Liner Notes
Dans l'ombre de la guerre (In the shadow of war)
This brilliant collection of classics and period pieces brings
together the best and most representative of the songs sung by
the French to uplift their spirits during the dark days of World
War II. To call this a celebration of wartime France would be
something of an exaggeration, for France, during this period, had
very little to celebrate. There were German soldiers patrolling the
streets of Paris, while the quasi-fascist Vichy regime held sway in
the country's south. Still, the defeated French somehow managed
to find something to "sing about," even in their darkest hour.
First among these melodies is Maurice Chevalier's rendition
of the somewhat sardonic Ca sent si bon la France, which pays
tribute to some of the country's less obvious charms. Though
Chevalier himself was accused (and acquitted) of collaborating
with the Nazis, his dexterous performance reminded fellow citizens
what it meant to be French. In a similar vein, Charles Trenet's
La romance de Paris helped his audience remember the good days
that had passed and that would, hopefully, return someday soon.
Bel Ami, sung here by the incomparable Corsican balladeer, Tino
Rossi, was another popular wartime tune. Named for a novel by
Guy de Maupassant, it is infused with the spirit of the beloved
French countryside.
To be sure, there is something almost pathetic about some of these
tunes. The most optimistic of Frenchman would have had trouble
reciting with conviction the words of Ray Ventura's On ira pendre
la linge sur la ligne Siegfried, (We will hang out the wash on the
Siegfried Line) when there were Boches making merry in the Moulin
Rouge (The Siegfried Line was a chain of German fortifications in
the north of France). Andre Dassary can hardly be commended for
his call to rally round the Vichy flag in Marechal nous voila. On the
other hand, it is inspiring to hear Fernandel advise a friend to ignore
German propaganda in Faut pas Francine, ecouter les raconteurs.
Germaine Sablon's energetic performance of Le chant des partisans,
a hymn to the glory of the Resistance movement, is perhaps, even
more uplifting.
One can overemphasize, of course, the political nature of many of
these songs. The political situation may have dominated the landscape,
but the voices heard here belong to artists, not journalists. They do
not describe the times, but rather reflect them. Leo Marjane would
have touched hearts with Je suis seule ce soir (I'm alone tonight), even
in the best of times. The nature of the epoch, however, transformed
it into a sort of anthem for a people trying to cope with humiliation
and despair. Indeed, many of the more melancholy songs in this CD,
such as J'ai chante sur ma peine and L'accordeoniste, acted as a sort
of outlet for the nation's grief.
When Paris was finally liberated in the summer of 1944, after four
long years of occupation, the joy felt by the citizenry was immeasurable.
That spontaneous release of gaiety is captured in Chevalier's
performance Fleur de Paris, and Paris Tour Eiffel. Temporarily the
property of the hated Germans, Paris had been returned to its rightful
owners who, perhaps too quickly for some tastes, began to put behind
them the unpleasant experiences of the war and to try and regain the
famed French effervescence. Many, if not most, of the songs gathered
here also made their way out of the ashes and accompanied France into
the less-somber second half of the twentieth century. It is worthwhile,
however, to remember from time to time just where these classics,
such as L'accordeoniste, came from. Which is why this collection,
in addition to the pleasure it brings, provides food for thought and
reflection.
JOSHUA BROWN
ARKADIA JAZZ