Viet-Nam

Annotation

Chanson artist, born on 2 March 1932 in Périgueux, France. The song "Viêt-Nam" (BAM # EX 654), a cover of the Henri Gougaud song immediately above.

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: In Vietnam there were / Scents of jasmine / Of rice and fish / That we grilled together / Look at my hands / They are trembling / In Vietnam there were / Rocky torrents / It was green and restless / Under the limpid girls / Look at my eyes / They are empty / In Vietnam there was / Wind in the reeds / On the wind, birds / Above the birds, space / Look at the plane / It threatens / Today blood flows / Into the streams of the rivers / When you're not hungry / You're afraid / Today what's the use / Of talking about it, little brother / The whole world knows / That we are dying / In Vietnam today / Morning after morning / People survive in holes / The sky is only something they talk about / Look at my fist / How it rises / Under umbrella hats / Heads bowed, they go / To sow wheat / In the bomb craters / Look at the plane / How it falls / In Vietnam today / God knows it is pitch dark / And that naked men / Insist on living free / Look at hope / How it quivers / I believe that a song / Is not always futile / Distant brothers, my heartbreak / I would like these words / Perhaps to be of use to you / They come from the bottom of my heart __________ French: Au Viêt Nam il y avait / Des odeurs de jasmin / De riz e de poisson / Que l’on grillait ensemble / Regarde mes mains / Elles tremblent / Au Viêt Nam il y avait / Des torrents rocailleux / C’etait vert et nerveux / Sous les filles limpides / Regarde mes yeux / Ils sont vides / Au Viêt Nam il ya avait / Du vent dans les…

Notes

BAM EX 654 (Éditions de la Boîte à Musique, 133 boulevard Raspail, Paris), four-track EP: "Et je t'appelle" (Sani – Lise Médini) 2:50 and "Viet-Nam" (Henri Gougaud) 2:48 on face A, "Lorsque nous serons vieux" (Henri Tachan – Jean-Paul Roseau) 3:46 and "Vent d'Amérique" (P. Selos) 2:33 on face B; arrangements Jean-François Gaël, accompaniment directed by Bernard Pierrot; recorded at Studio Sofreson (Queyras); cover photo Nicolas Treatt; the sleeve bills Solleville as Grand Prix du disque de l'Académie Charles Cros and lists her LPs Récital n° 4 (BAM C.420) and the "Fine Fleur" album (C.504). Her version of Gougaud's song. [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

born on 2 March 1932 in Périgueux, France

Themes

Anti-War

In collections

European Songs · Peace, Protest, & Anti-War Songs [War Years]