I now blog over at The Eyre Guide! This blog is an archive of my past posts.


Thursday, March 14, 2013

Books to Music: Romeo et Juliette "Le Poison"

Posted by Charlene // Tags: , ,
Roméo il nous faut jouer à ce jeu
Pour ne pas mourir
Je dois mourir un peu
Ce poison-là nous sauve
Je reviendrai à l'aube

Romeo we must play this game
To not die
I must die a little
This poison saves us
I'll return at dawn.

I love listening to foreign language soundtracks (it's preferable I'm familiar with the story though, so I know what is going on) and European musicals in general seem to emphasize spectacle and the abstract.  I've heard a couple soundtracks based on this musical version of Romeo and Juliet, but I like the French one the best.

Judging from the youtube video (below) this production definitely has an abstract side to it, but I think this song is especially an interesting twist on the scene.  It has this ethereal, eerie and very romantic melody - an interesting counterpoint to the seriousness of the scene.  And Juliet's lyrics are so plaintive and despairing even though the poison is supposed to give her hope.  Although we know how it all ends, so it kinda tips the tragedy of the scene.  It's just a gorgeous, haunting song, that captures Juliet's desperation to be with Romeo.

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2 comments:

  1. This might sound really silly but their is something about French that makes the most simple sentence incredibly dramatic..I think even saying in French that 'I need to go to the grocery store to buy toothpaste, some toilet paper and a new sponge' would sound amazing LOL

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    1. Not silly at all! I love the sound of the French language, and it seems like every French song just sounds absolutely gorgeous! :)

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