To Thread - Forum Home

The Mudcat Café TM
https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=77922
24 messages

WWII Music Experts? Help!

31 Jan 05 - 04:58 PM (#1394737)
Subject: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: em gunyou halaas

Hello Mudcatters!

Put on your thinking caps...I need your help. I'm working on a play set in post Nazi occupied Paris, in a suit making factory-- The Workroom (L'Atelier) by Jean-Claude Grumberg. The script contains lyrics, but no music to several different songs. It is a translation, so searching for song titles is difficult. Is there anyone who knows, or can suggest a contact who may know, the tunes and/or origins of the following lyrics:

LYRIC SET 1:
From Vichy comes the call
Collaborators one and all

LYRIC SET 2:
There are two great white oxen in my stable
Two great white oxen

LYRIC SET 3:
From the front
From the back
Sadly as always
She's known love

Any ideas are appreciated!

thanks much
emily


31 Jan 05 - 05:05 PM (#1394756)
Subject: RE: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: Charley Noble

My wild guess is that these songs were composed for the play. Could you post the original lyrics in French?

Charley Noble


01 Feb 05 - 03:51 PM (#1395999)
Subject: RE: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: em gunyou halaas

I'll see what I can do when I'm at a different computer. Thanks for the suggestion!


01 Feb 05 - 03:59 PM (#1396007)
Subject: RE: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: McGrath of Harlow

Jean-Claude Grumberg


01 Feb 05 - 04:22 PM (#1396025)
Subject: RE: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: Peter T.

If it is post-Nazi, the chances may be good that they are cabaret songs from the St.-Germain-des-Pres repertoire. (Jacques Prevert et al).

yours,

Peter t.


01 Feb 05 - 04:29 PM (#1396031)
Subject: RE: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: em gunyou halaas

Wow! Where do I find that?


02 Feb 05 - 05:56 AM (#1396681)
Subject: RE: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: GUEST,Wolfgang

This site is a good start if you have song titles or singers (but Prevert isn't among them)

There are too many sites with lyrics from Prevert to list, but if you google for the name and know that the French word for lyrics is 'paroles' you'll find them.

Wolfgang


02 Feb 05 - 03:00 PM (#1396893)
Subject: RE: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: em gunyou halaas

Thanks guys! I definitely need a translater to find what I need. hmmm...

Anyone have any ideas about finding Vichy Government songs?


02 Feb 05 - 04:04 PM (#1396997)
Subject: RE: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

Possibly related- 'Two great white oxen' appear in the legend, "The Sin of the Prince Bishop," and on a Catholic holy card. Three hits in Google on the phrase; Christmas in legend and story is the heading of one that may help with ideas, but no song found..

From the front, from the back (rear), is from a bawdy soldiers' song. Someone may remember it or have words.

From Vichy comes the call- ?

I suggest that you get a copy of the play in French; it may help with the titles and in tracing the songs- translations are often of little help. Abebooks has three copies on offer (Dreyfus, L'Atelier, Zone Libre, all in one). There is a recent French paperback.


02 Feb 05 - 04:19 PM (#1397031)
Subject: RE: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: em gunyou halaas

Here is a very rough translation I got from Babel Fish I'm unsure if it's helpful or not. Y'all are tremendous by the by....

LE LYRIQUE A PLACÉ 1 : De Vichy vient les collaborateurs d'appel un et tous

LE LYRIQUE A PLACÉ 2 : Il y a deux grands boeufs blancs dans mes deux grands boeufs blancs stables

LE LYRIQUE A PLACÉ 3 : De l'avant du dos tristement en tant que toujours elle est amour connu


03 Feb 05 - 09:28 AM (#1397806)
Subject: RE: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: em gunyou halaas

David Kleiman? Are you out there? I need help with a Bawdy song!


03 Feb 05 - 09:46 AM (#1397829)
Subject: RE: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: Wolfgang

La chanson française sous l’Occupation (looks more like a history of the French chansons during the occupation; if you can read French it might have hints)

Wolfgang


03 Feb 05 - 10:58 AM (#1397918)
Subject: RE: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: em gunyou halaas

While I'm busy following these great leads, here's another question:

What is the tune to the Internationale? That's the name of the Communist Party song, right?


03 Feb 05 - 01:31 PM (#1398124)
Subject: RE: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: M.Ted

A movie of L'Atelier was made in 1999, and it is available on DVD--however, you should contact the play's publisher and request the music--if they can not oblige, they should at least be able to put you in touch with M.Grumberg, who will certainly know--


03 Feb 05 - 01:51 PM (#1398146)
Subject: RE: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: em gunyou halaas

Wow! There's a movie? I had no idea...I'm gonna take myself to Kim's and see if I can find it.


03 Feb 05 - 02:21 PM (#1398175)
Subject: RE: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: Q (Frank Staplin)

The DVD seems to be available only in Europe.

Internacional- Download a stirring choral rendition here: Himno internacional


03 Feb 05 - 09:01 PM (#1398479)
Subject: RE: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: M.Ted

Well, its true, but you can have them send it. You can order from Cyberlibrarie for 27 euros--in novel French fashion, you don't exactly order on line, you enter your info and then print out the order, which you send to them with your check--there are probably a number of other places which will actually allow you to order online--of course, you will need a multi region or region free DVD player, which you can order from here Region code free dvd.com there is one for $79 on clearance--

I don't necessarily recommend that you do this--particularly since the movie is in French, without English translation or subtitles, if it was me doing the play, I probably would do it myself--but I am a bit obsessive--


04 Feb 05 - 11:23 AM (#1398970)
Subject: RE: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: em gunyou halaas

Are we talking about L'Atelier or The Last Metro? The Last Metro was a Grumberg movie made in 1981. It extremely surprised to learn that there is a DVD of L'Atelier.


04 Feb 05 - 11:25 AM (#1398973)
Subject: RE: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: em gunyou halaas

I found Internationale in the Digitrad! Hooray for Mudcat.


04 Feb 05 - 09:37 PM (#1399613)
Subject: RE: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: M.Ted

A film of L'Atelier was made for French television in 1999--the blue clicky in my post above links you to a French site where it may be purchased--

As Q pointed out, it seems only to be available from European sources--I felt sufficiently guilty about getting your hopes up that I tried to find a source for you, and, given the fact that European DVD's cannot be viewed on run of the mill Western Hemisphere DVD players, found an affordable source for a player that would allow you to view it--a

In return for my kindness in this, I ask only that you refer to "The Last Metro" as a Truffaut Film and not a "Grumberg" film;-)


04 Feb 05 - 10:30 PM (#1399650)
Subject: RE: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: GUEST

I am NOT an EX-SPURT (though probably more than 50% of the MC contributors consider themselves one.) An X, is and unknown quantity....and a SPURT is a drip under pressure.

You have more than a a little hyperboyle - enough to choke,

gag and then vomit on!

Collaborators one and all??????>

Yeah, it worked in The PRODUCERS but it appears you are not attempting neither farce nor dramatic irony.

Try a better inspiration - perhaps - a symbiotic relationship between nemetodes and carrot roots.

Sincerely, Gargoyle


05 Feb 05 - 01:33 PM (#1399958)
Subject: RE: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: M.Ted

Ignore Gargoyle, Em--he knows not of which you speak--


07 Feb 05 - 03:03 PM (#1401782)
Subject: RE: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: em gunyou halaas

Thanks M. Ted. I'm unsure why he stumbled into this particular Thread... needed somewhere to spread his pretentious seed? Or, perhaps he's starting Snarkfest 2005?


07 Feb 05 - 05:51 PM (#1401928)
Subject: RE: WWII Music Experts? Help!
From: McGrath of Harlow

Here is a page of links to The Internationale in versions from all over the planet (and beyond - there's a Klingon version in there somewhere.)