I've heard this atmospheric song today on the radio... - the duet Carla Bruni and Harry Connick Jr. has recorded a cover of a The Beatles' song 'And I love her' .
Carla Bruni, an Italian-French songwriter, is mostly known as 'First Lady' of France. She is the author of three studio albums : 'Quelqu'un m'a dit' (2003), 'No promises' (2007) and 'Comme si de rien n'étais' (2008). In 2011 Bruni starred in Woody Allen's film 'Midnight in Paris' in the role of a museum guide.
Harry Connic Jr., born on the 11 of September 1967 is an American jazz pianist, singer and actor. He has recorded more than twenty-five albums (!), for instance : '20', '30', 'What a night! A Christmas album', 'In concert on Broadway' (released in 2011). As an interesting side note, we can also mention his roles in 'Independence Day', 'Hope floats' and 'P.S. I love you'.
The Present Perfect Tense is a kind of mixture of the past and the present... It is often used to talk about one's life experience - the countries we have been to, the dishes we have already tasted, the sports we have practised and lots of exciting things we haven't had the opportunity to do yet...
The form is : a person + have/has + past participle (regular verb + ed or 'the third column' for irregular verbs)
Below you can find an exercise in the tense - talk about your life experience looking at the pictures!
You can propose your answers below!
Here are my proposals of answers :
I have already skied but I have never snowboarded.
I have already used a chairlift.
I have never tasted a pomegranate.
I have never been to Egypt and, unfortunately, I have never seen pyramids with my own eyes.
I have been twice to Paris.
I have recently flown to Beijing.
I have never gone on safari, but I would love to!
I have already seen (and heard!) dolphins.
I havemade a birthday cake once in my life. It was very tasty.
I have never done waterskiing but I am going to try it during next summer holidays!
I have dived plenty times. This is a great sport - the views are extraordinary.
I have never gone bungee jumping. I'm not courageous enough ;)
I have already eaten shrimps - they are very tasty!
'Ne me quitte pas' is a song written and originally sung by a Belgian singer Jacques Brel in 1959. Not only has it been performed by numerous artists in French, but has also been transformed into numerous foreign versions - Polish, English, Czech, Croatian, Dutch, Finnish, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Africaans, Hebrew, Yiddish, Frisian and Catalan!
Here are some of my favourite interpretations :
The original version - Jacques Brel
'Ne me quitte pas' sung in French by Sting
The English version - 'If you go away' - Barbara Streisand
Polish version - 'Nie opuszczaj mnie' - wonderful translation by Wojciech Młynarski - performer : Michał Bajor
Stunning version by Edyta Górniak :
Catalan version - Nina - 'No em deixis mai'
Croatian version - Arsen Dedić - Nemoj poći sad
Africaans - 'Moenie weggaan nie' - Laurika Rauch
Yiddish - Mendy Cahan's version "לאָז מיך נישט אַלײן"
Wisława Szymborska, a Nobel Prize laureate in poetry, died at the age of 89 on 1st February. One of the most popular Polish poets made her debut in 1945, publishing her first poem 'Looking for a word' in the daily paper, 'Dziennik Polski'.The honorary citizen of the city of Cracow lived far from modern tumult and haste. The author of around 20 volumes of verse tackled serious subjects with simplicity and humour. Szymborska has even been described as the "Mozart of poetry", joining the elegance of language with the fury of Beethoven. Her works have been translated into English, French, Hebrew, Arabic, Japanese and many others languages. Szymborska's poetry has also influenced other branches of art - her poem "Nothing Twice" turned into a song written by Andrzej Mundkowski and performed by Łucja Prus in 1965 (Maanam's cover was a hit in 1994). Krzysztof Kieślowski's film, "Three Colours : Red", was inspired by the poem "Love at First Sight".
Here are two poems by Wisława Szymborska in the original versions and translated into French and English. I invite you to read the translated versions, paying attention to how the translators have expressed the original concepts, ideas, images and feelings...Have they captured the essence and the atmosphere of the originals?
Widziane z góry
Na polnej drodze leży martwy żuk.
Trzy pary nóżek złożył na brzuchu starannie.
Zamiast bezładu śmierci – schludność i porządek.
Groza tego widoku jest umiarkowana,
zakres ściśle lokalny od perzu do mięty.
Smutek się nie udziela.
Niebo jest błękitne.
Dla naszego spokoju, śmiercią jakby płytszą
nie umierają, ale zdychają zwierzęta
tracąc – chcemy w to wierzyć – mniej czucia i świata,
schodząc – jak nam się zdaje – z mniej tragicznej sceny.
Ich potulne duszyczki nie straszą nas nocą,
szanują dystans,
wiedzą, co to mores.
I oto ten na drodze martwy żuk
w nieopłakanym stanie ku słonku polśniewa.
Wystarczy o nim tyle pomyśleć, co spojrzeć:
wygląda, że nie stało mu się nic ważnego.
Ważne związane jest podobno z nami.
Na życie tylko nasze, naszą tylko śmierć,
śmierć, która wymuszonym cieszy się pierwszeństwem.
Wszelki wypadek, 1972.
Vue d’en haut
Sur un petit sentier gît un hanneton mort.
Ses trois paires de pattes soigneusement pliées.
Au lieu du mortel gâchis -ordre et netteté.
L’horreur de cette vision reste modérée,
et sa portée locale, du chiendent à la menthe.
La tristesse ne se partage guère.
Le ciel est bleu.
Pour notre tranquillité, les animaux ne meurent pas,
mais crèvent d’une mort que l’on dit moins profonde,
en y perdant -nous voulons le croire- moins de sens et de monde,
quittant, comme il nous semble, une scène moins tragique.
Leurs âmes humbles et soumises ne hantent pas nos nuits,
gardent toutes leurs distances,
restent à leur place.
Ainsi donc, le hanneton, gisant mort sur le sable,
brille au soleil dans son état nullement déplorable.
Il suffit de penser à lui d’un seul regard:
Non, rien de capital ne lui est arrivé.
Ce qui est capital ne s’accorde qu’à nous.
À notre vie, à notre mort uniquement,
notre mort qui, à tout instant, impose sa priorité.
« Cas où », 1972, extrait de De la mort sans exagérer, Paris, Fayard, 1996. Traduction de Piotr Kamiński.
Zdumienie
Czemu w zanadto jednej osobie? Tej a nie innej? I co tu robię? W dzień co jest wtorkiem? W domu nie gnieździe? W skórze nie łusce? Z twarzą nie liściem? Dlaczego tylko raz osobiście? Za wszystkie czasy i wszystkie glony? Za jamochłony i nieboskłony? Akurat teraz? Do krwi i kości? Sama u siebie z sobą? Czemu Nie obok ani sto mil stąd, Nie wczoraj ani sto lat temu Siedzę i patrzę w ciemny kąt - tak jak z wzniesionym nagle łbem patrzy warczące zwane psem?
Astonishment Why after all this one and not the rest? Why this specific self, not in a nest, but a house? Sewn up not in scales, but skin? Not topped off by, a leaf, but by a face? Why on earth now, on Tuesday of all days, and why on earth, pinned down by this star`s pin? In spite of years of my not being here? In spite of seas of all these dates and fates, These cells, celestials, and coelenterates? What is it really that made me appear Neither an inch nor half a globe too far, Neither a minute nor aeons too early? What made me fill myself with me so squarely? Why am I staring now into the dark And muttering this unending monoloque Just like the growling thing we call a dog?
Translation : Stanisław Barańczak
I invite you to listen to a song which owes its lyrics to the poem of Wisława Szymborska - Grzegorz Turnau's 'To tu, to tam' with wonderful lyrics - the poem 'Atlantyda' (English: 'Atlantis')
‘Groundhog Day’ is a 1993 comedy film directed by Harold Ramis. The movie stars Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. Murray plays Phil Connors, an egocentric TV weatherman who receives a hated assignment - covering the annual Groundhog Dayevent in Punxsutawney. The main character suddenly realizes that the same day, Groundhog Day, repeatsitself over and over again. Phil goes through various stages - first, indulging himself with tons of sweets, offences committed with impunity and carefree relations, then numerous suicideattempts, and finally reflection on his life and priorities.
Groundhog Day is a festival celebrated in the United States and Canada on 2 February. According to folklore, if it is sunny when a groundhog emerges from its burrow, sees its shadow and retreats into its hideaway, the winter will last for six more weeks. On the contrary, if it is cloudy, according to the tale, the spring will come very soon. The festival is accompanied by numerous social gatherings, concerts, plays (usually skits), speeches and tasting of local specialities.
The greatest celebrations are held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. This town was the set of a very popular 1993 film, 'Groundhog Day'. The film stars the Punxsutawney's favourite - groundhog 'Phil'. The marmot, which has a special group of caretakers at its disposal, emerges from its temporary home - an electrically-heated burrow in the presence of thousands of people and TV crews.
The event has been transmitted live today by a Polish news channel - the latest news is that....Phil has predicted six weeks more of winter!
See a video of last year's celebrations :
Last year's prediction was : 'an early spring!'
My next post will concern the film 'Groundhog Day'. You'll have the opportunity to do some listening exercises !
