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Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024

9:51am EST

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Max's Musings

by Max Griffin 🏳️‍🌈

Rated: 18+ · Book · Writing · #2041762

A math guy's random thoughts.

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Dave Ryan

Feb 18, 2024 at 2:19pm
In response to "La Mer"

One of my favourites as well. I used to think the English version was a translation of the French, but as you say it's a different song altogether.

The film "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" from 10 years or so ago got indifferent reviews but I quite liked it, and it has a great montage ending where all the loose ends are tied up, with the French version of La Mer (performed by Julio Iglesias) providing the background.

If you'll forgive the impertinence of adding to your blog, here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SSIp2J3YHM

Dave Ryan

Feb 17, 2024 at 11:14pm
In response to "I Think I'll Make a Cake"

I'm not a great fan of Glass on the whole, but for some reason I do quite like his violin concerto.

And Stravinsky has just gone up in my estimation by several orders of magnitude for the Fantasia quote!

1 Like

Dave Ryan

Feb 16, 2024 at 6:23am
In response to "M'appari, Tutt' Amor"

I know that, in the eyes of some, this will destroy my credibility irrevocably as he appears to be a love-him-or-loathe-him type of performer, but as I've listened to the nostalgia radio stations over the years I have to admit that Billy Joel has grown on me. The man has quite an impressive body of work.

KingsSideCastle

Feb 6, 2024 at 8:12pm
In response to "Take On Me"

Take on me is an excellent choice.

Kåre เลียม Enga

Dec 19, 2021 at 11:53pm
In response to "Visiting"

Two years late to read this but...

I loved Tulsa when I lived in Oklahoma. Read my poetry at the Gypsy... back in the day... 2004? Joined WDC because of someone I met there.

When I had a home I would've been delighted to have folks stay with me. Now? No room.

I've met folks in Minnesota, Iowa, England, Sweden, Romania, Australia and even here in Montana. Precious memories.

GeminiGem🐾

Dec 9, 2019 at 12:24pm
In response to "Floaters"

At one of my eye exams in the last couple of years, the optometrist told me that floaters were just pigment from the colored part of my eye that detached and are literally floating around. Completely harmless. Dark-eyed people, like me, are more "susceptible" to them. I have them all the time.

WebMD is known for scaring the pants off of people. It is kind of like knowing what is running through your doctor's head while you are going through the history of your symptoms. The difference is, the doctor filters that information better than the web site does (usually).

When I was consulting a surgeon after my cancer diagnosis, she said, "So, how much research have you done on the internet?"

When I said, "None, I thought that's why I hired you," I thought she was going to jump up and kiss me.

A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing, but if it got you in to get examined by a medical professional, I guess it wasn't so bad, lol

Cubby

Dec 8, 2019 at 12:17pm
In response to "Floaters"

I have a couple floaters, too, and at my last eye appointed, the doctor said they are nothing to worry about UNLESS, as what happened to you, the sparklers begin to flash and that could mean a detached retina and would need immediate attention. Just like you said! Whew, I'm so glad it turned out well for you.

1 Like

🌕 HuntersMoon

Dec 8, 2019 at 12:10pm
In response to "Floaters"

Interesting... and thankfully, not germaine to me at this time

1 Like

Elle - on hiatus

Aug 25, 2019 at 7:10pm
In response to "Visiting"

I enjoy meeting with online friends. I've been lucky enough so far to meet Jellyfish needs more hours

, Andy~hating university

and Wordsmitty ✍️

. Each of those was just a couple of hours in a public place. I don't think I'd feel comfortable inviting someone to stay at my house for a few days when I'd never met them before. But I can see that I'd be more comfortable with it if we'd exchanged Skype (or similar) video calls beforehand. I have an online friend that I've been communicating with since 2001, and I'd be happy for her to come and stay with me, but we've had video chats, we're friends on Facebook, we've exchanged snail mail letters and parcels, etc. But even the short meet-ups have been fun. It's so cool to put a face and personality to a name. I think people are always surprised that I'm not as outgoing as I come across on here!

1 Like

Elle - on hiatus

Aug 25, 2019 at 6:59pm
In response to "Word Doodle of Max"

That looks like a great way to waste time! I might have to try that out.

February 18, 2024 at 1:29pm

#1064388

La Mer

La Mer

I just wrote two blogs about classical music, so you probably thought this was going to be about Debussy's "symphony," La Mer. It's not. Instead, it's about the song of the same name by Charles Trenet.

Trenet wrote the song one afternoon in 1943 in the south of France. He sang it the same night, "without much impact," according the artist. After the end of the War, the song was recorded in 1945 by Roland Gerbeau after Suzy Solidor declined it. Again, not much impact.

It took a while, but eventually the song caught on and now it's a world-wide favorite, a chanson classic and a jazz standard.
Along with Edith Piaff's La Vie en rose, it's probably the most recorded French song of all time. By the time of Trenet's passing in 1970, there were over 4000 versions of it and at least seventy million copies in recordings and print.

It's been covered by many artists, starting in 1947 when Harry James released an English version of the song, Beyond the Sea, sung by Marion Morgan and with lyrics by Jack Lawrence. The French lyrics are an ode to the sea, but Lawrence turned it into a love song, a perfect fit for the yearning expressed by the melody. This version became Bobby Darin's signature song.

Personally, I prefer the French version, not because of the lyrics but because of the sound of the French language. The song itself is romantic in any language regardless of the words, but most especially in French. It has an aching meloncholy that evokes a nostalgia for a lost, and less cynical, era.

What made me think of this song was that we happened to watch episode six of the UK SciFi series Black Mirror last night which features the song. The episode is titled, approrpriately enough, Beyond the Sea. The episode itself is pretty wrenching to watch, and not romantic at all. That just makes the song even more achingly beautiful.

Here are some links.
Charles Trenet in a live performance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXQh9jTwwoA

The Harry James, Marion Morgan, Jack Lawrence release of 1947
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s-QnH-IbiA

Bobby Darin's version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8OlDPqYBLw

Lyrics for La Mer with English translation
https://www.rougemusic.com/la-mer

Lawrence's English Lyrics for Beyond the Sea
https://www.songfacts.com/lyrics/bobby-darin/beyond-the-sea

Just for completeteness, here's Piaff singing La Vie en rose
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFzViYkZAz4

In case anyone is interested, here's a link to the Debussy work
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOCucJw7iT8

1 Like • Comment • View 1 comment

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