JPF Home Page Forums Lyric and MP3 Feedback MP3 Feedback Forum Un Jour à Amiens

I've always admired how some people on forums I belong to write songs in English when it's not their native tongue and appreciated how hard this is. I was recently in France for several days visiting my daughter in Amiens and found myself frequently walking along or across the river Somme. Something about the setting, the rhythm of walking and a couple of beers inside me got the creative juices flowing and this simple little song took shape. It should be easy enough to understand for anyone forced to learn French in school and for anyone else I've provided a translation - literal rather than literary as there's no attempt to capture the rhyme or rhythm of the original, only the meaning.

https://soundcloud.com/themysteriousbeings/un-jour-a-amiens

UN JOUR A AMIENS


Sur les rives de la Somme un jour à Amiens
J'ai pris le courage de prendre ta main
Je t'ai donné mon coeur, tu m'as donné le tien
Sur les rives de la Somme ce jour à Amiens

Les années s'écoulent à travers la foule de souvenirs
Mais j'ose espérer que le bonheur passé
Sera le bonheur a venir
La Somme coule toujours et porte l'amour
Que de si loin je t'envoie
À Amiens où je t’ai embrassée pour la première fois

Je t'ai donné mon coeur, tu m'as donné le tien
Sur les rives de la Somme ce jour à Amiens


By the banks of the Somme, one day in Amiens
I took the courage to take your hand
I gave you my heart and you gave me yours
By the banks of the Somme, that day in Amiens

The years flow by through a crowd of memories
But I dare to hope that past joy
Will be the joy to come
The Somme flows still and carries the love
Which I send you from so far
To Amiens, where I kissed you for the first time

I gave you my heart and you gave me yours
By the banks of the Somme, one day in Amiens

Gavin Sinclair meets Jacques Brel

Great story too. I like it a lot

Thank you

Thank you for sharing this. Altho I don't understand French, or any other language, I always enjoy listening to songs spoken in another language, they're just simply beautiful. And this song is that; simply beautiful. Thanks for sharing the translation as well. I really like your song, Gavin.

I hate to admit it, because I know it's BIAB, but I like the guitars and overall arrangement here. Nice

Well, Jacques did like the old 3/4 time, but that might be about all we have in common LOL. To be honest, despite all the time I spent in his home country, I could never really get into Jacques Brel. To me, it always seemed that his hip jazz club delivery disguised the fact that what he was in fact delivering was rather uninspired, especially melodically. I know that this opinion would make me a heretic, but I feel entitled to it having not only listened to his music but also spent two very long hours listening to a Brel tribute artist in Paris. I don't know if it's still the case but there used to be a fair number of folks who made a living doing that kind of thing. He was the Belgian Elvis lol.

Glad you enjoyed it, John, and thanks for the kind words.

Brel gave North America one of its biggestest hits ever via Terry Jacks---Seasons In The Sun

Not everyone's cup of tea...nonetheless major radio play

Yes, John, that is one of Brel's that I do really like, and his original lyric is a thousand times better than the horrible saccharine translation that stripped out all the wit and bitterness.

Thanks Marilyn. Glad you like it. Maybe my lyrics are better when nobody understands them LOL.

Gavin<

A lovely tune--makes me which I understood French. Nice arrangement . . and sincere vocal . . . even if I had no idea what you were singing about, LOL!

Well done!

Deej

Thanks Deej,

This is actually my latest single on Spotify, etc. People in France seem to like it. Well, people in Amiens. Well, a few people in Amiens. Turns out there aren't any other songs about Amiens LOL.

Well, there have been a few songs espousing an obscure place here in the US. Lukenback, Texas no doubt being far and away the biggest.

Oooooo, nice to see a song in French on the boards!

I thought this was a really lovely song and well-written in French too! I've composed and written songs in French and I can appreciate the work that goes into writing in a language that's not your native tongue (I've spoken French for a little over half my life at this point, but I know there are still expressions and words to learn!).

I've yet to go to Amiens myself. I've been to Tours, Saint-Malo, Paris, and Rennes.

No question the French language phonetically is the most beautiful sounding. Gavin beautifully done with a very pleasing melody that captures your song's theme.

steady-eddie

Glad you enjoyed it Cecile. Those are some beautiful towns. My brother lives in a village just outside Saint-Malo. I don't know that I would have gone to Amiens if my daughter didn't live there, but I was impressed. The cathedral is what it's best known for - you could fit two Notre Dames de Paris inside it if you had the time, inclination and resources - but I enjoyed the smaller scale pleasures of the place.

cette chanson est tres bien ...bien fait mon ami

Steven

I used up all my french

Hi Gavin.........
A very nice piece. Sounds like something I would hear in a Canadian (or European) piano bar. A sweet lyric, but the melodic foreboding suggests more.

Sorry, Tom, I just noticed that you had commented. Thanks for the kind words. I certainly imagine it in a small intimate setting like a bar (piano or otherwise). "Foreboding" - I hadn't thought of that. Wistful for sure