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Gavin B. · 10-15-2009, 11:17 AM

Song of the Day

Françoise Hardy: French pop superstar and avatar of fashion style.

Mon Amie la Rose- Françoise Hardy Françoise Hardy was one of the first megastars of Europop in the Sixties and became an icon of fashion style all over the world during that era. Jane Birkin, Bridget Bardot, Marianne Faithfull, Jane Asher and a bevy of European fashion designers borrowed from Françoise's trademark "ye ye girl" syle of long straight hair and fashionable mod clothing. Françoise's uniquely continental fashion "look" has been recycled over and over by European and American designers for nearly a half century. I showed some old Sixties photos of Françoise to my wife she guessed that Mme. Hardy was a contemporary supermodel wearing from the latest fall line of Gucci fashions. The downside of the equation was Françoise's status as a fashion icon and international beauty frequently overshadowed her talents as a singer, guitar player and songwriter.

The beautifully restored embedded YouTube video of 1964 hit, Mon Amie la Rose showcases Françoise's unique musical talents. The video is filmed with a stationary camera that frames a tight shot of her face. As was frequently the case, the allure Mme. Hardy's high cheekbones and photogenic magnetism is almost a distraction from the beauty of the song she is singing.

Hardy is still adored in France and over the years she has produced an impressive body of work including La Question a 1971 collection of songs that set the standard for lights-low seductive ambient music.

Mon Amie la Rose has beautiful sad melody, though — not that Hardy was ever short of those at the time — related with the existential stoicism of an aging woman who, like the most beautiful rose in the garden, eventually loses her bloom of youthful beauty. Although the opening section is wholly acoustic, it soon glides into a more up-tempo part with band backup, the softly insistent beat keeping the whole performance from tipping too far into corniness. As was the case with many early Hardy tracks, a Greek chorus of sorts enters via backup harmony singers whose sorrowful tones express more explicit despair than Françoise's lead vocals do. It's back to the rhythm-less acoustic mode, though, for the final pass through the verse, ending on delicate plucks of the guitar that sound like tears falling into a glass.

Here's my own quick and dirty translation of the lyrics to Mon Amie la Rose

Chorus
We are truly insignificant
And that's what my friend the rose
Told me this morning

I was born at dawn
Baptised in dew
I blossomed
In the rays of the sun
Happy and in love
I closed my petals at night
And when I awoke I was old.
Yet I had been beautiful
Yes, I was the most beautiful
Of all the flowers in your garden

See, the God that made me
Now makes me bow my head
And I feel I'm falling
And I feel I'm falling
My heart is almost bare
I have a foot in my grave
Already I am nothing
You admired me only yesterday
And I shall be dust
Forever, tomorrow

Chorus
We are truly insignificant
And my friend the rose
Died this morning

Last night the moon
Kept vigil over my friend
And in a dream I saw
Her soul, dancing
Dazzling and naked,
Above the heavens,
Smiling on me.
Let those who can, believe
But I need Hope
Or else I am nothing

BONUS SONG: Mon Amie la Rose- Natacha Atlas In 1999 Natacha Atlas recorded a version of Françoise's song on her third album. For several years Natacha Atlas was the singer for the pioneering global fusion/electronica group the Transglobal Underground and her arrangement of Mon Amie la Rose has a lively Middle Eastern feel to it. Her production of the video has a flavor of international intrigue, like an outtake from an old James Bond movie.

10-15-2009, 11:17 AM	#103 (permalink)
Gavin B. Model Worker Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,248	Song of the Day Françoise Hardy: French pop superstar and avatar of fashion style. Mon Amie la Rose- Françoise Hardy Françoise Hardy was one of the first megastars of Europop in the Sixties and became an icon of fashion style all over the world during that era. Jane Birkin, Bridget Bardot, Marianne Faithfull, Jane Asher and a bevy of European fashion designers borrowed from Françoise's trademark "ye ye girl" syle of long straight hair and fashionable mod clothing. Françoise's uniquely continental fashion "look" has been recycled over and over by European and American designers for nearly a half century. I showed some old Sixties photos of Françoise to my wife she guessed that Mme. Hardy was a contemporary supermodel wearing from the latest fall line of Gucci fashions. The downside of the equation was Françoise's status as a fashion icon and international beauty frequently overshadowed her talents as a singer, guitar player and songwriter. The beautifully restored embedded YouTube video of 1964 hit, Mon Amie la Rose showcases Françoise's unique musical talents. The video is filmed with a stationary camera that frames a tight shot of her face. As was frequently the case, the allure Mme. Hardy's high cheekbones and photogenic magnetism is almost a distraction from the beauty of the song she is singing. Hardy is still adored in France and over the years she has produced an impressive body of work including La Question a 1971 collection of songs that set the standard for lights-low seductive ambient music. Mon Amie la Rose has beautiful sad melody, though — not that Hardy was ever short of those at the time — related with the existential stoicism of an aging woman who, like the most beautiful rose in the garden, eventually loses her bloom of youthful beauty. Although the opening section is wholly acoustic, it soon glides into a more up-tempo part with band backup, the softly insistent beat keeping the whole performance from tipping too far into corniness. As was the case with many early Hardy tracks, a Greek chorus of sorts enters via backup harmony singers whose sorrowful tones express more explicit despair than Françoise's lead vocals do. It's back to the rhythm-less acoustic mode, though, for the final pass through the verse, ending on delicate plucks of the guitar that sound like tears falling into a glass. Here's my own quick and dirty translation of the lyrics to Mon Amie la Rose Chorus We are truly insignificant And that's what my friend the rose Told me this morning I was born at dawn Baptised in dew I blossomed In the rays of the sun Happy and in love I closed my petals at night And when I awoke I was old. Yet I had been beautiful Yes, I was the most beautiful Of all the flowers in your garden See, the God that made me Now makes me bow my head And I feel I'm falling And I feel I'm falling My heart is almost bare I have a foot in my grave Already I am nothing You admired me only yesterday And I shall be dust Forever, tomorrow Chorus We are truly insignificant And my friend the rose Died this morning Last night the moon Kept vigil over my friend And in a dream I saw Her soul, dancing Dazzling and naked, Above the heavens, Smiling on me. Let those who can, believe But I need Hope Or else I am nothing BONUS SONG: Mon Amie la Rose- Natacha Atlas In 1999 Natacha Atlas recorded a version of Françoise's song on her third album. For several years Natacha Atlas was the singer for the pioneering global fusion/electronica group the Transglobal Underground and her arrangement of Mon Amie la Rose has a lively Middle Eastern feel to it. Her production of the video has a flavor of international intrigue, like an outtake from an old James Bond movie.