Work, weddings, gigs and tattoos

Hi there.
It's certainly been a while since I've written anything substantial on here, but there's been lots going on in my life lately.

Work
 I completed my first big project at work about a month ago (a Spring/Summer update of new books in our catalogue), which I'm really proud of, and went to London twice in one week for London Book Fair and London Wild Bird Watch, both of which were really good experience, albeit a bit knackering!

Romanian stand at London Book Fair - loved the hanging books!

 I got to spend some time with uni friends at the same time (and randomly bumped into another on his way to a football match!) which was just great. I'm now working on the main catalogue for the year which is party a quite tedious job, so I'm looking forward to finishing the amends/proofing stages and getting on to the more creative design side of it. I'm also working on a website refresh project which is going to be an ongoing thing, but am enjoying seeing little things change bit by bit, and working on some proposals to link up with a few people in the industry, which is very exciting, and again really good experience.

Weddings
 In other news, my friends Steve and Jemma also got married a couple of weekends ago, which was just a brilliant day. If you've read any of my previous posts about the wedding you'll know that Tom and I had agreed to play guitar and sing respectively at the ceremony in addition to other wedding party duties - it was really fun learning new songs together and despite being horribly off-key at the start of the first song (I'm blaming the nerves) we got into it and it ended up sounding quite nice and the bride and groom enjoyed and appreciated it, so that's all that matters in the end.

Luckily enough I also managed to get a new prescription for my labyrinthitis that has recently made a comeback, which has made a huge difference to the dizziness (so no falling over in Church!), and also meant I could have a couple of drinks at the reception as well, which was a real bonus!

The Portal companion cube cake with Halo 'Bride & Groom'

Everything was just so much their personality at the reception it was just awesome. The cake, the name cards, the decorations, their entrance music (the Halo theme!) - everything was just perfect for them. The speeches were great too, especially Andy (best man) - despite his fears, it was funny and very well judged, so well done Andy! :)

I might put this on my desk at work

Jemma and Steve got gifts for all of us in the wedding party as well which was really sweet - the boys got personalised cufflinks (Tom had motorbikes!) and I got a gorgeous notebook and pen set, and a lovely turquoise pendant, which will always remind me of the day (it's the same colour as the wedding colour scheme). It was really thoughtful of you guys so thank you!

The party was great fun - the Transformers theme as the first dance, the band, the 'Jaeger-train', and the last few songs secretly planned by Steve (1000 miles by Vanessa Carlton made me cry). All in all it was one of the best weddings I've been to, and it was great to be staying at the hotel too - we all met up for breakfast in the morning to laugh and joke about the night before, pig out on fried breakfast and copious amounts of tea, or nurse hangovers as the case may have been.

The next day the wedding party (parents excluded) all went to Alton Towers, and again we had amazing luck with the weather - it chucked it down on the Sunday and then was glorious all day long on Monday! - and there was hardly anybody in the park so we managed to get a go on all the best rides at least once (I finally got on Air and Sonic Spinball!). We also tried the new new 'ride' Nemesis Sub Terra which isn't really a rollercoaster, it's more of a scary experience based on the Nemesis backstory - it didn't last very long, but was prett good for what it was, just don't expect a rollercoaster. I'm just glad I didn't have bare legs, put it that way... Here's an ad for the ride:

Gigs and tattoos 

The fun didn't stop after the wedding and Alton Towers though, as I'd booked tickets for the following weekend (for Tom's Christmas present) to go see one of our favourite bands Alkaline Trio on their 15th anniversary tour. When we got there we discovered that one of the support bands was in fact The Dear & Departed, who are fronted by Dan Smith, who is also a tattoo artist who works with Kat von D at High Voltage Tattoos in LA (where LA Ink was filmed). Having seen the band featured on the TV show it was great to see them live and in person, and besides the cool factor, I genuinely really enjoyed the music and they were really good live.  

I want a butterfly in this style

After their set we went to say hi and had a chat and a photo with Dan. We started talking about tattoos (couldn't pass up the opportunity!) and discovered that he's actually going to be working in Swansea in September so we agreed I'd e-mail him an image of what I was after and hopefully we'll sort something out with his assistant to get an appointment booked. It's very exciting, and because what I want is a little different I wasn't 100% confident that it was something your average tattoo artist was going to be able to achieve in the way I wanted it. At least this way I've seen lots of Dan's work, and I'm confident he's a real professional so if anyone should be able to do, then he should.

After the second supporting act, a guy called Dave Hause (who sang a cover of the Hold Steady's Constructive Summer - yay!), we finally got to see Alkaline Trio! They opened with 'We've Had Enough' which is one of the songs I've been listening to a lot lately, followed by another favourite of mine 'Time To Waste, which they didn't play last time I saw them, so that made me very happy! This is the best video I could find on youtube (my videos were terrible quality) of the opening.

They did quite a few older songs as well that I wasn't so familiar with, but since it was their 15 year anniversary it was to be expected. They did some brilliant acoustic songs including Crawl and Blue In the Face with Dave Hause joining them on stage. I didn't get a good video of this (plus you'd hear me singing in the background which would ruin it slightly), but I found a decent-ish video on Youtube of the same song performed in London a few nights later on.

So that's pretty much everything life-wise so far. I've got a separate post coming up for Cooking Challenge and general food updates, but also lots of other things to be looking forward to as well. I'm going to work at Chelsea Flower Show in a couple of weeks so will be an opportunity to see London friends again, and then I'm planning on looking at wedding dresses again with Tom's sister after that, which should be fun. Then we've got my best friend's birthday weekend and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, then Tom's birthday, then Australian Christmas, my sister's graduation, and loads more!

Buy for now!

Lettie xx 

Final Countdown

It's the FINAL COUNTDOWN...da-da-daaa-daaaaa, da-da-da-daa-daaaaa...

Sorry about that.

It's officially 6 DAYS until Jemma and Steve's wedding and everything is slotting into place - Tom's suit arrived yesterday and it fits him great and he looks so handsome in it!! He really liked it as well, so I think that might be the suit of choice when it comes to be our turn, whenever that may be! (No pressure, of course). I'm so excited to see what everything looks like, the Portal Companion Cube cake, the game character name cards, the first dance.... ah it's all so exciting!

Things have been going well on the singing front too - we've settled on three songs we both like and that we believe are suitable for the church (it's only while they're signing the registers), and we can play and sing them quite happily. We've just submitted the lyrics for the vicar to give final approval but we've thought about it a lot and we're hoping he's ok with our proposed choices:

Grow old with you, by Adam Sandler (from the Wedding Singer)
In it for love, by Richie Sambora (guitarist from Bon Jovi) - the video's here if you're not familiar with it)
Don't wanna miss a thing, by Aerosmith

We've done them a couple of times in front of Tom's family and now they want us to play at his sister Jess's wedding next April, which is cool but we've come to an agreement that Becky has to sing with me, and Rob (Tom's brother and Becky's boyfriend) has to play guitar with Tom. That's a huge relief to me, as I'd forgotten how nerve-wracking it can be to sing in front of people you know, more so than strangers in my experience.

Unfortunately, timing is everything, and this last week I've come down with the symptoms of labyrinthitis again - grrr! So I'm back to being a dizzy mess but thankfully nausea is pretty minimal right now. It's the worst possible timing because I had a mega busy week at work with the launch of my first brochure of the year with the company (it looks so good!), as well as two days in London for various events, so I've had a combination of long days in the office, plus very early starts (of the 'up at 4am' variety) and very long days on the road to and from London, as well as staying up late with uni friends while I was there Friday night, none of which has really helped with the balance issues I've been having. Because it's been so busy at work, it's not been an option to take time off, but I'm hoping that now that all the major stuff is out of the way that I'll be able to chill a bit in the couple of days we have off before and after the wedding next weekend - wishful thinking I'm sure, but you've got to be positive!

I did speak to the chemist though as I'm not sure the drugs I'm taking are really helping the vertigo so I might need to go to the docs on Monday to get a new prescription or a referral to a specialist.  The drugs I'm also taking are also the kind that you definitely cannot drink alcohol with so that's a bit of a bummer with the wedding only 6 days away, but I'd rather be sober and not fall over in Church, than have a horrible reaction to booze. Again, terrible timing.

The other complication is that we were planning on going to Alton Towers with friends after the wedding weekend, but I'm pretty sure mega fast rollercoasters won't help the dizziness so I might have to sit out the rides which will be really annoying if I have to miss that. Sometimes life is just not fair.

And of course, when you're feeling dizzy and unsteady on your feet, cooking with gas and sharp utensils isn't exactly the safest of activities so I've not been doing much from my cooking challenge list lately, although I did manage hot cross bun pudding (bread and butter pudding but better - try saying that quickly!) before I got properly messed up by the dizziness. That was definitely a success so I'll be making that again next year :) I'm trying to minimize how much time I'm spending on computers, reading, games or TV right now so I'm not going to type up the recipe for this I'm afraid, but you can find it in Annie Bell's Gorgeous Desserts (in the festive section I think). Only thing I did differently was I used regular caster sugar instead if golden, and I used 1.5 tsp of vanilla flavouring into the custard mixture instead of laying a vanilla pod on top of the pudding, just because I couldn't find any in any of the supermarkets I tried that day, but I don't think that would have made a big different to the taste really.

One word. Yum.

Anyway, I think I'm going to leave the update there for now so I can have a break from typing.

Hope everyone else is well and I'll try and update this more often once the dizziness has calmed down a bit.
Ta ta for now,

Lettie x x

Demain dès l'aube translation (Victor Hugo, via Pierre Bensusan)

Hi all,

well today's Christmas Eve and we're on the brink of another New Year. In anticipation of some of the changes I'm looking forward to, and in reflection of years gone by, I stumbled upon another translation I did a couple of years ago. The text that I have translated is the song lyrics for Pierre Bensusan's track "Demain dès l'aube", which is composed of lines from Victor Hugo's poem of the same name as well as lines from another poem "A Villequier".

I'm pretty happy with the translation, although the penultimate stanza was a bit harder to render (I'll have to spend some more time thinking of suitable words that rhyme with Harfleur!), so if anyone has any helpful suggestions or comments I'd be glad to hear them!


DEMAIN DES L'AUBE / A VILLEQUIER
(Texte: Victor Hugo, Musique: Pierre Bensusan)

Demain, dès l'aube, à l'heure où blanchit la campagne,
Je partirai. Je sais que tu m'attends.
J'irai par la forêt, j'irai par la montagne,
Je ne puis demeurer loin de toi plus longtemps.

Tomorrow, at dawn, when the sun bleaches the land,
I will leave, I know you wait for me.
I’ll go by the forest, I’ll go through the mountains.
No longer can I bear to be away from thee.


Je marcherai les yeux fixés sur mes pensées,
Sans rien voir au dehors, sans entendre aucun bruit.
Seul, inconnu, le dos courbé, les mains croisées,
Et le jour pour moi sera comme la nuit.


I will walk in a world of my own,
Hearing no sounds, without sight,
Alone, back bent, hands crossed, unknown,
And the day for me will be as night.


Maintenant que Paris, ses pavés et ses marbres,
Et sa brume et ses toits sont bien loin de mes yeux;
Maintenant que je suis sous les branches des arbres,
Et que je puis songer à la beauté des cieux.

Now that Paris, with her marble and streets,
Her mist and her roofs are so far from my eyes,
Now that I am beneath the branches of trees,
And I can dream of the beauty of the skies.


Maintenant qu'attendri par ces divins spectacles
Plaines, rochers, forêts, vallons, fleuves argentés,
Voyant ma petitesse et voyant vos miracles,
Je reprends ma raison devant l'immensité.


Now I am moved by these divine spectacles,
Field, crag, forest, valley, silver stream,
Seeing how small I am, seeing your miracles,
I come to my senses before your creation supreme


Nous ne voyons jamais qu'un seul côté des choses;
L'autre plonge en la nuit d'un mystère effrayant.
L'homme subit le joug sans connaître les causes.
Tout ce qu'il voit est court, inutile et fuyant.


We only ever see one side of life;
The rest is shrouded in terrifying mystery.
Man bears his burdens without knowing why.
All he sees is short, useless, and fleeting.


Je ne regarderai ni l'or du soir qui tombe,
Ni les voiles au loin descendant vers Harfleur,
Et, quand j'arriverai, je mettrai sur ta tombe
Un bouquet de houx et de bruyère en fleur.

I will not watch the gold of the evening rays,
Nor the distant sails of journeys resumed.
And once I have arrived, I will place on your grave,
A bouquet of holly and heather in bloom.


Nous ne voyons jamais qu'un seul côté des choses;
L'autre plonge en la nuit d'un mystère effrayant.
L'homme subit le joug sans connaître les causes.
Tout ce qu'il voit est court, inutile et fuyant.


We only ever see one side of life;
The rest is shrouded in terrifying mystery.
Man bears his burdens without knowing why.
All he sees is short, useless, and fleeting.

photo.ortho.free.fr

Le Vieil Amant/The Old Lover, by Emilie Simon (translation)

I've wanted for quite a while to transfer a lot of my old translation attempts away from Facebook, so after my translation of the Georges Brassens song 'Les Passantes', the next obvious choice is Emilie Simon's music.

If you've not heard of Emilie Simon, she's one of my favourite musicians/singer/songwriters, not just in French, but EVER. I suppose you could say she comes under the electronic category as she does use an amazing array of weird and wonderful gadgets to create her music, including some strange contraption that attaches to her arm like something out of a Tim Burton film and which modulates the quality of her voice in real time, a bit like the Talk Box favoured by Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi, so she can get that strange auto-tune effect, add echoes, or make her voice 'stutter', amongst other things - anyway it's very cool.

But when anyone says electronic music it might suggest something more techno than what it actually is - Emilie's voice is towards the higher end of the range, clear and crisp and times, then soft, breathy and delicate at others, and at times innocent like a young girl (especially when she sings in English on tracks like 'Flowers'), though she can belt it out as well (e.g. on tracks like 'Song of the Storm') - so thinking about it, she's actually quite similar to Kate Bush - and a few of her albums are themed around the natural world like Végétal, Flower Book, and La Marche de L'Empereur which won the 2006 Victoire de la Musique award for a film soundtrack for the French documentary of the same name about the Emperor penguins. 


This probably makes her sound a bit like Bjork, but she does also play the guitar so many of her tracks have a punky-rock feel (like 'Roses Never Fall In Love') and she's covered a few rock tracks like Nirvana's Come As You Are, and Iggy Pop's I Wanna Be Your Dog. But what is awesome about Emilie's music is her amazing ear for music so her and her very talented sound engineer Cyrille Brissot (he built the arm gadget) come up with some awesome ideas to make the sounds they're after - like striking the strings of a piano from under the lid while Emilie is playing a melody, splashing out and looping a rhythm in a giant bowl of water, or just tapping and knocking a rhythm on the piano lid. Although I love Emilie's tracks as they are on the album, I think she really comes into her own when she and her team perform live, especially if it's been recorded on film so you can see all the cool gadgets, and inventive sound-makers they use on stage.

But it's really the lyrics and sounds of the words that are my favourite part of her music, which is why I wanted to try to translate them so non-French speakers could in some way access her music, although I have to hold my hands up and admit, it's nowhere near perfect. Poetry/music is one of the hardest things to translate, partly because of trying to get the rhythm of the words right, but also the sonority and rhyme is extremely difficult to replicate if you're trying to keep the meaning of the words. At times I've had to adapt the words to keep the sonority whilst still trying to communicate the overall meaning - it's definitely good exercise for the brain! But anyway, this is my best shot, so I hope you like it :)

Here's a video of the track I've translated Le Vieil Amant which is an acoustic version (so not so many gadgets this time), but I think its simplicity really makes the beauty and melancholy of the song stand out.  The original text and my translation are both below:

PS I know 'muguet' is not the same as lily, but it fits better :0)

Mon amour j'ai pensé
Avec naïveté
Qu'un brin seul de muguet
Pouvait te ramener
Alors j'ai retrouvé
Un ou deux vieux sonnets
Pour te rappeler
Pour te rappeler
A moi mon amour
A travers ce beau jour
De printemps j'ai laissé
Près de tes pieds tomber
Un brin seul de muguet
Mais il s'est désséché
Attendant ce baiser
Qui ne viendra jamais

I thought, my sweet,
Quite naïvely,
That one single lily,
Could bring you back to me
And so I found
Some old poetry,
To call you back,
To call you back
To me. My sweet,
On this lovely day
Of spring did I
Let fall at your feet
One little lily
That has since dried
Awaiting that kiss
That will never arrive

Le mois de mai
S'est joué de moi
Cette année
J'ai laissé couler trop d'emois
Cette fois le mois mai
S'est moqué de moi
Cette année
J'ai laissé couler trop d'emois
Cette fois
Cette fois

The month of May,
Has toyed with me
This year,
I’ve been too melancholy,
This time the month of May,
Has mocked me terribly,
This year,
I’ve been too melancholy,
This time
This time

Il est parti le temps
Il n'a pas pris son temps
Me voilà qui t'attends
Comme un vieux prétendant
Me voilà qui regrette
Devant ces quelques miettes
Une vielle amourette
Qui n'a ni queue ni tête

He left on that day,
He did not hesitate,
And here I am, I wait,
Like an old candidate,
Here I am, I regret,
I cannot forget,
An infatuated brunette,
The lonely half of a duet

Mon amour j'ai pensé
Avec naïveté
Qu'un brin seul de muguet
Pouvait te ramener
Alors j'ai retrouvé
Un ou deux vieux sonnets
Que tu n'as jamais aimé

I thought, my sweet,
Quite naïvely,
That one single lily,
Could bring you back to me
And so I found
Some old poetry,
You never liked it anyway

The month of May,
Has toyed with me
This year,
I’ve been too melancholy,
This time the month of May,
Has mocked me terribly,
This year,
I’ve been too melancholy,
This time
This time

Je voulais je l'avoue
Danser joue contre joue
Je l'avoue je rêvais
De te faire tournoyer
Respirer cet air frais
Regarder rayonner
Le visage d'un amour
Qui n'a pas vu le jour

I did want, I admit,
To dance cheek to cheek,
I admit, I did dream,
Of our dancing feet,
The fresh air we’d breathe,
Basking in the gleam,
Of the face of a love,
That was never to be.

Mon amour j'ai pensé
Avec naïveté
Qu'un brin seul de muguet
Pouvait te ramener
Alors j'ai retrouvé
Un ou deux vieux sonnets
Je sais tu n'aimes pas les sonnets
Je sais

I thought, my sweet,
Quite naïvely,
That one single lily,
Could bring you back to me
And so I found
Some old poetry,
I know, you don’t like poetry,
I know

The month of May,
Has toyed with me
This year,
I’ve been too melancholy,
This time the month of May,
Has mocked me terribly,
This year,
I’ve been too melancholy,
This time
This time

Just love Emilie's style....

'Songbird' and 'Feeling Good' videos (eventually)

Hi all...

uggghh, I'm not sure what's wrong with me today but obviously it's not a good day to film myself singing. So to spare you the boredom of me whinging, here's another video (after several aborted attempts), this one an attempt at Songbird which was originally written by Christine McVie from Fleetwood Mac and made famous more recently by Eva Cassidy and even more recently All Angels. Bear in mind, I don't make any claims to be able to sing anywhere NEAR as well as any of the other versions, this is just little old me doing the best I can after a pretty frustrating afternoon.


So I hope you like it (I thought it sounded ok while I was singing but not so sure now...), and if you have any comments good or bad please don't be shy. I know I'm not A-Mazing, but if you think it sucks, I'd much rather know and not be like those delusional wannabees on X-Factor who are most likely selected for the entertainment value of watching someone who thinks they're awesome crash and burn on TV. [On a side note, I haven't been following X-Factor, but seriously, people of Britain, Frankie Cocozza?? What were you thinking?]

I've also uploaded a video of me singing 'Feeling Good' by Nina Simone (below) - again, it's nothing like as good as the original and it probably sounds a little strange without any backing, but I hope it gives you a flavour for what the song is about.

 

Haha! My face looks funny at the end of this video! *Chuckles* I might go so far as to recommend you open another window and do something else while listening as I don't half pull silly faces and close my eyes when a high note is coming up - it's the only way of ensuring I actually make it that high!!

And here's the 'Feeling Good' video. I particularly like it cos to me it's about having a fresh start and just feeling really happy, and I think that's how I'd feel if I was getting married to the person I loved :D Plus I know it has been used at weddings before so it's not unsuitable I feel, but you may feel differently of course.

Thanks for watching! 

 

Wedding song update

Hi all,
very quick update before I go to bed. Think we're going to drop Accidentally in Love from the potentials list, just because having thought about it, it does have connotations that could be deemed to be a bit inappropriate for a wedding (i.e. I noticed they used the track on Queer as Folk). Never mind, was still fun to sing :)

Instead we've come up with another 2 (or 3) tracks which seem promising:

Songbird by Eva Cassidy/All Angels (I'm not sure who's version I like best)
Love of a Lifetime by Firehouse (extremely acoustic version)

We've also thought of another Firehouse track we both like (I think it's called I only live for you or something along those lines), but it's very melodic and well suited the guitar and a church setting so could be a potential...

Tom's started learning the guitar to Love of a Lifetime and it does sound really nice (albeit reminiscent of the Axis of Awesome's Four Chord Song):

Anyway, just wanted to update you on (minimal) progress to date.
Will prob write more tomorrow as I'm off then (yippee!)
Catch you all soon x

Accidentally in Love - Counting Crows (my attempt)

Another post of me potentially embarrassing myself on film for Jem and Steve's wedding.

This time something very different and a bit more up-beat than the last one, it's Counting Crows, Accidentally in Love (from Shrek 2) and I'm singing a capella this time (just thought I'd throw in a bit of musical terminology there to make it look like I know what I'm doing. Did I fool you? Thought not.) Obviously if you do like it, then Tom and I may well play/sing it differently once we had a chance to get together and work stuff out, but this is just to give you an idea...

Again apologies for the gurning!

Helpful comments welcome :D

Lonestar - Amazed (video)

Ok, so I've decided the best way to figure out what to sing at the wedding was to just swallow my nerves and make some videos of me singing the various options I have so far so you guys can give me some feedback.

The first one is Lonestar, Amazed (I thought of this last night as we were watching my friend Victoria's wedding DVD and it was their first dance).

Please note that I'm not accustomed to video-ing myself so if I look awkward it's because I'm nervous. Plus I pull funny faces while I sing and it's distracting watching myself gurn into my phone. But the sound quality is about as good as I could have hoped for whilst singing over the original on youtube, and even though my timing is a little off in places I'm putting that down to only just learning the words today so I know I can do better!

If you like it, hate it, or just think I've plain crucified it, please just let me know as I don't want to embarrass myself on the day! Honesty is always the best policy :D

Wedding songs part deux

Right as promised, a few updates on the search for the most appropriate wedding-certificate-signing-interval-song (s).

One I really like, is Nico Stai's One October Song. The guitar is just lovely and I really like the rhythm of the song. Only downside is that the original lyrics aren't particularly suited to a wedding, and by not particularly suited I mean they definitely would not be suitable for a wedding. HOWEVER... Jemma has given me free rein to changes lyrics as we see fit to make stuff fit, so below are my alternative lyrics to Nico Stai's One October Song.

I've included a link to the original (yes it was the main love theme for Chuck) so you can see how it sounds in original:

And here are my alternative, wedding-friendly, lyrics:

You know that thing, that you say you sometimes dream of,

I think it's happening to me.
You know they say, that time can take a hold of you,
Well love can take a hold too.

And oh no.... I never really thought... about it.
And oh no..... I never thought it'd happen...to me.

But you and me, we fit together perfectly,
The sort of thing you never see.
Never thought that love was on the cards, but here we are, and
I count my lucky stars

Cos oh no... I never really thought.. about it
And oh no... I never thought it'd happen... to me.

You know that that thing, that you say you sometimes dream of,
I think it's happening to me...

Any immediate thoughts/comments very much appreciated. Even if you think it's boring/rubbish/god awful and never want to hear it again, or if you think the amended lyrics are too cheesy, I honestly won't mind!! At the end of the day it has to be right for Steve and Jem, so whatever they want is fine with me :)

Ta ta for now!

x

The Wedding Singer...

I may have mentioned previously that some friends of ours are getting married in April next year. Apart from the fact that it's cool that these particular friends are getting married, it's also cool because Tom and I are are both involved in the wedding, as usher and bridesmaid respectively. The third thing that is cool about this wedding is that our friends are not the most typical of couples in many ways; they are both into gaming in a big way, so computer games are going to be a predominant theme, and they are also not really into chart music, so they've managed to get hold of a band that will play all sorts of rock music that we all really like. Neither of them is fussed about fancy food either, so it's going to be either fish and chips, or burger and chips for the meal. Much as I occasionally enjoy fancy food, the overall feel I get about this wedding is that it's going be a hell of a lot of fun, as it will be a real reflection of their unique personalities.

Kevin Costner's window entrance http://www.moviedeaths.com

When we celebrated their engagement several months ago, Steve (the groom) was so excited, that he came up with about 12 over-the-top options for HIS fantasy church entrance, which included a tank, smashing through the stained-glass window a la Robin Hood, and an electric guitar playing clergyman. They, strangely enough, have actually secured the latter, although they won't be calling on his musical prowess on this occasion, and neither will he be on fire as Steve had hoped. In general it's safe to say that I am extremely excited about this wedding.

Jemma, the bride to be, is one of the few women in my friend circle who is even less girly than I am. Before finding The Dress (which was in turns an exciting, frustrating, funny, emotional, but eventually hugely rewarding experience) she hasn't worn a dress since Halloween 2009. She lives in jeans and trainers, and is not a fan of high heels, and has promised me and the maid of honour Cassie that we don't have to wear anything we're not comfortable with - so high heels are out. Winner. For a ridiculously clumsy person like myself flat shoes are a sure-fire way to gain my approval.

Companion cube from Portal

 I can just picture the horror on everybody's faces as I trip over Jemma's train and either rip a great big hole in expensive dress (not that expensive Steve honestly!), or fall over my own feet and knock them both into their bespoke Portal 2 companion cube cake, or something similarly mortifying. So flat shoes are just fine and dandy for me.

So far being a bridesmaid is turning out to be really good fun, not stressful at all, and I'm really enjoying the opportunity to get to know Jemma and Cassie more, as before the engagement announcement we only really ever hung out as part of the larger group of lad friends. But so far, the extent of my involvement has been to help pick out a dress at the Wedding Show (which we did, so that's a success rate of 100% right there).

So I was pleasantly surprised when, at the end of The Wedding Show at the NEC, while we were relishing in our success of finally finding and putting a deposit down for The Dress, Jemma asked me if I wanted to sing something during the ceremony while her and Steve were signing the paperwork. I was really flattered that Jemma thought to ask, and also really thrilled with the idea of having something additional to do on the day. Plus as Tom plays guitar and will be up at the front of the church already doing whatever it is that ushers do when they're not actively ushering, I suggested he accompany me as well, which gives us a fun project to work on together in our free time.

Now, I haven't sung anything publicly in years but I used to all the time when I was at school and confidence was never really an issue back then, and people were often quite complimentary about my singing abilities. But between daydreaming about what the best song would be and how cool it would be to sing at Jem and Steve's wedding, doubt has started to creep in. I've never thought of myself as a 'Singer', and now that I've had time to think about it I'm starting to worry that I'm just going to humiliate myself, X-Factor style, in front of a large group of people, most of whom I won't know. It's all very well listening to Bon Jovi songs and imagining how awesome it will sound, but if in reality it sounds like a big pile of poo, well that would be pretty embarrassing.

My High School singing days are ten years in the past, plus five years as a mildly raucous student have done a fair bit of damage to my voice. I can't reach the same notes I used to be able to and I genuinely don't know how long I can maintain notes anymore, as the only singing practice I get these days is when I'm on my own in the car (see my previous post, Les Passantes). On top of this, when I'm starting to feel run down, one of the first things to go is my voice, so I'm also worried about the possibility of sounding more like Tom Waits than Charlotte Church. Or, if we choose a song whose lyrics need altering to be more 'wedding-friendly', what if I forget and sing the wrong words... I could go on and on, but I don't want to give my paranoia any more opportunity to ruin a perfectly nice opportunity.

Tom and I just need to focus on finding a handful of songs that could be appropriate for the ceremony, learn them, put them to Steve and Jem for final approval, and then just practise them until they're spot on. So, this is the real purpose of this particular post, to help me narrow down the search for good songs for the interval.

At the moment my list of Potentials (like Buffy's trainee Slayers in the final season) is this (in no order of preference):

Bon Jovi - In These Arms
Bon Jovi - I'll Be There For You (lyrics need changing)
Lifehouse - Hanging By a Moment
Lifehouse - Breathing
Goo Goo Dolls - Iris (words would need changing)
Aerosmith - I don't Wanna Miss a Thing
Adam Sandler - I wanna Grow Old With You (from the Wedding Singer, which I watched for the first time with Jem and Cassie the night before The Wedding Show)
Ben Folds - Luckiest (not sure if it's within my vocal range but can give it a go anyway)
Nico Stai - One October Song (was on the Chuck soundtrack, and I've already amended the lyrics)
Something by Avril Lavigne (Steve really likes her)
Something by Jimmy Eat World (Tom really likes them and apparently Steve does to)

During a period of insomnia I also started working on a translation of another french song I really like, but it might be a bit too 'poetic' for Jem and Steve's taste. I'll probably post it up on here once I've had a chance to work on the translation as it sounds quite awkward in places at the moment.

So anyway, progress-wise, we're not very far into it. Tom had a look at the guitar chords for In These Arms today but we didn't get very far to be honest (it's been a bit of a lazy day in general). I had a look at the lyrics and watched a couple of acoustic versions on Youtube and think I could work it out to fit in with my vocal range without too much difficulty.

I shall most certainly write more as we progress, but in the meantime, any suggestions would be very welcome!

Bye for  now!

George Brassens (2 Oct 1921 - 29 Oct 1981)

Just to add to my previous post about George Brassens, I completely failed to notice that yesterday was actually the 30th anniversary of his death. Thankfully someone who re-tweeted the link to my translation (@EasyTypeFrench) also mentioned it in one of their tweets! What a coincidence eh? I've often thought my iPod was clairvoyant - there've been a number of occasions when I've had it on random on the way to a sad occasion such as a funeral and it plays all number of tracks that seem eerily fitting, e.g. songs by Funeral For a Friend, or Helena by My Chemical Romance (the video of which is all about a funeral) to give just two examples.

Anyway, to celebrate the life of George Brassens here's a link to one of my favourite tracks of his, 'Je Suis Un Voyou' with one of the best lines ever:

"Qu'il me le pardonne ou non,
D'ailleurs, je m'en fous,
J'ai déjà mon âme en peine:
Je suis un voyou."

(If He forgives me or not/ well I don't give a damn/ I'm already going to hell/ a lout is what I am)

Adieu for now! x

Les Passantes by Georges Brassens, translated by me

Yesterday I was driving to work alone and although the commute can be a bit of a drag (it's about 50min each way on a good day), going alone does mean I can listen to whatever music I like and sing along to my heart's content. As I was driving up one of the hills outside of Whittington, I went up through a little village called Welshfrankton, and the view of the valley below was absolutely breathtaking. The valley floor was covered in fluffy low clouds, with a few autumn trees and telegraph lines poking out, and the sun was shining brilliantly on it all (I was running late so couldn't stop to take a photo, but one day I will, I promise!).

To top it off one of my favourite French songs came on my iPod. It's called Les Passantes and it was written by a poet Antoine Pol, but the singer Georges Brassens made it famous through setting it to some absolutely brilliant music. The video below is of the song performed in duet with Maxime LeForestier (with some additional verses in which I didn't have on my copy of the track) on a show aired in 1979.

What I love about this song, is that a lot of Brassens' music is about rogue-ish men who are on the look out for a bit of fun with the ladies, watching them bathe naked in a fountain for example, and generally being 'lads' or even 'cons' (politely translated as a**holes, but it's generally quite a crude word), and his lyrics are funny, intelligent, and often vulgar explorations of these fun-loving characters and their antics. But this song (or poem rather) is so beautiful and gentle, and the melancholy, longing, and loneliness of these lyrics, especially when sung by such a rogue as Georges Brassens, who even called himself a 'voyou' (French for thug) gives a striking contrast to his usual style and tone.

Here is the original French with a translation (that I wrote a few years ago and have tweaked a bit since) after each verse. I've tried to keep some sort of rhyme, but it's nowhere near perfect - although I am quite proud of the last stanza. I hope you enjoy it. I haven't yet figured out a title that is as fitting as the original, but it literally means "The women who pass you by". Chapeau bas Monsieur Brassens! Hats off :)

Je veux dédier ce poème,
A toutes les femmes qu'on aime,
Pendant quelques instants secrets,
A celles qu'on connaît à peine,
Qu'un destin différent entraîne,
Et qu'on ne retrouve jamais.

I want to dedicate this poem
To all the women we love
For just a few secret moments,
To those you scarcely know,
Snatched away by a different fate
And who you'll never find again.

A celles qu'on voit apparaître,
Une seconde à sa fenêtre,
Et qui, presque, s'évanouit,
Mais dont la svelte silhouette
Est si gracieuse et fluette
Qu'on en demeure épanoui.

To those women that you see
Appear at her window,
For one second, fleetingly
Whose slender silhouette,
Is so graceful and delicate,
That you're overwhelmed, completely

A la compagne de voyage,
Dont les yeux, charmant paysage,
Font paraître court le chemin;
Qu'on est seul peut-être à comprendre,
Et qu'on laisse pourtant descendre
Sans avoir effleuré sa main.

To the travelling companion;
The world reflected in her eyes,
Makes the journey fly by;
Who, perhaps, only you understand,
And yet, you let her go,
Without even brushing her hand.

A celles qui sont déjà prises,
Et qui, vivant des heures grises,
Près d'un être trop différent,
Vous ont, inutile folie,
Laissé voir la mélancolie
D'un avenir désespérant.

To those who are not free,
And who live unhappily,
In an ill-suited pair,
They have, useless folly,
Let you see the melancholy,
Of a future of despair.

Chères images aperçues,
Espérances d'un jour déçues,
Vous serez dans l'oubli demain;
Pour peu que le bonheur survienne,
Il est rare qu'on se souvienne,
Des épisodes du chemin.

Cherished images seen but once,
One day's hopes all lost,
And tomorrow will be forgot;
Though joy may surprise us all,
It is rare that we can recall,
These moments from our travels.

Mais si l'on à manqué sa vie,
On songe; avec un peu d'envie
A tous ces bonheurs entrevus,
Aux baisers qu'on n'osa pas prendre,
Aux cœurs qui doivent vous attendre,
Aux yeux qu'on n'a jamais revus.

But if you have wasted your life,
You dream, with some regret,
Of all those pleasures glimpsed,
Of the kisses you dared not take,
Of the hearts that have to wait,
Of the eyes never seen since.

Alors, aux soirs de lassitude,
Tout en peuplant sa solitude
Des fantômes du souvenir,
On pleure les lèvres absentes
De toutes ces belles passantes
Que l'on n'a pas su retenir.

So, the evenings when you are weary,
You try to fill a life that is lonely,
With ghosts from your memory,
For the absent lips, you do cry,
Of those beauties who passed you by,
Those who you let slip away.