Tag: love

Teacher Teacher, by Dragonette

I have presented the song “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” by The Police, relating the temptation of a love affair between a schoolgirl and her teacher. Indeed, the band’s lead singer Sting had previously worked as an English teacher, and he had noticed 15-year-old girls fancying him.

In 2005, the Canadian band Dragonette released its first disc, an EP titled Dragonette EP, with six tracks. The sixth one, called “Teacher Teacher,” describes the same situation, but this time from the point of view of the girl. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

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À Mlle Renée Zilcken, par Paul Verlaine

Philippe Zilcken - Paul Verlaine
Philippe Zilcken – Paul Verlaine, eau forte (1893) – provient de flandres-hollande.hautetfort.com

Philippe Zilcken (1857–1930), peintre et graveur néerlandais, était un ami de Paul Verlaine, dont il fit un portrait. En novembre 1892, Verlaine se rendit à La Haye pour rendre visite à Zilcken et son ami le peintre Jan Toorop. Ce voyage fut relaté dans son texte Quinze jours en Hollande, publié en 1893. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

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Curious Child, by Prince

Boris Groh - Christmas Wonders
Boris Groh – Christmas Wonders (2017) – from ArtStation

Prince Rogers Nelson (b. June 7, 1958; d. April 21, 2016), known as Prince, was an American artist with multiple talents: singer, songwriter, guitar virtuoso, record producer, dancer, actor, and filmmaker. In some way he represented a dark counterpart of Michael Jackson, and indeed these two contemporary musicians were often rivals.

His 14th studio album (released on October 13, 1992) was titled by a personal “Love Symbol,” and it became his identity, he used it as stage name from June 7, 1993 to May 13, 2000. CONTINUE READING / CONTINUER LA LECTURE…

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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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