Tag: love

Petite fille, petit amour, petite enfant, par Georges Chelon

Pochette du 45 tours "Petite fille, petit amour, petite enfant"
Pochette du 45 tours “Petite fille, petit amour, petite enfant” (1973) – provient de Discogs

Georges Chelon est un auteur, compositeur et chanteur français, né à Marseille le 4 janvier 1943. Sa chanson “Petite fille, petit amour, petite enfant” parut en septembre 1973 sur un simple 45 tours avec “Les grands ensembles” en face B (Disques Meys 10055 ou 128.21, voir ici la pochette). Elle figure également en position 5 de la face B de son LP 33 tours Ouvrez les portes de la vie, également paru en septembre 1973 (Disques Meys 30014 puis 528.202 en 1975, Disques Meys Barclay 45001 au Canada, voir ici la pochette). CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

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Toute grâce et toutes nuances, par Paul Verlaine

Alphonse Liébert - Mathilde Mauté de Fleurville
Alphonse Liébert – Mathilde Mauté de Fleurville (c.1870)

En 1869, Paul Verlaine rencontre Mathilde Mauté, alors âgée de 16 ans, dont il tombe amoureux. Elle lui inspire les 21 poèmes de sa collection La Bonne Chanson, dont la composition s’échelonne de l’hiver 1869 au printemps 1870, et publiée en 1870 à compte d’auteur chez Alphonse Lemerre. Ils se marient le 11 août 1870. Leur mariage se délitera rapidement, surtout après la liaison de Verlaine avec Arthur Rimbaud. Le couple se sépare en 1874, et Mathilde divorce en 1885, suite à la promulgation d’une loi le permettant. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

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Robert Louis Stevenson’s poetic rendition of Martial’s epigrams on Erotion

Tonbridge - post-mortem photograph
Tonbridge – post-mortem photograph

In a previous post, I presented the three epigrams by the Latin poet Martial (Marcus Valerius Martialis) devoted to Erotion, a little slave girl who died six days before her sixth birthday, and whom he loved tenderly.

The Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) is famous for his novels, such as Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, but also for his travel books. He wrote some poetry, part of which was published posthumously. In particular, he adapted the three epigrams by Martial into poems, of which he kept the manuscripts; they were published more than twenty years after his death. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

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Don’t Stand So Close To Me, by The Police

Romances between teachers and their adolescent pupils must be frequent, and indeed they are the topic of many popular songs.

The British rock band The Police released in September 1980 the song “Don’t Stand So Close To Me,” written by their lead singer Sting, as the lead single from their third album Zenyatta Mondatta. It won the 1982 Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. It is about the temptation of a love affair between a schoolgirl and her teacher, “This girl is half his age” and the song alludes to “That book by Nabakov” (I keep the bad spelling). Before joining The Police, Sting had previously worked as an English teacher, and he had noticed 15-year-old girls fancying him. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

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L’Heure des enfants, par Jean Aicard

Timoléon Marie Lobrichon - illustration pour L'Heure des Enfants
Timoléon Marie Lobrichon – illustration pour L’Heure des Enfants de Jean Aicard

“L’Heure des enfants” est une adaptation française par Jean Aicard du poème “The Children’s Hour” de Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Il fait partie du recueil La Chanson de l’Enfant. Trois petites filles assaillent leur père, lui grimpent dessus pour le couvrir de baisers et de caresses. Il ne peut que capituler sans conditions. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

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The Children’s Hour, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's daughters Alice Mary (top), Edith (left) and Anne Allegra (right)
Print after a portrait by Thomas Buchanan Read – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s daughters Alice Mary (top), Edith (left) and Anne Allegra (right) (c.1860) – from the New York Public Library’s digital collections

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (born February 27, 1807; died March 24, 1882) was one of the most widely known and best-loved American poets of the 19th century. In July 1843 he married his second wife Frances Appleton, and the couple had six children: Charles Appleton (1844–1893), Ernest Wadsworth (1845–1921), Fanny (1847–1848), Alice Mary (1850–1928), Edith (1853–1915), and Anne Allegra (1855–1934).

One of his most famous poems is The Children’s Hour, first published in the September 1860 edition of The Atlantic Monthly. The poet’s three small daughters, “grave Alice,” “laughing Allegra,” and “Edith with golden hair,” assault him by surprise; then “They almost devour me with kisses, / Their arms about me entwine,” and like a besieged citadel, he must surrender. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

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Thank Heaven for Little Girls

Yuri Krotov - Before debut performance
Yuri Krotov – Before debut performance – from iamachild.wordpress.com

Gigi is a 1958 musical comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, based on the 1944 novella of the same name by the French writer Colette. The screenplay and the song lyrics were written by Alan Jay Lerner, while the music was composed by Frederick Loewe. It starts with Maurice Chevalier singing the song “Thank Heaven for Little Girls” and ends with a reprise of the same song by Maurice Chevalier with a studio chorus. Part of the charm of this performance comes from his typical French accent. Rather than the movie version, I prefer the following video of the song illustrated with pictures of little girls. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

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