On this first day of Spring, here is a lovely poem by Katherine Mansfield
Very Early Spring
The fields are snowbound no longer; There are little blue lakes and flags of tenderest green. The snow has been caught up into the sky-- So many white clouds--and the blue of the sky is cold. Now the sun walks in the forest, He touches the bows and stems with his golden fingers; They shiver, and wake from slumber. Over the barren branches he shakes his yellow curls. Yet is the forest full of the sound of tears.... A wind dances over the fields. Shrill and clear the sound of her waking laughter, Yet the little blue lakes tremble And the flags of tenderest green bend and quiver.
Leprechauns, castles, good luck and laughter Lullabies, dreams, and love ever after. Poems and songs with pipes and drums A thousand welcomes when anyone comes. That's the Irish for you!
First a little history of why we celebrate St. Patrick's Day in the first place:
Wonderful Irish poets, writers, actors and musicians have inspired us over the centuries. People such as Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats, and Samuel Beckett. And actors and musicians who epitomize Irish characters like Maureen O'Hara and Bing Crosby. Traditional Irish music can be happy and joyful with songs like "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" and "Whiskey on a Sunday" or they may tell a story as in "Molly Malone" or the sorrowful and nostalgic "Danny Boy". (See "Danny Boy" lyrics below and links to the Muppets' and Andy William's version under "links" on the right-hand side)
Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling From glen to glen, and down the mountain side The summer's gone, and all the flowers are dying 'Tis you, 'tis you must go and I must bide. But come ye back when summer's in the meadow Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow 'Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so.
Top 12 Irish Playlist for St. Patrick's Day: 1. Danny Boy 2. When Irish Eyes are Smiling 3. Beer, Beer, Beer - The Clancey Brothers 4. Whiskey on a Sunday - The Clancey Brothers 5. Molly Malone 6. Irish Lullaby 7. Sunday, Bloody Sunday - U2 8. Drink a Round to Irishmen - Judy Collins 9. Whiskey in the Jar 10. The Irish Washerwoman 11. The Rose of Tralee 12. Dirty Old Town
Then of course, there's the amazing Irish dancing, and I can no longer think of Ireland or St. Patrick's Day without the incredible performances of Riverdance that showcase all kinds of traditions in Irish heritage. Everytime I watch it, it gives me goosebumps. Here is the opening sequence from the show:
So this St. Patrick's Day, hats off to thee, Ireland, with your 40 shades of green and wonderful literary, musical and artistic traditions!
May the leprechauns be near you, To spread luck along your way. And may all the Irish angels, Smile upon you on St. Patrick's Day.
Slainte and Éirinn go Brách - Cheers and Long live Ireland!
There's no sound quite as marvelous to know, there's no sound quite as subtle, quite as strong as the sound of samba and winter, spring and fall, and so my heart loves the samba best of all...
Thinking about Carnaval (Brazilian spelling) this year has made me remember back to this wonderful scene from "Un homme and une femme" (A Man and a Woman), the French film from the 1960s. It's so beautiful, and combines so much of what I love from Brazil and France. Below is the clip from the movie in English, and below that the French lyrics and the French version with some English subtitles.
To all of you my friends who invented a word I can never say without emotion, a word that stirs people and makes them sing, that warms the sky - SAMBA
Beijos/Bisous and happy listening!
Lyrics to Samba Saravah :
Être heureux, c’est plus ou moins ce qu’on cherche J’aime rire, chanter et je n’empêche Pas les gens qui sont bien d’être joyeux Pourtant s’il est une samba sans tristesse C’est un vin qui ne donne pas l’ivresse Un vin qui ne donne pas l’ivresse, non Ce n’est pas la samba que je veux
J’en connais que la chanson incommode D’autres pour qui ce n’est rien qu’une mode D’autres qui en profitent sans l’aimer Moi je l’aime et j’ai parcouru le monde En cherchant ses racines vagabondes Aujourd’hui pour trouver les plus profondes C’est la samba-chanson qu’il faut chanter
On m’a dit qu’elle venait de Bahia Qu’elle doit son rythme et sa poésie à Des siècles de danse et de douleur Mais quels que soient les sentiments qu’elle exprime Elle est blanche de formes et de rimes Blanche de formes et de rimes Elle est nègre, bien nègre, dans son cœur Mais quelque soit le sentiment qu’elle exprime Elle est blanche de formes et de rimes Blanche de formes et de rimes Elle est nègre, bien nègre, dans son cœur Être heureux, c’est plus ou moins ce qu’on cherche J’aime rire, chanter et je n’empêche Pas les gens qui sont bien d’être joyeux Pourtant s’il est une samba sans tristesse C’est un vin qui ne donne pas l’ivresse Un vin qui ne donne pas l’ivresse, non Ce n’est pas la samba que je veux
J’en connais que la chanson incommode D’autres pour qui ce n’est rien qu’une mode D’autres qui en profitent sans l’aimer Moi je l’aime et j’ai parcouru le monde En cherchant ses racines vagabondes Aujourd’hui pour trouver les plus profondes C’est la samba-chanson qu’il faut chanter
On m’a dit qu’elle venait de Bahia Qu’elle doit son rythme et sa poésie à Des siècles de danse et de douleur Mais quels que soient les sentiments qu’elle exprime Elle est blanche de formes et de rimes Blanche de formes et de rimes Elle est nègre, bien nègre, dans son cœur Mais quelque soit le sentiment qu’elle exprime Elle est blanche de formes et de rimes Blanche de formes et de rimes Elle est nègre, bien nègre, dans son cœur
With my cousin, Aidan, in the Grand Place of Brussels
In January, I went with my dear cousins from Minnesota to help them move into their home outside of Brussels, Belgium, where they will be for two years. I am so proud of them for making this move and experiencing a new culture for this time! Belgium is a beautiful place with all kinds sites to explore. There are tons of pictures on my facebook page, if you're curious.
Being there, I kept thinking of the 1960s movie, "If it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium". It was filmed to parody all the American tourists who started to descend on Europe after WWII (which has only grown since) and visit an insane amount of countries in a short amount of time:) One day per country!:) Although, it's dated, it's still pretty funny and things haven't changed too much really. I can't find very good clips on yotuube from the movie, but you can probably still rent it. The opening song sounds very late 60s, although doesn't seem to capture the feel of the movie. Still, I love the melancholy feel to it and it's worth listening to, if you don't know it. Below is the song from the film, sung by a different singer (orginally by Donovan). The first 2 minutes have the vocal part of the song and are the best, although some of the subtitles are incorrect. It should read "Montreux",as in Montreux, Switzerland, and not "Montreal".
I hadn't been back to Europe in 8 years and what struck me so strongly this time was how much English is spoken in comparison to when I was there before. Especially since my cousins are in the Flemish part of the country and people there would rather speak English than French given their long contentious history with French speaking Belgium, we ended up communicating almost as much in English as in French. Even in the French areas, however; many of the workers in the myriad chocolate stores and souvenir shops were from other countries and spoke broken French, and prefered to speak in English. This was such a change from when I was living in France in 2003!
I just found it interesting how globalized English has become in such a short time. Of course, you could speak English when traveling 10 years ago, but this time tourists no longer were asking, "Do you speak English?" before beginning their question. They just started speaking in English straight away and completely assumed that the other party (native Belgians) did indeed speak English. And I suppose they were right in doing so because I never heard anyone say "Sorry, I don't speak English". They almost always could answer the questions with detailed English responses. Impressive.
I guess it's great that English has become such a lingua franca that we can all use it for global communication. On the other hand, though, I find it more than a little sad that we are not forced to use the local languages. Part of the fun in visiting new countries is attempting to communicate in a new language and to experience new things that we cannot find at home. For people of other nationalities, they will always have their language(s) PLUS English. But for Americans, it is extremeley difficult to become bi-lingual when English is all that is needed. Although globalization has its good qualities and certainly has made travel much easier, I just hope that countries will fight to keep their own wonderful uniqueness as much as possible.
Belgium certainly still retains its amazing architecture, beer, chocolate and WAFFLES (yum!!) and fascinating history including Napolean's defeat at Waterloo and the site of the famous poem "Flander's Fields" from WWI. Being a country approximately the size of Maryland and containing 3 distinct regions (Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels) and with 3 official languages (French, Flemish and German) is certainly impressive.
