Sons of
Sons of the thief, sons of the saint
Who is the child with no complaint
Sons of the great or sons unknown
All were children like your own
The same sweet smiles, the same sad tears
The cries at night, the nightmare fears
Sons of the great or sons unknown
All were children like your own...
So long ago: long, long, ago...
But sons of tycoons or sons of the farms
All of the children ran from your arms
Through fields of gold, through fields of ruin
All of the children vanished too soon
In tow'ring waves, in walls of flesh
Among dying birds trembling with death
Sons of tycoons or sons of the farms
All of the children ran from your arms...
So long ago: long, long, ago...
But sons of your sons or sons passing by
Children we lost in lullabies
Sons of true love or sons of regret
All of the sons you cannot forget
Some built the roads, some wrote the poems
Some went to war, some never came home
Sons of your sons or sons passing by
Children we lost in lullabies...
So long ago: long, long, ago
But, sons of the thief, sons of the saint
Who is the child with no complaint
Sons of the great or sons unknown
All were children like your own
The same sweet smiles, the same sad tears
The cries at night, the nightmare fears
Sons of the great or sons unknown
All were children like your own...
Like your own, like your own
Jacques Brel is Alive and Living in Paris
sung by Gay Marshall
Ed heard her sing at the French consulate. We saw her tonight in Jacques Brel.
Beautiful.
'Sons of' Today ...
The "Sons of Today" post is quite nice, but you pretty much have to ignore the Hitler-was-a-baby-once comment at the end...
ReplyDeleteDefinitely out of tune.
I meant 'tone deaf.'
ReplyDeleteHaving sung quite a few Brel tunes in my, uh, other life, including "Sons Of", you bring back a lot of good memories.
ReplyDeleteHaving sung quite a few Brel tunes in my, uh, other life, including "Sons Of", you bring back a lot of good memories.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard the lyrics!
I was bowled over.
Sons of tycoons or sons of the farms
All of the children ran from your arms...
I almost can't type these two lines without crying.
Do you know the French lyrics?
ReplyDeleteI couldn't find them.
We (small jazz group I sang with long ago) mostly sang him in English, but our tenor spoke French fluently and I believe he sang a couple in the language. I have no idea where to find the lyrics although I'm surprised you can't find them quickly.
ReplyDeleteI have strong memories of that one he is singing with "around and around" and circles and stuff. It has been stuck in my head all day. Thank you very much. If it plagues me the rest of the day I'm sure the full lyric will finally show up.
That one could drive you crazy, kinda' like some of Brubeck's stuff.
I have strong memories of that one he is singing with "around and around" and circles and stuff.
ReplyDeleteThat's Ed's favorite.
With the help of itunes it all comes back. The Carousel is the one that turns waking up at three in the morning into a nightmare.
ReplyDeleteItunes has quite a bit over there. Gay Marshall is there. Nina Simone, as well. I may have to download a few.
I still have JB on an LP from way back then and have no way to play it. A shame.
ReplyDeleteYou can get it from itunes now. You just download the library thing for free and the tunes are 99 cents apiece. You don't need an ipod, you can just burn cds.
ReplyDeleteIt's fun to find old stuff that you'd never thought you'd see again.
They have quite a bit of Jacques Brel.
I bought Gay Marshall singing Sons of.
ReplyDeleteWill listen to it on walks.
I think hiking through the wilds of Irvington with tears streaming down my face will enhance my reputation as an incisive critic of our schools.
I think hiking through the wilds of Irvington with tears streaming down my face will enhance my reputation as an incisive critic of our schools.
ReplyDeleteI was about to ask you how you did that without crying.
Now if you really want to cry go download Lux Aeterna from Rutter's Requiem. It's usually sung for All Saint's Day, so if you've lost anyone be prepared to just bawl. It's a boy's choir as well. Heck, the whole thing will knock you out.