The time had come to go and sing my English versions to discerning audiences, and I was invited to perform at a couple of Brassens centric festivals in France. I needed some merch (to try and recoup some of the travel costs, you know) so I printed a Songbook of my translations (which sold out) and pressed a home made CD (it did well too). Here it is.
Didier Delahaye: voice & guitar
Recorded in Whitehorse, Yukon
March 2004
Crespières, Yvelines, France
Concert bilingue Anglais-Catalan avec Miquel Pujado (Jérôme à la contrebasse)
Je viens d’écouter vos traductions anglaises. C’est un boulot extraordinaire. Chapeau!! J’avais déjà entendu des traductions en allemand, créole, espagnol, esperanto… Vous avez accompli un travail remarquable.
Christian Vanderwinnen, Belgique
I moved to Montpellier, France (a short drive from Sète) with my family two years ago and started to notice occasional posters and photos of a man with a pipe called Georges Brassens. I finally got to hear “Je me suis fait tout petit” on the radio and bought one of his CDs – a compilation which began with “Le Gorille”. What fantastic songs! Why hadn’t we in the English-speaking world ever heard of this man? I was hooked, and I’ve subsequently bought most of Brassens’ work. He’s been the gateway, for me, to the world of French chanson and I’ve enthusiastically recommended him to my friends in Ireland and England. I’ve looked for translations of his songs before and I’ve never found any that captured Brassens’ wit and earthiness – until now. Thank you so much for a superb job of translating the songs, or rather, of making it look like they have always existed in English. Your voice is perfectly matched to the material and conveys the same warmth as le Bon Maître. I’ll keep an eye on your touring schedule and try to get to see you whenever you come to the South of France.
Tom Kennedy, France
