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A Thought for Today
It only takes a slight foundation of experience for a great artist to erect an idealized superstructure.
Neither rain, nor sleet, nor black of night . . .
THE ELECTION & A POSTER FOR TODAY
Dear Rod, Thank you so much for printing the lyrics of 'Thank You' on 7th October. I took one look at the first verse and thought 'Of course that's how it goes, how could I have forgotten it for so long?' It was lovely to have the complete poem again after so many years.
I guess you must now be either celebrating or commiserating over the Election. The news this morning said that it was a dead heat with only Florida to be announced and the likelihood of a G W Bush victory, although one sincerely hopes they are wrong. No doubt our evening news will have the final result. As an Americaphile, I do take an interest in what is happening in your country, as whatever trends there are in the USA, they
will eventually happen here!!!.
Why is there not a poster of you as you are today? So much more attractive now than when younger (as is Sean Connery). Are you going to provide one for your slightly more mature fans? Love, peace & good health, LYNDA MORRISON, England.
Dear Lynda, The election certainly does weigh on my mind. My thoughts: Every vote that was cast in Florida should be counted, no matter how long it takes or who ends up the winner as a result of the count. No one who voted should be disenfranchised. I hope the courts will see to that and that the public will continue to remain patient while the legal process takes its course. I've yet to hear the overweight lady trill her Aria.
As to a poster of how I look now, instead of those antiques? I'm sure it will happen once I hit the concert trail again. Thanks and cheers, Rod
JACQUES BREL
Hello Rod, My name is Kerem and I'm the son-in-law of Susan Smith... I don't know if you remember her, but her daughter's (my wife :o) ) middle name is McKuen. I suppose you guys know each other from long time a go.
Susan was in town last week, and I was listening to "Ne Me Quittes Pas" sung by Sting. She said, "Sting is singing a McKuen song?" and I told her that the song and the lyrics were written originally by Jacques Brel. We did not know who had the correct information.
I should tell that I grew up in Istanbul, Turkey and the first version of the song I've ever listened was the one with your beautiful lyrics, "If You Go Away". When I was studying in France, I fell in love with Jacques Brel's music and lyrics. There I "learned" that the original song was by Brel.
Now two questions if you wouldn't mind:
- the obvious one is who wrote the song originally?
- how well did you know Jacques Brel?
I'm getting acquainted with your work recently, and I realize yet one more time how many great things there are to know in
life ... Thank you for your time and kind reply. My Best Wishes
Kerem Hanci
Dear Karem, If Sting was singing "Ne Me Quittes Pas" without intoning
"If You Go Away", he was indeed singing a Jacques Brel Song. I wrote the English lyrics shortly after doing the same for
"Le Moribond" which I retitled "Seasons in the Sun".
I knew Jacques very well and worked with him over a twenty year period. Sometimes I translated or adapted his songs and he mine such as
"The Lovers" which he rewrote as "Les Amant de Cour". At other times we started from scratch and wrote songs together as in "To You," - for which no French lyric exists. Lots of the songs we wrote and adapted together remain unrecorded and some are still incomplete. Something I hope to rectify soon.
Your best jumping off place to discover our work together might be the CD "McKuen sings the Brel/McKuen
Songbook". You can find further discussion of Jacques and information on him on this site
by going to the search engine and typing in his name.
Eric's Website "Listening to the Warm" also has info on Brel and the complete notes from the above album. Check out our links page. I don't know if you're aware of it or not but France named
"Ne Me Quittes Pas / If You Go Away" (making no distinction between the French & English lyrics) as "The Song of the Century."
Anyway, both you and my old friend Susan were right. Affectionately, Rod
AUTUMN IN NEW YORK
Good Evening Rod; Two things: there is a tribute to Charles Schultz Dec.8th, (my birthday), at the Westbury Music Fair
(where I first met you), David Benoit: Here's To You Charlie Brown, 50 Years! Just thought you might like to know. Also, an unreleased concert taping of you at the Ryman! That I would love to hear! Cheers! John Olsen (Autumn In New York).
Dear John, Great seeing you on my recent trip to New York, despite the fact that it was for such a very short time.
There will always be tributes to the Great Sparky. He and his gifts are as much a part of our pop culture as anything that has transpired in the
20th Century. Thanks for letting me know of another celebration so that I can pass the news along.
I'm sure something (if not the whole concert) from my trip to The Grand Ol' Opry will find its way onto disc one of these days.
Yep, a week of autumn in New York was indeed special to me. As ever, Rod
BON SOIR MADEMOISELLE
On your album, "Rod", the last track is entitled, "Bon Soir,
Mademoiselle." The page notes indicate that you recorded this song first in 1970. Yet, I swear that I listened to this song in a small bar in Montmarte late in 1965 and early 1966 while I was in Paris, serving in the US Air Force. It epitomized the day I left Paris when my tour was over.
Was "Bon Soir, Mademoiselle" recorded earlier by another artist? And did you write this song or was it written by someone else? Thank you for your time, Lou Freeman
Dear Lou, The first commercial recording I made of "Bon Soir Mademoiselle" was in 1971 but I wrote it six or seven years earlier. As was the custom for songwriters at the time I did make a demo recording of it just after it was written. A demo that was sent to all of our foreign publishing affiliates. There is a French lyric to it and it was recorded by several European artists including Les
Compagnons de la Chanson. So you very well may have heard it in France.
I wrote both words and music and am delighted it sounded generic enough that the French would adapt it as their own. I've always been very influenced by the classic French Chanson and a number of my original works such as
Champs-Elysees have become standards in that country. All the best, Rod
HY FUJITA
Dear Rod, Have been corresponding with John Olsen lately (thanks to his message on ASPTL) - we're trying to round up more of the Grand Tour '73 gang. He would like to contact Hy. I do have an address and phone number in Hemet, CA which were current last Christmas, but have not passed them on to anyone because Hy doesn't seem to be listed in your White Pages and may either have moved or
want privacy. Do you know?
Hope all is well with you. A lot of people are looking forward to seeing you again in November. Guess I've got longer to wait, but am hopeful since your reply to the person from Adelaide
recently. Much Love, from Jill, Syd, and Oz.
Dear Jill, I've tried everything to come up with an address on Hy, including an attempt at contact one of his sons who works at Disney. I've had no luck at all and haven't seen or talked with Hy since Helen's funeral.
You might drop him a note at his old address and mention that John is trying to contact Grand Tour participants. Give him John's address & let him make the decision whether or not to make contact. Let's hope if he's not at the old address your letter will be forwarded.
I do know this much, Hy's not into computers at all.
Hy was always good at keeping in touch so my bet is that with the holidays coming we'll be hearing from him soon. Lets hope so. And lets hope 2001 brings some news on when I'll get back to Oz. As ever, Rod
PAM & CHARLES PLYMEL
Dear Rod, This evening I had the pleasure of receiving an e-mail from an old
acquaintance of yours, Charles Plymell. While searching internet for "Rod stuff" last night I came across his
book, "In Memory Of My Father" in which there is a recording by you, reciting his poem by the same name. I wrote to the publishing company, and received a personal reply from Mr. Plymell himself, telling me of a couple web sites where I might find his book.
What a surprise! I was wondering if you have kept in touch with Charles over the years, and what it was like visiting the grave of Edgar Allan Poe. I am forwarding to you the picture of yourself and Charles. I bet it will bring back some memories!
Much love, Sandy
Dear Sandy, Over the years I've been in and out of touch with Charles and Pam and deeply
regret not taking him up on an invitation to join him on one more railroad trip a few years back with William Burroughs shortly before his death.
Charles remains one of the great under appreciated American poets. His work is as good if not better than many of the more
recognized poets who had their first taste of success during the so called Beat Generation.
Visiting Poe's grave with Charles was certainly one of the highlights of my life. You can read more about Charles by typing his name into the search engine on the archive page of this site.
Affectionately, Rod.
OF JEALOUSY & TRILOGY
Hello,
I have been hunting for some of your music. I went with a fellow in 1970 who had introduced me to The Earth, The Sea, and The Sky. We broke up and I ended up in Germany for a few years.
Back in the states, I mentioned to my husband how much I truly enjoyed the lyrics of your poetry and songs. Your voice as unique, very individualized, and yet soothing to my soul. He bought Pastorale for me.......then found out that your music was shared with another in my life.......I came home and found the entire collection scratched never to be heard again. I was
distraught at his inability to realize it was your talent that I was
craving not my old flame.
I got in touch with my ex to see if he still had the trio. He did not. I am grateful for the introduction to your music and lyrics. It is rare that music appeals to me in the way yours did. In the meantime, I go to thrift stores and libraries in hope to get a
chance at hearing you one more time. If there is a time that the trilogy would be re-released in the future I would be interested.
Thank you for sharing yourself to those of us, who appreciate a different type of artist.
X
Dear X, as far as reissues go, I get more requests regarding The Sea/Earth/Sky Trilogy than just about any albums I've been involved with in the past. I'm sure the same is true as far as Anita Kerr's mail goes. Let's hope 2001 is the year it happens.
Sorry about what happened with Pastorale, if I thought you could sneak it in the house without any further confrontation I'd send you a brand new copy (since the LP is still in stock) but I've decided that in the interest of home and hearth to err on the side of caution. Note: I even refer to you as Madame X in this letter. Can't be too careful when a jealous husband is involved. Still I added your address to my mailing list so that when The Trilogy finally makes it to CD you'll be
among the first to know.
Thanks for the nice words. There are quite a few of my CD's currently available with many more due out in the coming year.
Warmly, Rod
THE FINAL WORD
The movie
"101 Dalmatians" was released over the weekend. However, in Florida it's called "97 Dalmatians" because Palm Beach County threw out 5 of the the dots claiming they were in the wrong place. (submitted by Ellen)
Sleep warm and don't forget to join Ken tomorrow for his weekly column
"This One Does It For Me".
RM 11/27/2000 Previously unpublished
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