NOVEMBRE = VIVE LA LIBERTÉ, VIVE LA MUSIQUE
Cette Novembre nous sommes reconnaissants pour la liberté, l’amitié, et la musique … This November we are grateful for freedom, friendship, and music.
LA MARSEILLAISE
Music brings us together, a way we can show our support for our allies … Before the Metropolitan Opera’s Saturday matinee performance of Tosca, Placido Domingo led the orchestra, principal singers, and chorus in a rendition of the French national anthem, La Marseillaise. Inserted into the audience’s programs were the anthem’s lyrics with an explanation that the performance was “a show of our solidarity with the citizens of France.” The audience stood and sang along, at the end shouting, “Vive la France!” …
In a scene at Rick’s Café from the classic film Casablanca, to drown out the Nazis singing their national song the French patriots sing La Marseillaise.
Allons enfants de la patrie,
Le jour de gloire est arrive!
Contre nous de la tyrannie
L’etendard sanglant est levé!
Entendez-vous dans les campagnes,
Mugir ces féroces soldats?
Ils viennent jusque dans nos bras
Égorger nos fils, nos compagnes!
EAGLES OF DEATH METAL
“Love overshadows evil … we are proud to stand together, with our new family, now united by a common goal of love and compassion.”
Despite their band name, Eagles of Death Metal are not a death metal band. Peace and love is their message and their music was an audience favorite in this Paris neighborhood … A California blues rock group, they were playing a sold out concert at the Bataclan concert hall … Drummer Josh Homme describes their sound as a combination of “bluegrass slide guitar mixed with stripper drum beats and Canned Heat vocals.” Lead singer and guitarist Jesse Hughes is known for enthusiastically interacting with their audiences.
IMAGINE
Music fills us with hope and love, nurturing our spirit and soul … A touching tribute to Paris attack victims, pianist Davide Martello continues to play John Lennon’s Imagine on a grand piano outside the Bataclan theatre. He and his piano get there by bicycle. “I wanted to be there to try and comfort, and offer a sign of hope. I can’t bring people back but I can inspire them with music and when people are inspired they can do anything. That’s why I played Imagine.”
DOG NEWS
“His role was to open the way for the rest of us. He uses all his senses to detect if anyone is present and if he can get to them, to go and bite them. If not, he stands and barks to indicate where the person is hiding.”
R.I.P. Diesel … The French police dog that died in the shootout with terrorists suspected of organizing the Paris attacks was due to retire from service in a few months. Diesel, a seven-year-old Malinois (Belgian Shepherd), was shot after being sent in to the apartment in St-Denis where the attacker was holed up … #JeSuisChien.
WE CAN HELP
“We believe ALL our veterans, two-footed and four-footed, should come back to a hero’s welcome, a loving, forever home, and the happy, healthy, and dignified retirement they so deserve after a lifetime of service to their country.”
The American Humane Association is helping retired military working dogs get veterinary care, a benefit currently denied to canines that served in the military but are no longer active … President Obama signed the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, which guarantees a ride home for ALL military working dogs and gives their handlers first rights at adoption.
Soundtrack to this Issue
Arlo Guthrie’s Alice’s Restaurant
Music helps us express our gratitude for our freedom, for our friends, and for music itself … This 18-minute ballad is the unofficial Thanksgiving Day anthem.
C’mon, sing along, you know the words:
You can get anything you want at Alice’s restaurant
You can get anything you want at Alice’s restaurant
Walk right in, it’s around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want at Alice’s restaurant
Who rescued whom?
So grateful for Barkley coming into my life.
Thanks to Westie Rescue of New England.
Buddha, stay. Good dog. z”l
“…live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.”
(Buddha)
Sources:
Eiffel Tower pic: Thierry Orban/Getty Images
Eagles of Death Metal pic: T-Boy Records/Ume
Eagles of Death Metal quote: band statement
Josh Homme quote: Amoeba Music
Pianist pic: Valery Hache/Agence France-Presse
Davide Martello quote: The Guardian
Dog News pic: Marc Tetro
Dog News quote: Diesel’s handler
German Shepard pic: United States Army
We Can Help quote: Dr. Robin Ganzert, President and CEO, the American Humane Association
Alice’s Restaurant lyrics: Arlo Guthrie and Garry Sherman ©Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Yvette Perry's Blog 