded it, in 1972. The music now is slower. It’s fine, but I prefer the flow of the original recording. Before this version, she also sang a German version, where the lyrics were translated by Walter Brandin. I know Barbara was popular in Germany (in fact she recorded a complete album of German translations of her songs), but where these translation equally well-received? I ask, because as a German-speaker myself I find her German delivery rather bad.
All the other recordings here are fine, but none quite match the ease with which Barbara seems to sing this song. Interestingly, Dutch singer Wende Snijders sang it in both French and Dutch. The Dutch translation of lyrics are spot-on, but I personally don’t like the rough sound that Snijders’ voice gives to the song. It was a live recording, so perhaps that has something to do with it sounding a bit too imperfect. Her French take is much better.
The playlist:
