Nous sommes tous enfants - version 1

Tiens mes mains, ouvre la voie
Parce que toi et moi, nous devons marcher ensemble

Lève le cœur, ouvre les yeux
Ce monde ne serait rien sans toi et toi, sans moi

REFRAIN:
Nous sommes tous enfants
Habitants de ce monde entier
Êtres purs de lumière
Nous sommes solidaires
Nous voyons pas l’échiquier
Où on est débout
Car nous sommes tous enfants
Habitants de ce monde entier
Donne-nous de l’espoir
La paix pour la race humaine
Liberté pour nous, les enfants
Parce qu’on l’est tous

Entends mes cris, je n’suis pas aimé
Dois-je t’émouvoir ainsi avec mes pleurs ?
(au refrain)

TRANSLATION :

Hold my hands, open the way # Because you and me, we have to walk together ##

Raise your heart, open your eyes # This world would be nothing without you, and you without me ##

CHORUS : We are all children # Citizens of this whole world # Pure beings of light # We are together # We don't see the chessboard (I'll explain this later) # On which we stand # We are all children # Citizens of this whole world # Give us hope # Peace for the human race # Freedom for us children # Because we all are

Hear my cries, I am not loved # Do I have to move you like this with my tears/cries ? ## (repeat chorus)

Now, this is the prototype of a text I was thinking of submitting for the Chansons sans Frontières (Songs Without Borders) songwriting competition. The theme for this comp is "A world of children" - text has to have three "couplets", as they put it - that's why my verses have two lines - and a refrain. The entire text has to be in French.

See, one of Fabienne Ricordel’s subordinates (I’d say) sent me the rules and regulations – I was in her mailing list. And immediately when I saw them, I got intrigued. I got intrigued to the point that immediately after reading that rules sheet, I came up with a tune in my mind. You’ll hear it maybe… some twenty posts after this, perhaps ?

I came up with the AMR draft some few days ago. Will be showing it to DK on Thursday. Had a long chat with him on Yahoo ! Messenger yesterday and he dolefully told me he wasn’t good as a lyricist – but he could offer some pointers. See, the rules specifically mentioned a proper mélange of “children’s rights” – which I haven’t explained sufficiently. I’m keeping the chorus. That’s already good, I see. But I’ll have to change the couplets.

Now, on to the chorus – here are a few reasons why some parts of the text should be like they already are :

1. « Nous voyons pas l’échiquier où on est débout »

I wanted to shed some light on the fact that children are colour-blind – figuratively, of course. They don’t care about one’s skin colour – all that matters is that they’re together, playing with each other. They don’t cast dispersions on anyone. For them, black or white, they are precious in each other’s sight.

Now, we take the allusion of a chessboard. It’s black, it’s white, and it’s got black and white pieces fighting against each other to see who will win. And that is the situation today. There’s a struggle between ethnicity, no matter how subtle it is. We fail to take the example of the children we once were – physically, of course.

2. « Nous sommes tous enfants, habitants de ce monde entier, êtres purs de lumière… Parce qu’on l’est tous »

These lines say it all – we are all children ! And we are all denizens of this world.

I got the inspiration for these lines from Wordsworth’s “Ode : Intimations of Immortality” which I did for my AS Literature. The lines I have written echo Wordsworth’s lines :

“The Child is father of the Man,
And I could wish my days to be,
Bound each to each by natural piety.”

Wordsworth and Coleridge both support the Platonic theory that children, when they are physically developing, they are spiritually well-rounded and they have that celestial light within them (thus the line “pure beings of light” in the song) – they can see things which we “adults”, in our vain reasoning, cannot see. When we grow up, and learn to cherish the customs of our ancestors/elders, we mature physically and mentally, but not spiritually – our faith is not childlike, but rather underdeveloped as it were – see, all that happens in this world would not have happened if we weren’t just “children” in our faith.

So, the conclusion : we are all children, no matter what our age.

After I change the three couplets, I will put the updated text up. But I’m thinking of keeping the original text : no matter what happens, whether I win or lose, whether I get the Prix Axians or not, I’m thinking of putting this song into one of my future albums. I hope to do so. This is one set of lyrics I truly cherish.

Pas de recette

For some reason or other, I seem to be musically active today !
So here's another set of lyrics, perhaps a French spinoff from my previous interpretation of Pasquale's short animated sequence "No Recipe" :

On commencerait
À nous satisfaire
Pas de recette
Un repas
Pour l’unité
On rajoute le monde
Et toutes ses couleurs
Pas de recette
Et pas d’assiette
Éternité

On continuerait
À nous satisfaire
On va le servir
Parvenir
À tout remplir
On rajoute l’amour
Et toutes ses douleurs
Pas de recette
Et pas d’assiette
Infinité

C’est une sûreté
De tout satisfaire
Pas de recette
Un repas
Pour l’unité
On rajoute la paix
Encore sa chaleur !
Pas de recette
Et pas d’assiette
C’est une sûreté

Et pour finir
On rajouterait
Un peu de tout
Un peu de toi
Un peu de moi

Translation (a break between the first line and the next is indicated by #) :

We'd start # To satisfy us (all) # No recipe # A meal # For unity # We add in the world # And all its colours # No recipe # No plate # Eternity

We'd continue # To satisfy us (all) # We will serve it # Manage # To fill all # We add in love # And all its pain # No recipe # No plate # Infinity

It's a surety # (That we'll) satisfy all # No recipe # A meal # For unity # We add in peace # And again, its warmth # No recipe # No plate # It's a surety

And to end # We'd add in # A little bit of all # A little bit of you # A little bit of me

I put in the original English text here (click to view) but I realised that for the music I had in mind for my interpretation of No Recipe, the syllables needed to be stressed at the end and not at the beginning. This is highly impossible for English. So I had to rewrite the song in French. Imagine : Instead of a line which goes like "No RE-ci-pe" there's a line which goes "Pas de re-CE-tte". I don't know, I somehow had that weird feeling that the English version of these lyrics may not be used - and I guess I won't be using it. I'm still gonna keep it on troisnyx* officiel, though - in case some of you have already taken a look at it and don't wanna let it go.

Well, for those of you who have been faithfully listening to my AMR files, I'll try release a demo version of this one soon.

I came up with the last four lines first, then I slowly came up with the rest.

Penser à ne pas grandir

Voir les étoiles et les nues dans le ciel (Penser à ne pas grandir…)
Voir l’arc en ciel après la pluie (Penser à ne pas grandir…)
Tout ça met un sourire sur nos visages
Tout ça nous fait penser à n’pas grandir

Sentir l’air frais en dehors (Penser à ne pas grandir…)
Sentir, s’éclater, se réjouir (Penser à ne pas grandir…)
Moi j’me sens mieux comme on me redonne une vie
Tout ça me fait penser à n’pas grandir… !

REFRAIN :
Penser à ne pas grandir
Raconter le conte de fée
Penser à ne pas grandir
J’ai pas besoin de leur dire si j’veux m’éclater
Qu’on m’dit que j’vis pas réellement
Qu’on m’dit que je suis trop excitée !
Ma vie est éclaircie
Mais je vis au ralenti
(Penser à ne pas grandir…)
(Penser à ne pas grandir…)

Voir les couleurs autour de moi (Penser à ne pas grandir…)
Voir mes reflets sur l’eau toute seule (Penser à ne pas grandir…)
Tout ça met un sourire sur mon visage
Tout ça me fait penser à n’pas grandir… !
(au refrain)


As always, I’m providing a translation :

Seeing the stars and the clouds in the sky (Thinking of not growing up) # Seeing the rainbow after the rain (Thinking of not growing up # All that puts a smile on our faces # All that makes us think of not growing up

Feeling the fresh air outdoors (Thinking of not growing up) # Feeling, having fun, rejoicing (Thinking of not growing up) # I feel better, as though I've been given a new life # All that makes me think of not growing up

CHORUS : Thinking of not growing up # Telling fairytales # Thinking of not growing up # I've no need to tell them if I wanna have fun # Let them say I'm not living realistically # Let them say I'm too excited ! # My life is cloudy # But I'm living at a slow pace (Thinking of not growing up - twice)

Seeing the colours around me (Thinking of not growing up) # Seeing my reflections on the water all alone (Thinking of not growing up) All that puts a smile on my face # All that makes me think of not growing up [repeat chorus]


This is meant to be a really upbeat theme. And when I say upbeat I don't mean 120 BPM. I mean faster - at least 140 BPM. And because the title literally translates to "Thinking of not growing up", it's gonna have synth effects and kids screaming "Haik !" periodically. Oh yes, and rainbows and stars and everything childlike too. Ohhhhhh, this is my most favourite set of lyrics yet ! In a way, I'm hitting out at all those who think my being eccentric is futile. And I'm not afraid to say it.

Truth be told, I was thinking of working on this song somewhere in March - I already had the idea for the song as well as the key, the look and feel, the chords and the first three lines of the chorus. It's only now that I finally manage to put it in words.

For the look and feel :
Search for this .mp3 file online - Rikku's Theme, by Noriko Matsueda and Takahito Eguchi, from Final Fantasy X-2. You'll get what kind of speed I'm putting it at, and you'll also understand what kind of synth I'll be using.

Envie d'y croire

Si un jour je deviens puissante
J’utiliserai mon pouvoir
Pour mettre fin à tout c’qui est blessant
J’ai envie d’y croire

Si un jour l’air devient propre
Je pourrais tout voir
Respirer des envies rougeâtres
J’ai envie d’y croire

REFRAIN :
Je suis gamine de la rue
Et j’ai envie de croire
Que tout ce que je dois savoir
Ne me dirige pas à un paradis perdu
Pourtant même si le ciel est bleu
La « sagesse » est la stupidité
Et ce monde n’a pas d’immunité
Laisse-moi fermer les yeux

Si un jour je suis insupportable
Je verrai autour de moi
Le monde et sa condition minable
J’ai envie d’y croire

Si un jour la force devient la faiblesse
Je mettrai tout en film noir
La souffrance au nom de « politesse »
J’ai envie d’y croire
(au refrain)

Translation:

If someday I could be strong # I would use my power # To put an end to everything that hurts # I feel like believing it ## If someday the air becomes clean # I can see everything # Breathe in reddish cravings # I feel like believing it ##

CHORUS: I am a street kid # And I feel like believing # That everything I have to know # Isn’t going to lead me to a lost paradise # Then again even if the sky is blue # “Wisdom” is stupidity # And this world hasn’t any immunity # Let me close my eyes

If someday I get insupportable # I would look around me # The world and its dismal condition # I feel like believing it ## If someday strength becomes weakness # I’ll put everything in a film noir # Suffering in the name of politeness # I feel like believing it (repeat chorus)

Whimsical as I tried to be, this turned out to be a lamentation about this world’s unreality. Yeah, I know, this song isn’t whimsical anymore. It’s pathetic. It’s idealistic. That’s how humans are. We make ideals, and because we have our own limitations, all the ideals of this world’s systems – all of them – are not reached. Let’s not go too far: let’s come back to Malaysia. We have the draconian you-know-what. A real pain in the @$$. One moment, you resolve to gather a collective voice of 27 million people or perhaps slightly less, to sign a petition to demand its removal, the next moment, you realise that it’s ultimately in the hands of two people sitting in Cabinet seats. And yes, I went through this situation before. Don’t get me wrong here; I’m speaking as a minor. Yes, I had that ideal.

Heck, even some turn out not to believe in God because they can’t even live their own ideals – they are just confined by their own limitations that they think God has limitations too, and while imagining that God is the perfect person, they put their own limitations on Him, and blame Him for all the chaos in this world – when ultimately, it boils down to our human limitations.

Notice how many systems - or rather, every system in the world has limitations ? The United Nations are there for a noble cause, but then again, a mega-civilisation run by humans has its own limitations. Group 8 has among the greatest limitations anyone can see. No system is perfect, and we can only work towards perfection, that's all.That’s the dismal state of this world. Every verse ends with “J’ai envie d’y croire” – “I feel like believing it” – we feel like believing that ideals can be realised, but as long as human limitation and negative nature impose burdens on us lay people, we can't do much. Pray, perhaps.

Anyways, about the song… I haven’t come up with a tune for it.

Le Paradoxe

On voit le désespoir quand la vie commence
La vie est jetée avec toute aisance
Seigneur, sauve-nous de la peine d'aujourd'hui
On connaît l'espace, mais pas notre cœur
On voit des gens avec leur froideur
Seigneur, sauve-nous de la peine d'aujourd'hui

REFRAIN :
Seigneur, sauve-nous de la peine d'aujourd'hui, je prie
Seigneur, sauve-nous avant que ce monde est anéanti...

On voit le désespoir dans l'adolescent
Des nanas qui flirtent, des mecs violents
Seigneur, sauve-nous de la peine d'aujourd'hui
On prie pour la justesse, mais il n'y en a pas
On veut la ressentir au moins une fois
Seigneur, sauve-nous de la peine d'aujourd'hui
(au refrain)

On voit le désespoir quand la vie recommence
L'adulte est moins que rien maintenant
Seigneur, sauve-nous de la peine d'aujourd'hui
Les chaises de pouvoir, elles sont occupées
L'on fait rien pour nous aider
Seigneur, sauve-nous de la peine d'aujourd'hui
(au refrain)

Seigneur, sauve-nous de la peine d'aujourd'hui, je prie...

As I always would, here I am now, providing the translation :

1. We see despair when life starts # Life is thrown with such ease # Lord save us from today's pain # We know outer space, but not inner space (i.e. the heart) # We see cold-natured people # Lord save us from today's pain ##

REFRAIN : Lord save us from today's pain, I pray # Lord save us before this world is no more... ##

2. We see despair in the teenager # Flirting girls and violent guys # Lord save us from today's pain # We pray for justice, but there isn't any # We want to feel it at least once # Lord save us from today's pain (repeat refrain) ##

3. We see despair when life restarts # The adult is next to nothing now # Lord save us from today's pain # The chairs of power, they are full # And they're doing nothing to help us # Lord save us from today's pain (repeat refrain) ## Lord save us from today's pain, I pray...

I wrote this after reading an article called "Save Us From Ourselves : The Paradox of Our Age" - and it had the exact same ideas as this song. Heck, I took it from there ! I wanted to address the unrealities of today's world, the ruling systems, what man has made of man... Speaking of what man has made of man--- Even Wordsworth supports this theory. Four of his poems actually say something which I later mentioned in this song :

- Lines Written in Early Spring
"Have I not reason to lament # What man has made of man ?"

- Ode (Intimations of Immortality), The Rainbow (My Heart Leaps Up) - both of them contain the same lines :
"The Child is father of the Man, And I could wish my days to be Bound each to each by natural piety."

- London 1802 (To Milton)
"Milton ! thou should'st be living at this hour, # England hath need of thee, she is a fen # Of stagnant waters, altar, sword and pen..."

So, I figured, why not write ? After all, I would not want these thoughts to be unheard. And then again, I am writing to the whole world in general.

(the following grey text is an additional note posted on 2008.12.17)

Want to hear the AMR file ?

To be honest, I've no idea how to put it up online, and then again, I'm only gonna pass it to a limited number of people (say, ten ?). The file in my hard disk has blunders at the chorus (I didn't get the lyrics right and my tongue got all twisted). Anyway, if you're eager to listen to it, drop your comments here. Or, you can drop them here.

(the following blue text is an additional note posted on 2009.01.29)

I finally learned how to convert AMR to MP3. I used WavePad. Jolynn was the one who taught me. Anyway. It still has its watery, blur AMR quality, even after all the noise-reducing effects I threw in, so let's just say that it was intentional, ya ? Now that it's in MP3, I can allow you all to listen to my draft. So, yes, please listen - and give me your comments - they'd be very much appreciated. =)

Images

Un souffle de couleur, un esprit de douceur
Un coup d’immunité, une chance pour se prouver
Un souffle de puissance, un moment pris par chance
Tout est dessiné, eh…

Un cœur qui bat très fort, un jour près de la mort
Une passion si immense, un temps pour que je pense
Une lettre que j’écris, un avion atterri
Tout est dessiné, eh…

REFRAIN :
Maintenant je dessinerai des nouvelles ailes pour me libérer
Ressentir les coups du vent pour bien voler
Ce qui est fait sur les feuilles semble si réel
J’serais en haut comme un oiseau au ciel
C’est éternel
(Un souffle de couleur, un esprit de douceur
Un coup d’immunité, une chance pour se prouver)

Je vois, autour de moi, le monde, perdu la foi
Le monde est enchaîné, toutefois c’est le péché
Faut un seul coup d’état pour enlever les draps
Tout est dessiné, eh…

Un désillusionnement, un « pour ces gens seulement »
Un esprit qui décolle, libéré de toutes les folles---
Une croyance inchangeable, un moment formidable
Tout est dessiné, eh...
(au refrain)

As always, since I know there ain’t many French-speakers out there, I’d provide a translation :

One wave of colour, one spirit of grace # One blow of immunity, one chance to prove oneself # One wave of power, one moment taken by chance # All is drawn, eh ## One hard-thumping heart, one day near death # One very immense passion, one period for me to think # One letter that I write, one airplane landed # All is drawn, eh ##

CHORUS : Now I will draw new wings to free me # Feel the strain of the wind once again to fly well # What is drawn on the sheets (of paper) seem real # I’ll be high up like a bird in the sky # It’s eternal # (And then you have the first two lines of the first verse repeating in delayed mode)

I see around me, the world has lost faith # The world is enchained, all the time by sin # It only takes one coup d’état to change the drapes (i.e. political colours) # All is drawn, eh ## One disillusionment, one “for these guys only” # One spirit taking off, free from these crazy people # One unchangeable belief, one formidable moment # All is drawn, eh ##

I had the tune for this song last year itself. I only came up with the lyrics somewhere in April. It was after seeing a fan-drawn picture of Naminé (voiced by Brittany Snow, Kingdom Hearts II) sketching stuff on a notebook that I came up with the idea for this song. For non-gamers and those who don’t know Kingdom Hearts that well, Naminé is that girl who manipulates memories through her sketches.

There are so many things these days that can be put on canvas, or turned into art – political turmoil, economic scandals, familial breakdown, success stories, boredom – as Shakespeare puts it, “All the world’s a stage, our life is a play and we are the actors.” Thus being the case, I put every single scenario I could think of into “Images,” and well, yeah.

As for how this would sound like ? Imagine…… a trance song (Ayumi Hamasaki – Above and Beyond) with a musical motif from Akon ft. Eminem’s “Smack That.” (Okay, I know I just made some of you blur. You’ll probably understand once I put it in audio. In the meantime, just go and listen to those two songs and see whether you get what I mean.)