Michel Sardou Image via Wikipedia

French singer Michel Sardou was awarded the “freedom of Connemara” at a ceremony at the Irish embassy in Paris recently. The award is to thank him for 30 years free advertising for the region thanks to the huge and enduring hit, “Les lacs du Connemara” (the lakes of Connemara). Anyone who knows contemporary French culture probably knows this rousing, epic ballad from the 1981 album of the same name. It went straight to number one upon its release and has become a classic of chanson française.

According to to a report in the Irish Times, Sardou admitted that he had not visited Ireland when writing it and that he chose the names from a tourist brochure. As such it is another in the long list of tourist songs such as “Oh Danny Boy” and ” Swannee” that were written without any knowledge of the location.

Music by Jacques Revaux, lyrics by Pierre Delanoë?


“I have a very romantic idea of Ireland, he is reported to have said. “It is a land of legend, mysteries; harsh and wonderful at the same time. Everyone had [John Ford's] The Quiet Man in their head. Ireland wasn’t really like that, but that image stayed in France”.

This might be a little oversight on his part, as the writers for “Les lacs du Connemara” are listed as Jacques Revaux and Pierre Delanoë – two of the world’s most successful songwriters. Revaux, for example, wrote the melody for “Comme d’habitude“, later better known as “My Way”. Delanoë’s site even states clearly that the two wrote the song.

Either way, thanks to Sardou and Delanoë’s stirring but maudlin lyrics, generations of French people often make Connemara their first big stop in Ireland. “We see French people driving around playing it in their car,” said a local official. Sardou has since visited Ireland many times, notably for the horses, and has plans to buy a house in Connemara.

Les Lacs du Connemara lyrics

UPDATE: The site of the French authors’ society, Sacem, lists Michel Sardou and Pierre Delanoë as the lyricists of “Les lacs du Connemara“.

I must admit that I didn’t even know the Underground Music Awards had a lyric section, nor did I know hip-hop performer Jesse Abraham. But what the heck: any opportunity to salute a fellow lyricist is a good one!

In the past year and a half Abraham has released two mixtapes (Alphabutter and XS) and two albums (Bars & NoBull and One Day) while continuing to make a name for himself as a live hip-hop performer on the east coast of the US. His music has been featured in XXL Magazine and his videos currently have more than 20,000 total views on YouTube. His award at the Underground Music Awards might give him that extra push.

Lyricist of the year 2011
When asked about the Lyricist of the Year nod, Jesse replied, “lyrics have always been a priority for me, as I consider myself to be a writer before a musician. I’m very grateful for the recognition, as I truly would have been happy to hear that my work was simply on the committee’s radar at all. As an MC, there’s no greater compliment than someone telling me that they respect my writing. That’s my craft.”

Although his latest album, ‘One Day’, did not take home the UMA Album of the Year that it was nominated for, critics throughout the online world are heralding the project. Groverbox.com says, “Jesse Abraham delivers lyrical wizardry on this LP; Jesse really laces each track like he’s auditioning for the entire world,” while 7thBoro.com says, “Luckily, there are still MCs out there that are honest, are not afraid to be themselves and to have fun, yet still spit high-quality lyrics. Jesse Abraham is one of those MCs.”

For more info on Jesse and his music visit http://jesseabraham.com/

It must be said: Germany’s entry, “Satellite” by Lena, was a very so-so song, and it wasn’t exactly an electric vocal performance. Strange that they received so many votes, although this sort of thing is said every year.

But what about the lyrics? A research and semantics laboratory had the fun idea of pasting all the Eurovision song lyrics together and running them through a semantics analyser, Intellexer. These sort of things are usually used to quickly analyse and summarise long texts, for the purpose of creating executive summaries. In the case of the Eurovision, the result is almost a corny version of haiku:

Let the sun shine, glide away my moon
Let the light of my love shine bright
I don’t believe any more your shallow heart.
Feeling the love ’till the day when I die.
For the cruel-cruel time when I’m first time in love

As many lyricists seem to write a compendium of worn-out clichés, it’s not surprising that an executive summary of Eurovision lyrics is itself a compendium of worn-out clichés.

If there are any lyrics that actually touched you, please let us know by dropping a message. Read more about Intellexer.

I’ve seen audiences get riled up about song contests, but rarely seen an orchestra almost run riot. Italy’s San Remo song contest is a prestigious event that celebrates the classic tradition of Italian canzone. What is surprising is that contestants have to face two juries: the orchestra playing behind the singers and the general public. The 2010 edition, which just closed, witnessed some incredible scenes, when the orchestra started throwing music sheets and booing when one of the contestants got through to the final three. TV presenter (and grandson of Italy’s last king) Emanuele Filiberto had given a comparatively poor vocal performance and should have been eliminated. But the popular vote got him through.

At the end of the day, however, the festival’s honour was saved when Valerio Scanu won the 2010 award, singing the ballad “Per tutte le volte che” (for all the times) written by Pierdavide Carone. The best man won this time at least.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t embed the scene of the musicians letting rip. But you can find a report on Euronews.

The Rock’n'Roll Hall of Fame has announced its nominees for 2010. It’s a great list: ABBA, Darlene Love, Donna Summer, Genesis, Jimmy Cliff, KISS, Laura Nyro, LL Cool J, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Chantels, The Hollies, and The Stooges.

The obvious question is: who the Smurf thinks that Abba is Rock’n'Roll, or Donna Summer for that matter? I happen to think Abba are one of the best bands ever, but Rock’n'Roll? Please! From a songwriting perspective, however, I think that there are only two horses in this race: the Red Hot Chili Peppers and… Abba. Songwriting is not the only criterion for the Hall of Fame, needless to say. Yet as much as I respect and enjoy Jimmy Cliff, Kiss and Donna Summer, the Peppers and Abba are the better writers. So as I have already eliminated Abba on the grounds of not being rockers, that leaves the Red Hot Chili Peppers as my favourite. Shame Willy DeVille didn’t make it onto the shortlist. The blurb can be found on Rockhall.com.

So what about you lot? Who are you tipping, and why?

The infobahn is alive with Susan Boyle’s rendition (nice word, eh?) of the Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses”. There is an overwhelming opinion that Boyle has now recorded one of the definitive versions of the song. This, however, is seen as sacrilege by others, who cling to memories of the Stones and Gram Parsons. This sort of fuss is frequent when someone decides to cover a song. Why? What’s the issue?

One of the most enduring myths in pop culture is the myth of the auteur. There is a strange obsession about artists singing their own lyrics. I think it comes from our desire to associate the performer with the song – as if most men could actually love you “all night long” or Marilyn Manson was as dark and twisted as he tries to make out (which I doubt – he’s remarkably well-read and articulate). To burst the bubble, all one has to do is think of some absolute defining moments in pop and ask: who cares who wrote them?

Who cares that Elvis Presley didn’t write “Hound Dog” (Lieber & Stoller)? Who cares that Edith Piaf didn’t write “Je ne regrette rien” (Doumont & Vaucaire)? Who cares if Jimi Hendrix didn’t compose “Hey Joe” (Billy Roberts)? Each made history and moved countless millions of people with their versions. What’s more, how would those songs sound if sung by their respective authors? The answer is easy: disappointing in most cases.

If it’s worth singing, sing it well
So I can’t knock people singing “covers”. It’s a tribute. If a song is worth writing, it is worth singing well. And for me, the better the singer the happier we should be. Yes, even if that singer is Celine Dion, Nana Mouskouri or in this case the winner of a TV show.

Coming back to “Wild Horses”, Boyle has indeed created a superb version. Yes, it’s a bit incongruous Susan Boyle slipping into a song made famous by Mick Jagger. But she breathes new life into the song. When you look at it from a songwriting perspective, “Wild Horses” is basically a magnificent melody and structure with dubious lyrics. I’m not sure how Boyle manages to put such emotion into Jagger’s mild misogyny, but she does. Being a nice guy at heart, I salute verses such as:

I watched you suffer a dull aching pain
Now you decided to show me the same
No sweeping exits or offstage lines
Could make me feel bitter or treat you unkind

Wild horses couldn’t drag me away
Wild, wild horses, couldn’t drag me away

But I’ll pass on the rest. We should be thanking Susan Boyle for her voice and heart. We need more of both in the charts.

Susan Boyle: I Dreamed a Dream

I just finished working on a track for the Belgian singer Dana Winner, who has released a string of albums in the Benelux and South Africa. She is also near the end of a major tour. This morning’s e-mail included news that she has been nominated in two sections of the “Zomerhit” awards for Belgium’s Radio 2, in the Best Song category with “Beter van niet” and the summer hit with “Beter van niet” and “De vlinders achterna”. You can probably tell from the titles that I didn’t work on either of these! If you read Dutch, you’ll find all the info on the Radio 2 website. The finals will be held on August 8 at Westende on the Belgian coast.

Irish songwriter, and founding member of The Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO), Brendan Graham has now officially been included in an exclusive club with the world’s top songwriters. His song “You Raise Me Up”, with music by Secret Garden’s Rolf Lovland, has been awarded “Million-Air’” status by the American Performing Rights Society, BMI. And to you fans of Josh Groban out there, yes, we’re talking about the same song, and no he didn’t write it.

“You Raise Me Up”, first recorded by Secret Garden featuring Brian Kennedy, has become one of the biggest selling songs in the history of popular music, with over three hundred recordings by some of the world’s biggest acts – Josh Groban, Westlife, Il Divo, Paul Potts, Celtic Woman, and has racked up sales of over 80 million copies. It has never been out of the charts somewhere in the world in the past six years. It has also become one of the most successful songs of all time in sheet music sales, being continuously at No. 1 for the past five years in the USA’s Sheet Music Bestseller Charts.

The song was originally written as the instrumental “Silent Story” by Lovland, who approached Irish novelist and songwriter Brendan Graham to write the lyrics. It was then released on the 2002 Secret Garden album “Once in a Red Moon” with vocals by Kennedy. The song was later sung by Daniel O’Donnell and then used as part of the 9/11 commemorations before being covered by Josh Groban.

So how come so many people think that Groban wrote the song himself? One reason must be the lyric sites that list the song under his name, despite the fact he had nothing to do with its composition. As has often been pointed out in this column, it is still amazing that the majority of lyric sites do not list the writer of the actual words.

The Million-Air award from BMI recognises one million airplays on American radio, the equivalent of at least 50,000 broadcast hours, or more than 5.7 years of continuous airplay. The song is published by Peermusic UK.

“You Raise me Up” (Josh Groban) on iTunes US:
and by Westlife on iTunes UK:

Modest Mouse’s single “Dashboard” picked up the award for the College Song of the Year from BMI recently, topping a strong career since 2006′s “We Were Dead before the Ship Even Sank” (although they’ve existed since 1994). I’ve always enjoyed the band for their titles such as “This is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About”. So I had a quick look at “Dashboard”‘s lyrics.

The wry tone of the Washington band is just as strong in the lyrics as in the titles. The giddy optimism in the face of outstanding odds is quite topical.

Well, it would’ve been, could’ve been worse than you would ever know.
Oh, the dashboard melted, but we still have the radio.

Oh, it should’ve been, could’ve been worse than you would ever know.
Well, you told me about nowhere well it sounds like someplace I’d like to go.

Oh, it could’ve been, should’ve been worse than you would ever know.
Well, the windshield was broken but I love the fresh air you know.
(The dashboard melted but we still have the radio)

Modest Mouse recently contributed material to War Child International alongside Jarvis Cocker and Rage Against the Machine. Having said all that, I must admit that their sound does nothing for me, notably the barking vocals. But congratulations nonetheless.

I was on Wikipedia and happened to fall into the Eurodance and Europop pages. Yup, Haddaway, Snap! 2 Unlimited, Capella and all that jazz. It was nice to see that CB Milton’s “It’s a Loving Thing” – a song I co-wrote – was listed as the sixth most “Notable Eurodance Song”. OK, it’s hardly the most scientific listing, but I’ve always liked that song – in particular the slightly ambiguous lyrics in the second verse…

There are so many stories to tell about that period that I wouldn’t know where to start. CB, for example, is about the only singer I’ve ever known who drove a little yellow sports car before he even released his first single. He was doing very well for himself singing in clubs. And what a singer he was! I saw him once throw his microphone away and sing “Redemption Song” at an Amsterdam theatre. Who needs amps with a voice like his?

Anyway, 1994′s “Loving Thing” was one of his biggest hits alongside “Open Your Heart” (which I also co-wrote with Peter Bauwens and Phil Wilde). We were on a roll by the time it was being written, having done a lot of work on 2 Unlimited. But CB was something else. We could combine the hard dance vibe of the day with his stunning soulful voice. It’s a dream gig in a way: a guy that really digs heavy electronic dance but can sing his ass off. So as writers, we could do almost anything.

I’ve often been asked about the second verse, so here it is.

2 girls in a lonely town wonder what’s in store
They had dreams of running around, but one don’t run no more
In other days, with other boys, she’d laugh and walk on by
But whereas once she never loved, she knows that she will try
It’s a loving thing

The whole song is basically about the changes that love can make in life, even if they are slightly bittersweet in this verse (a girl losing her best pal to a bloke). Looking at it now, I wonder why I used the word “whereas”, which is an unusual choice. I think now I’d simply put, “Even though she’d never loved, she knows that she will try…” Ah, retrospect!

I still think it’s a cracking song though and wonder why it hasn’t been covered by one of the younger groups. I think it could really build someone’s career all over again. Who do you think would do “It’s a Loving Thing” justice?

UPDATE: “It’s a Loving Thing” has been remixed by Michael Brun for “New Year’s Dance 2010″ .

There are no lack of song contests out there. But few come with the support of BBC Radio 2. Under the New Talent banner, they are hosting a contest to find new songwriting talent and provide coaching to the writers. So rather than a one-off goody bag, up to 60 songwriters will get a chance to attend a masterclass, with mentors that include Sacha Skarbek (co-writer on James Blunt’s “You’re Beautiful”). Being published, I can’t submit. But I’d say that it’s a very interesting initiative. Check the details on New Talent. Check out the mentor section for some words from Skarbek. and if you do sign up, keep us informed. As of today (Nov 16), there are 17 days left.

Following on our tip of a few weeks, ago, the jazz chanteuse Melanie De Biasio has just picked up an Octave music award in her native Belgium, in the jazz section. De Biasio released “A Stomach is Burning” on the Igloo label earlier in the year and has been picking up rave reviews for its warm, moody tone. At the award ceremony she sang barefoot accompanied by a double bass and Steve Houben on sax. Check her MySpace page for music and dates in Belgium and Holland.