This week’s set of songs #2:
“Both sides now”: Joni Mitchell wrote this folk song in 1967, inspired by a passage in Henderson the rain king, a book she was reading at the time. This is probably one of Mitchell’s most famous songs, and one of my favourite ones. This Canadian singer wrote about life in such a simple, but profound way. I interpret the song as a look into life’s different aspects, and how there’s always more than one side to things. Nothing is certain, incontestable or always true: it all depends on which side of the situation you’re standing in. And, even if you’ve seen every aspect of life you can imagine, if you’ve experienced every pain and joy you could ever feel, life is still uncertain. It’s an illusion, unpredictable, always on the move. It has more sides than one could ever count. But there’s no use in trying to understand all of them: we should just focus in living and accepting that when life takes something from you, it always gives something in return. It has its own balance. Mitchell did two versions of the songs: the first one in with her guitar, and the second one, 32 years later, with an orchestra. It’s really interesting to see her the changes in her voice and her character, and the evolution of the song’s meaning.
Spotify’s 1st version: https://open.spotify.com/track/3NW1YMA8kfNVTzGJCGBS8m?si=oEuGHTV5SsehCFYOhVDVBQ
Spotify’s 2nd version: https://open.spotify.com/track/1pjATX7sbd6Y4jMVqIvzHk
Youtube’s 1st version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP8M0jhsM74
Youtube’s 2nd version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cBf0olE9Yc
“Born to be blue”: This song was originally written by Mel Tormé in 1946, but multiple artists made their own versions throughout the years. Between all of the covers, I find Chet Baker’s one to be hypnotizing. In this jazz standard recorded for his 1964 album “Baby Breeze”, Baker sings instead of playing the trumpet. I really admire his incredible trumpeter skills, but I also find his voice to be so deep and filled with a unique emotion. When you listen to him sing this sad tune about a lost love and the sadness it left behind, you really think that Baker was born to be blue. I don’t know how he managed to do it, but he somehow sung dark and blue melodies in a sweet and almost lovable way. If you liked this version of the song, I highly recommend you to listen to Ella Fitzgerald’s cover as well, that is as mesmerizing as Baker’s.
Spotify version: https://open.spotify.com/track/5Z0HDixFz1mtvPOXLtCKU9?si=WvWRafTFTsC9SyFaKxIDZg
Youtube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeAXLO00OFo
“Carmen”: This song was written by an incredible Belgian singer called Stromae. I have a strong connection with french culture, and know some french singers as well, and I consider Stromae to be one of the best french speaking performers I’ve ever heard. Not only his melodies are heterogeneous, catchy and involve multiple instruments, he writes such interesting and innovating lyrics. This song is in his 2013 album “Racine carée” (square root), in which some of his best songs are featured. In “Carmen”, Stromae took the melody and part of the lyrics of “Habanera”, written by George Bizet for his 1875 opera “Carmen”, and modernized it to connect it to social media issues. The play on words that Stromae does is a bit lost in the translation, but the lyrics are still really powerful. He criticizes the way we often confuse our followers, likes, posts, story’s and comments with reality. How we unconsciously start interpreting this numbers with our social reality, and put all of our energy and time into creating a profile that doesn’t necessarily represent us. The youtube version has a translation of the song, but I’ll leave you three clues that are not clear if you just follow the translation. In the beginning he says “L’amour est comme l’oiseau de Twitter” (Love is like Twitter’s bird), which is a clear connection to “Habanera”, that starts with “Lamour est un oiseau rebelle” (Love is a rebel bird). Then, he makes a really smart play of words when he says “C’est comme ça qu’on s’aime, comme ça consomme”. In french the expressions “qu’on s’aime” (the way we love) et “consomme” (the way we consume) are really similar, and that way he tries to say that when we love (aime) we consume (consomme). Finally, there’s a second clear lyric connection to “Habanera”. This 1875 composition is a beautiful reflection on love and it’s free way of flying from person to person, while “Carmen” talks about how love has become an object of consumption rather than a bird that flies amongst us. In “Habanera”, the lyrics say “Prends garde a toi si je t’aime”, which means “be careful if I love you”, making reference to the ups and downs and the consequences of loving someone. Stromae took that and changed it to “Prends garde a moi, si je m’aime”, which means “be careful if I love myself” (instead of “if i love you”). By doing this, he criticizes the egoism that comes with social media, and how one becomes the center of attention in a dangerous way. (I’m sorry, this is so long, but it’s such an interesting song...)
Spotify version: https://open.spotify.com/track/1pRvlcrVxqdDAyYT1Ym3Wq
Youtube version (with translation and amazing animations that illustrate the song): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKftOH54iNU