Carte Postale (Postcard), 1981
Many songs in Francis Cabrel’s portfolio resemble musical sketches of people, places and moments. His palette consists of words, voice and melody that evoke the resonance of abandoned towns, social relationships, seasonal moments, and varied human experiences like love, desperation, and alienation.
The two songs “Carte postale” and “Répondez moi” both appeared on Cabrel’s 1981 album “Carte postale.” They are basically two sides of the same coin, one of them musing on the fate of a small town and the other a lament by a disaffected individual. The melancholy tone of these songs reflects the social and economic consequences of changes that occurred throughout France and elsewhere at the time. French small towns took a major hit with the advent of hypermarkets and transportation arteries that bypassed towns and sucked life out of their centers. The spread of television and other electronic entertainments lowered the boom on social interaction and left many residents with feelings of disconnection.
“Carte postale,” featured here, is a somber, melancholic song about a town in transition or decline, or both (“un hameau perdu sous les étoiles”). Televisions provide the only sign of life and have replaced the communal activities and rituals of yore. This fate befell many small French towns with the advent of TV, national roads, and hypermarkets. The song proceeds with a litany regarding things that have been closed, forgotten, locked, overgrown, torn, or discontinued.
The song has 8 stanzas with 4 lines each. Each line in 6 of the 8 stanzas (1,2,3,5,6,8) begins with the past participle of a verb, which imparts a solemn “done and over” tone to the entire song. As usual, Cabrel's verses are flush with robust rhymes. These stanzas have an AABB rhyme scheme and their identical chord structure repeats Em and Am with C and D.
The refrain (“C’est un hameau perdu…”), by contrast, appears in the identical 4th and 7th stanzas. These are the only stanzas that do not begin with a past participle. They also do not have an AABB rhyme scheme and they are the stanzas where the “carte postale” covered with dust appears in each last line—a silent symbol of departure, loss and the passage of time. The refrain is accompanied by a shift in the chord structure and melody to G, C, B7, Em, C and D.
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Allumés les postes de télévision Verrouillées les portes des conversations Oubliés les dames et les jeux de cartes Endormies les fermes quand les jeunes partent Brisées les lumières des ruelles en fête Refroidi le vin brûlant, les assiettes Emportés les mots des serveuses aimables Disparus les chiens jouant sous les tables Déchirées les nappes des soirées de noce Oubliées les fables du sommeil des gosses Arrêtées les valses des derniers jupons Et les fausses notes des accordéons C'est un hameau perdu sous les étoiles Avec de vieux rideaux pendus à des fenêtres sales Et sur le vieux buffet sous la poussière grise Il reste une carte postale Goudronnées les pierres des chemins tranquilles Relevées les herbes des endroits fragiles Désertées les places des belles foraines Asséchées les traces de l'eau des fontaines Oubliées les phrases sacrées des grands-pères Aux âtres des grandes cheminées de pierre Envolés les rires des nuits de moissons Et allumés les postes de télévision C'est un hameau perdu sous les étoiles Avec de vieux rideaux pendus à des fenêtres sales Et sur le vieux buffet sous la poussière grise Il reste une carte postale Envolées les robes des belles promises Les ailes des grillons, les paniers de cerises Oubliés les rires des nuits de moissons Et allumés les postes de télévision Instrumental outre |
Switched on, the television sets Locked, the paths to conversation Forgotten, the ladies and card games Asleep, the farms when young folk leave Broken, the lights of the street parties Cold, the mulled wine, the dishes Gone, the words of friendly waitresses Disappeared, the dogs playing under tables Shredded, the tablecloths of wedding nights Forgotten, the bedtime stories of kids Stopped, the sway of the last skirts And the false notes of accordions It’s a hamlet lost under the stars With old curtains hanging at dirty windows And on the old buffet under grey dust Just a postcard remains Tarred, the stones of peaceful lanes Overgrown, the grass of fragile places Deserted, the stalls of pretty fairgrounds Dried up, the water jets of fountains Forgotten, the sacred words of grandfathers At the hearths of great stone chimneys Flown away, the laughter of harvest nights And switched on, the television sets It’s a hamlet lost under the stars With old curtains hanging at dirty windows And on the old sideboard under the grey dust Just a postcard remains Flown away, the dresses of the lovely betrothed Crickets’ wings, baskets of cherries Forgotten, the laughter of harvest nights Switched on, the television sets Instrumental outre |
NB:
past participle (“le participe passé”): a verb form used in forming the passive voice. Passivity is the prevailing tone that Cabrel establishes in enumerating the changes that have been visited upon small towns. In this song, the past participles are used as adjectives, so they conform in gender and number with the nouns that they modify. Cabrel magnifies the impact of these words by posting them at the very beginning of each line.
past participle (“le participe passé”): a verb form used in forming the passive voice. Passivity is the prevailing tone that Cabrel establishes in enumerating the changes that have been visited upon small towns. In this song, the past participles are used as adjectives, so they conform in gender and number with the nouns that they modify. Cabrel magnifies the impact of these words by posting them at the very beginning of each line.
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