This is why I’m so in love with music. Certain projects are labors of love that come straight through the artist’s heart to yours. In that spirit, you’ve got to take a few minutes out of your day to check out  Pierre De Gaillande’s Gorges Brassens Translation Project.

Brassens is a legendary Frenchman (who I had the pleasure of learning about while on a jaunt in France) whose music is simple, evocative and inanely catchy. Basically, the guy was a kick-ass anarchist in the 60′s who wrote some of the finest guitar lyrics I’ve ever heard. This project translates him into English and goes beyond doing an earnest job of it – its a pretty damn close mirror to the real thing. According to the website:

“Pierre is currently at work on an illustrated book of the translated poems along with a CD of the songs performed in English.”

Dude, I will be the first one in line. Pierre was kind enough to send us a sample track, so check it out!

Princess

p.s. check out his full band, Melomane

Read a synopsis of the project in Pierre’s own words after the jump:

There have been several major French artists who have made an impact on the English speaking world; namely Edith Piaf, Serge Gainsbourg, Jacques Brel, and lately Manu Chao. Strangely, Georges Brassens is not on this list. The work of Georges Brassens remains to be discovered in the US. This seems to be both a glaring loss for English-speaking lovers of poetry and music everywhere, and a huge opportunity for the introduction of an important artist.

Ever since I was a child, my father, who is now a French professor living in Los Angeles, was a fan of Brassens. I grew up hearing his music around the house constantly. Growing up in California with a French father and an American mother, I was always stuck between two cultures, and striving to understand what it meant to be French. To a large extent, the music and philosophy of Brassens defined “Frenchness” for me. As I get older, I realize that these ideals have informed and guided me throughout life.  The idea for this translation came to me when my father sent me a translation of one of Brassens’ texts and asked me to put it to music.

I have begun a translation of the texts of Brassens, keeping the rhyme scheme, meaning, and wit of the originals intact, while making them fluid and musical in English. As of this writing, I have begun translation on 15 Brassens songs. As part of this project, I have begun work on recording an album of the songs in English. I am seeking publication of an illustrated book of translations of Brassens’ songs. The publication would include an autobiographical section, which would consist of an introduction to Brassens, and the story of my collaboration with my father on the project. The publication would include illustrations and imagery, working in collaboration with several French/American visual artists and/or graphic novelists. The idea would be to let artists create imagery inspired by and reflecting their personal responses to the songs.