Francis Cabrel

So I was sitting in the living room, hearing my mom telling me about the fascinating life style of our neighbors; an add appears on TV:

”Francis Cabrel au liban le …(maba3ref shou, maba3ref shou)… 2006”

Wow Francis Cabrel in my Lebanon!!!

Oh? You don’t know him?
Damn it, you ignorants! Francis Cabrel’s one of the most sensitive and profound French singers alive right now (at least from my point of views). I remember 5 years ago, or so, I heard a magical song, in a tender voice and accompanied by a sweet Guitar. It was the first time I hear it and all I was able to memorize from it was:

…petite Marie, je viens du ciel et les étoiles entre elles ne parlent que de toi ; d’un jeune musicien qui fait chanter ses mains sur un morceau de bois…

Translation :
…Little Mary, I came down from the sky and the stars among themselves talk only about you, about a young musician who makes his hands sing on a piece of wood…

It might mean nothing to anyone, but to me it was so sweet. Not just the exaggerated romance, but the fact that someone would sing such a song for someone. I remember asking myself, is he still with Marie? What if they broke up? Does he feel stupid for singing these songs for her? Exposing so much emotions and then realizing it was just not worth it?

I wasn’t willing to do so much for anyone and I still am not. But he had the guts to do it. I always admired that in him. Yes sure it’s a song and if he made it public it’s simply because he was hoping to make some celebrity out from that. But it was awesome and so sweet. I wish all the singers would sell that sort of words.

Not that I don’t admire Arab songs, but for each culture its own particularities, and in my culture I fail to find such a sensitivity. I find other beauties of course, but I just don’t find this.

Now almost 5 years from that I have discovered more of Cabrel’s jewels, I find them just as fascinating and just as sensitive, I even found some more “rough” songs. I also discovered Jacques Brel, Lara Fabian, Daniel Guichard, Françoise Hardy…

Last year (or maybe the year before that) Daniel guichard was in Lebanon he sang a song, but I can’t remember the lyrics of that song, it was about Lebanon (the war of course). You’d find more French songs about the Lebanese civil war than you’d find Lebanese songs or even Arab songs about it.

Oh scroll down that link you’d find out that Sean Paul’s also coming to the Byblos Festival, and 50 cents also (but I couldn’t find a link for that).