Boum !
Boum ! (French pronunciation: [bum], similar to the English "boom") is a popular song by the French singer/songwriter Charles Trenet which won him the Grand Prix du Disque.[1] Its light, irreverent lyrics express a joie de vivre which suited the mood of the French public at the time of its release in 1938.[2]
It includes depictions of the sounds made by various animals and also various onomatopoeia. It is maybe the first time a song makes such a use of onomatopoeia. The lyric to the refrain is:
| Boum! | Boum! |
| Quand notre coeur fait Boum! | When our heart goes "Boum!" |
| Tout avec lui dit Boum! | Everything says "Boum!" with it, |
| Et c'est l'amour | And it is love |
| Qui s'éveille. | Which wakes up. |
"Boum!" has also been recorded by other artists in an English translation. The song is also featured in Absolut Vodka's "In An Absolut World" television commercial campaign as well as a period song in the "France Falls" episode of The World At War. In that episode, the song is presented with a chorus of artillery and machine guns in the sequence on military life at the Maginot Line during the Phoney War, making the "boum" more like the English "boom" sound, a variant of "bang". Additionally, it was featured in the Jack Nicholson comedy Something's Gotta Give as well as Toto the Hero. Also recently[when?] it has been used by Renault in their latest string of advertising. In 1994 the song was covered by Belgian singer Maurane.[3]
[edit] Parody
In Hergé's contemporary Tintin cartoon adventure Tintin au Pays D'Or Noir (English title: Land of Black Gold), Trenet's "Boum !" is transformed into a radio advertising jingle for a fictional roadside assistance company, "Simoun". This became "Autocart" in the English adaptation.
| Original French | Translation | English adaptation |
|---|---|---|
| Boum! | Boum! | Boom! |
| Quand vot' moteur fait Boum! | When your car goes "Boum!" | One day, your car goes "Boom"! |
| La dépanneuse Simoun | Simoun's breakdown repair | Don't just give up in gloom, |
| Viendra vers vous | Will be coming your way | Call Autocart |
| En vitesse. | Quickly. | To the rescue. |
[edit] References
- ^ Yves Montand, Jeremy Leggatt, Patrick Rotman, Hervé Hamon (1992), You See, I Haven't Forgotten, New York: Knopf, p. 49, ISBN 9780679410126, http://books.google.com/?id=mWe0AAAAIAAJ
- ^ Larry Portis (2004-01), French Frenzies: A Social History of Pop Music in France, Virtualbookworm Publishing, p. 94, ISBN 9781589395473, http://books.google.com/?id=QNi4KH0yYYgC&pg=PA94
- ^ "Clip Maurane, Boum, vidĂŠo et Paroles de chanson". Jukebo.fr. http://www.jukebo.fr/maurane/clip,boum,vv8rp.html. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
[edit] External links
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