Experiencing "Autumn Leaves" in French

The video above was posted at Paris Related Pieces during the fall season a year or two ago.  It's reposted here this year out of respect for autumn.  It's also reposted for visitors who love not only the fall season and the song "Autumn Leaves," but also for those who love all things French.  It's a nice video and song to experience as fall begins to settle in.  This recording in French by the late great Nat King Cole is fabulous.  You're sure to enjoy it!

Paris When It Sizzles

Most people who love Paris love it any season of the year, and every moment of the year no matter what’s going on, as the song “I Love Paris” says.  And I have to say, even though I dislike summer weather in the Washington, DC, area where I live, because it’s usually very hot, humid, and hazy, I do love summer in Paris.  Go figure.  Well, the times I visited Paris in summer, it simply did not feel as steamy as it feels here in the DC area.

For the convenience of my readers, I thought I’d post the video above, which features Ella Fitzgerald singing “I love Paris,” as scenes from Woody Allen’s movie Midnight in Paris move across the screen.  Enjoy!

Famous Quotes and Favorite Springtime Songs about Paris



There are famous quotes about Paris, such as "Paris is always a good idea," (by Audrey Hepburn in the movie Sabrina); and "Paris has no peer," (by Countee Cullen, a Harlem Renaissance poet).  Also there are favorite songs about the best time to visit Paris.  The most renowned one might be "April in Paris."  Then there's one I discovered only a couple of years ago titled "Paris Is at Her Best in May."  It was recorded on a  CD with Sammy Davis Jr singing it on an old TV show.

Around the same time I discovered the Sammy Davis Jr. performance, I found a video featuring the song's composer Charles Aznavour and American jazz singer Dianne Reeves.  It's good.  You'll hear the French and the English lyrics as the two artists perform and when Dianne Reeves comes in you'll start to see photos of her moving across the screen.  Enjoy!

Dooley Wilson Performing In the Film Casablanca

Casablanca, starring Humphrey Bogart as Rick, and Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa, is one of those great films many people have viewed again and again because of the intrigue, the romance, the time period in which it's set, the actors in it, etc., etc.  Perhaps some people have noticed something different about the movie or have come up with questions about certain characters in it after subsequent viewings.  Here's an example of a question that might have surfaced after a viewer had seen the film a few or more times.  What about Sam (Dooley Wilson), the piano player, and the songs he sings in the film?

Sam sings not only "As Time Goes By," but he also sings some super standards that have been recorded by a lot of pop and jazz singers since the film was made in 1942.  Those standards include songs such as "The Very Thought of You," and "It Had To Be You," which are readily recognizable as Sam plays them.  They also include songs that may not be as readily recognized as the ones mentioned above.

By the way, some people might know that another black musician (Elliot Carpenter) was really playing the piano in the film.  Carpenter was placed where Wilson could see him and imitate his hand movements.  In real life Dooley Wilson was a singer and a drummer.  All that aside, let's get back to other songs the character Sam plays inside Rick's Café Americain.

In addition  to the timeless numbers, "It Had To Be You" and "The Very Thought of You," Sam plays a few less illustrious numbers like "Knock on Wood" and "Shine."  Some fans of the movie and music of the time might consider "Baby Face," which Sam also sings, as a favorite standard. 

Of course, as a nice motif during the film, Sam sings reprisals of Rick and Ilsa's theme song, "As Time Goes By" in Rick's Café and upstairs in his private quarters, during flashbacks of Rick's, Sam's, and Ilsa's days in Paris. 

Various Spring Love Affairs

 




 

When springtime arrives and settles in, many people's thoughts turn to romance or perhaps to a love affair.  The love affair could be with a favorite place or with a person, or it could be with both simultaneously.  One’s thoughts might even turn to an ended affair and how wonderful it was while it lasted. 

As most people know, a person's love affair with a favorite city is described in the popular song “April in Paris” (Vernon Duke, composer; E.Y. Harburg, lyricist), which has been  performed and recorded by many artists.

An affair with a beautiful person in a beautiful city is considered in the poem titled "April in Paris,"  included in the poetry books, The Sound of Dreams Remembered and Something about the Blues.  Both books are by African American novelist, essayist, and poet Al Young (photo at left).

An ended love affair is described in the song “I’ll Remember April,” as its lyricists (Patricia Johnston and Don Raye) convey the beauty of April and the loveliness of the affair experienced during that month.  The song, composed by Gene de Paul, also speaks of the contentment and gratefulness the lover feels for having had the affair at all.