Monday, September 2, 2013

Open Thread


Alain Souchon - Foule Sentimentale (Sentimental Crowd)

 
Versions: #1#2#3
Oh dear! Life through rose-coloured glasses
The shade of pink we are offered
To have loads of things
That make us want for more
Ouch! We are made to believe
That happiness is to have
Our wardrobes full of assets
In scorn of us, [it's] pathetic because
 
Sentimental crowd that we are
We are pining for ideals
Attracted to the stars, to sails
[To] only non-commercial things
Sentimental crowd that we are
You should see the way they talk to us
The way they talk to us
 
There emerge
From those cardboard boxes
Washed-up people, obsolete
And sad and without any pluses
Desires that distress us
Are imposed on us
From the moment we are born they take us, come off it
For bloody idiots, whereas we are
 
Sentimental crowds
Pining for ideals
Attracted to stars, sails
[To] only non-commercial things
Sentimental crowd that we are
You should see the way they talk to us
The way they talk to us
 
We are Claudia Schieffer’d
We are Paul-Loup Sulitzer’d
Oh! The harm we’re made to suffer
That once ravaged the mujer*
A desire that thrills us
Hurtling down from the sky
For tomorrow our pale children
An improvement, a dream, a horse
 
Sentimental crowd [that we are]
We’re pining for ideals
Attracted to stars, sails
[To] only non-commercial things
Sentimental crowd [that we are]
You should see the way they talk to us
The way they talk to us
 
Author's comment:
* An ill-advised pun on a vulgar song of the sixties popular among 'Pieds noirs' in the south of France in particular (‘Trabadja la mouquère | Trabadja bono | Tremp’ ton cul dans la soupière | Et tu m’diras si c’est chaud’). ‘Moukère’ or ‘mouquère’ is pseudo-Arabic for 'mujer', Spanish for ‘woman’. I leave 'mujer' as a visual pendent to ‘suffer’.
- The original version needs to be reinstated: it's all in French, Alain Souchon's (feeble) French, without any English or side remarks.

15 comments:

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Click on "Read more" for a translation I found in the web.

deborah said...

Mesmerizing song, Lem. Were you riffing off Fight Club?

"Oh dear! Life through rose-coloured glasses
The shade of pink we are offered
To have loads of things
That make us want for more
Ouch! We are made to believe
That happiness is to have
Our wardrobes full of assets
In scorn of us, [it's] pathetic because

Sentimental crowd that we are
We are pining for ideals"

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Not exactly. It's catchy isn't it?

For some reason I hear Sheryl Crow's 'All I want to do' in the song. I can't explain why or how.

edutcher said...

Somebody tell me if I'm missing something here:

Choom won't meet with Putin when he's in Russia, but he'll meet with some Russian gay raiders to show his contempt or something.

Is he trying to prove he's an idiot?

I mean, Russia is not what it was 25 years ago, but it can still cause us trouble in the world and the First Nitwit wants to openly antagonize Vlad out of petulance?

Is he trying to get himself removed as a mental case?

deborah said...

Hmmm, not hearing it, but let's let the good people decide:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAEpLMTjCC8

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

That's who the Pope would meet with Ed.

You see?

Obama is continually campaigning/saving people, or appear to be doing so.

He rather campaign, even if the campaign constitute war making.

Don't be surprised if people fall for it.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Don't be surprised if the congress votes for authorization to bomb Syria.

deborah said...

Okay, re-listening, I see where you're going, but I never would have made the connection :)

A good song.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Thanks.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

The pitch Obama will make is not to bomb Syria, the pitch is to "help president Obama" meet out justice... or something to that effect... The facts wont matter. I'm just warning you.

I listened to Rush a little bit, Friday. He was saying he is mystified by how different the country appears to him, from just a short while ago when Bush beat Kerry. This a totally different country today from the country of 2004 he said.

He was saying his 'Limbaugh Theorem' does not fully explain what he is witnessing.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Maybe those of you that know history can see some parallels between the rapid change the last century brought about with the presidency of Woodrow Wilson, and the change this new century is bringing about with the presidency of Barack Obama.

Anonymous said...

Lem: I appreciate your fightin' the good fight. I admit that much of my current interest in chess is a flight from the messy dysfunction of the Obama era.

Obama is the Woodrow Wilson of the 21st Century. Apt. Very similar college professorial politicians, though I believe Wilson was actually educated. Obama functions out of the Howard Zinn comic book version.

Chip Ahoy said...

It reminds me of Henri, the existential cat. He has several videos and a book.

edutcher said...

Lem said...

That's who the Pope would meet with Ed.

You see?

Obama is continually campaigning/saving people, or appear to be doing so.


I dunno about the Pope.

But that's not the issue.

This is poking the bear with the sore tooth. If Vlad wants to make things rough for our Little zero, he can do it.

You would think someone in the Choom Gang would see that.

The pitch Obama will make is not to bomb Syria, the pitch is to "help president Obama" meet out justice... or something to that effect... The facts wont matter. I'm just warning you.

That's McCain's justification, but the credibility angle is already shot. As for it happening, Harry Reid wants hearings, so we could still be talking about this in October or even November.

Frankly, It's looking like the Demos may give him more of a fight. I think what ValJar (or whomever) really wants is for this to just be drowned out by something else and forgotten.

Aridog said...

Lem said...

Don't be surprised if the congress votes for authorization to bomb Syria.

1.) First, Obama is NOT asking for "authorization" ... merely consultation. It is a ploy not a plan.

2.) Edutcher is likely right about this...

I think what ValJar (or whomever) really wants is for this to just be drowned out by something else and forgotten.

That is precisely the passive tactic he has taken with every other crisis and scandal .... pretty soon, "At this point...." you know the rest.

3.) Even the Drudge Poll comes in at 92% of those polled saying "NO" to any attack on Syria.

Given the likely readership orientation of Drudge fans, that is a remarkable figure for "No."

4.) There is no reason, not even one scintilla of a possible cause, for the USA to attack Syria. Chemical weapons are WMD? How about napalm? Oh, wait ...

Not one group among the "rebels" is a democratic group ... not-a-single-one. They are all sectarian violent fanatics...who merely want power and money the current ruler controls. Same BS as in Egypt, Libya, et al.