It's pretty fun to go to four countries in a week, but it's got nothing on going home to my little apartment in a city where I never get lost and know all the good restaurants and bus schedules. While buying groceries today, a homeless man in front of me in line asked the cashier if he could just have something to eat, and she gave him a bag of rolls. A man accused me of stealing oranges at the market and I gave him the business. I saw a one-legged pigeon. The beach, the sun, the puddles of urine, it feels so good to be back in Marseille.
Is it a bad idea to tell the internet the name of the street I live on? Maybe it means I'll get some mail!
Anyway, here's a song about the street I live on. The best street in the world, ask anyone.
I love Marseille enough to be interested in French football, enough to recommend fish soup to my friends, and enough to get misty-eyed when I listen to this song. Do I love it enough to make slideshows with wild yellow letters? No, but bless this person who does. (This video has the whole song! Watch it eight times!!!)
lyrics
Aux quatre coins du monde, indiscutablement
On aime sa faconde et ses mille défauts charmants
Elle a la grâce brune des filles du midi
Il n'en existe qu'une, voilà pourquoi chez nous l'on dit :
On connaît dans chaque hémisphère
Notre Cane... Cane... Canebière
Et partout elle est populaire
Notre Cane... Cane... Canebière
Elle part du vieux port et sans effort
Coquin de sort, elle exagère
Elle finit au bout de la terre
Notre Cane... Cane... Canebière
Comment vous la décrire, son charme est sans pareil
Joyeuse elle s'étire comme un lézard au soleil
Internationale pour l'amour, Tron de l'air !
Elle est la capitale des marins de l'univers
five-second translation for my mom if she even reads this anymore:
In all four corners of the earth, without a doubt
Everyone adores her street-smarts and her thousand charming faults
She has the dark grace of a girl in the sun
There's nothing else like her, that's why around here we say
She's known in every hemisphere!
Our Cane... Cane.. Cane... CANEBIÈRE!
And she's popular everywheeeeeere!
Our Cane... Cane.. Cane... CANEBIÈRE!
She leaves the Vieux Port and then, with ease
She's kind of a rascal, she exaggerates and says
that she goes all the way to the end of the earth
Our Cane... Cane.. Cane... CANEBIÈRE!
The fact that the street is a girl makes it so obvious why I love this song. I have a thousand faults. I exaggerate TWO THOUSAND TIMES A DAY. And I love lizards. Oops, I forgot to translate the bit about the lizard, sorry. The point is, Marseille is so much like me I just want to give it a hug but I just showered so I'm going to think about it instead.
What can I say, I love things that are missin' parts.
Here's the difference between our two cities. You have this delightful, happy, love-of-Marseille-infused little number, and I have a song a local wrote called, "Bar-le-Duc City Blues." I almost blogged about it today but was too lazy to translate the lyrics.
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