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/

Image via Wikipedia

I couldn’t help being struck by the article in Star Tribune about Stevie Nicks, former star of Fleetwood Mac. She has a new solo album out, “In Your Dreams”, and in a discussion about the tracks revealed that she had worked with Prince and nearly wrote the lyrics for what became Purple Rain.

Who would turn down a co-write with Prince?
In the interview, she recalls driving down Sunset Boulevard and humming along to “Little Red Corvette” by Prince. A thought came to her and she started writing her own lyrics using it as a starting point. When she went to record her track, she rang Prince, offered him half the song and wondered if he’d like to appear on it (he did). But rewind here: how much of what we hear is openly pimped from existing songs? Nicks actually spontaneously offered Prince a large slice of the credits. These are the sort of songwriting partners you want, folks!

But it gets even better. Nicks then suggested that they write something together. So Prince later sent her a 10-minute instrumental, the foundation of “Purple Rain”. “It was so overwhelming, that 10-minute track, that I listened to it and I just got scared,” Nicks told the Star Tribune. “I called him back and said, ‘I can’t do it. I wish I could. It’s too much for me.’ I’m so glad that I didn’t, because he wrote it, and it became ‘Purple Rain.’”

A different lyrical colour for Purple Rain?
It really is intriguing to think how “Purple Rain” could have been different. This was, after all, Prince’s iconic track. Although Nicks is between terribly modest, it is not inconceivable that the track could have been even better – who knows? I’m currently working on an album that is being translated into two other languages, and it’s fascinating to see how the same material can be approached.

What other improbably pairings have shaped music history? Tom Jones singing Prince was a good one. Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse also spring to mind. Any others?

Full article on Star Tribune.

The death of Jerry Ragovoy seems to have gone unnoticed by the media. This is surprising, given the incredible catalogue of hits he wrote or worked on. “Time is on My Side” was an iconic hit for the Rolling Stones. Janis Joplin made a classic out of “Piece of my Heart”.

Ragovoy was in the music business from the age of 23, writing and producing for The Castelles and The Majors. He co-wrote “Time is on My Side” (as Norman Meade) for the queen of New Orleans soul, Irma Thomas in 1963. It was slowed and became a huge hit for the Rolling Stones one year later and again in 1982. Ragovoy also produced recorded work by Bonnie Raitt and Milkwood.

Ragovoy died of a heart attack at the age of 80 on July 13, 2011.

I’ve often deplored the death of the protest song. So it was stunning to see how big a role music and chanting is playing in the Arab Spring. Shots of men chanting and punching the air in Arabic all sounded alike to me. The horrific murder of Ibrahim Qashoush, however, puts a face and a voice on the aspirations of millions of people.

Qashoush was a Syrian whose incredible powerful chanting galvanised crowds of up to 200,000 with his performances. The chants are simple rhythmic couplets known as dabke, to which the audience replies with gusto. In the hands of the right singer, it’s simple and hugely effective. Qashoush played with the genre by adding couplets where least expected and then breaking into known songs. The words are blunt and, given the level of oppression in Syria, courageous to say the least. The chant that has gained the most popularity is “Yalla Irhal Ya Bashar (Depart Bashar)”.

You lost all your legitimacy

Depart depart, Bashar

Bashar, you are not one of us

Take Mahir [Basher’s brother] and depart from here

Depart depart, Bashar

Bashar, you are lying

You had bad speech

Freedom is very near

Depart? depart, Bashar

Ibrahim Qashoush was found dead in the river near his home town of Hama on July 4. He had been tortured by the authorities and his throat cut, perhaps symbolically. Hama has been the location of previous atrocities by the Syrian regime, but is refusing to bow to the current attacks.

The American ambassador Robert Ford and French Ambassador Eric Chevallier traveled to Hama recently to show solidarity with its residents. The visits have been interpreted as a strong diplomatic warning against escalating violence in the central city, which has been surrounded by tanks for a week.

It would be nice to think that Qashoush’s death caused outrage. But the sheer number of people dying in Syria at the moment makes grief for individual cases almost impossible.

However, as a lyricist I can only salute an electrifying performer who paid for his singing and commitment with his life. His chants will clearly outlive him.

Additional reading on the Index of Censorship

The recent broadcast of the BBC’s “Secrets of the Pop Song” featuring Guy Chambers has brought attention back to Ray Heffernan. At the time, he was a very young musician that met Robbie Williams in Dublin and went on to work on the song that became “Angels”. He eventually sold his share of the song for €7,500, with Williams’ team arguing that the song had changed totally between the original composition and the final version. The song went on to generate some €7 million. Although these cases are rare (and it could be argued he was lucky enough to get upfront cash rather than being ripped off), it only serves as a reminder that you have to learn the basics of songwriting as a business if you hope to receive any reward for your work. I don’t say that to freak people out or make you paranoid, but a little music business knowledge goes a long, long way.

As a second thought, I’d add that your songs can always be improved. It would be better to be in Chambers’ position than Heffernan’s. Being able to recognise the good elements of a song and re-work them to perfection is a skill to aim for.

Check the interview and then drop over to Ray Heffernan’s YouTube channel.

Image via Wikipedia

Unfortunately, I only came across this programme after the first 15 minutes. But it must be said: “Secrets of the Pop Song” is an absolutely amazing songwriting series on the BBC. As the title implies, the idea is to get behind the process of writing pop songs, ie songs that have huge appeal.

The first one (Saturday July 2) was devoted to the Power Ballad with fantastic interviews from producers, lyricist and composers, each throwing in their own two cents. Lyricist Don Black focused on accessibility, Diane Warren underlined the need to say something universal in a new way. Her example was the title “Unbreak my Heart”. Boy George told he tried to block the release of “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me”, as he felt it was “too personal”. It’s interesting to note the importance given to the lyrics overall.A very significant part of the show was also given over to Guy Chambers and Rufus Wainwright’s attempts to write their own power balled. Chambers is the man behind Robbie Williams solo hits (“Angel” is discussed) and worked with Diana Ross, Sir Tom Jones and others. From the early fumblings (Wainwright had an idea to combine a folk song with rap), the song slowly came together melodically and lyrically. It was also nice to see how it changed harmonically and picked up more depth when instruments and backing vocals were added.If you are coming to this article later, the title is “World War Three” – and sounds like a fantastic song at this earlyish stage.

For those that saw it, what did you think of the use of “Don’t bore us, get to the chorus…” as the actual chorus? I thought it was a classic case of a filler line being left in when it needed more work. Ugh.

The Secrets of the Pop Song, BBC Two, Saturday July 2, 9:45pm – The Ballad
Sat 9th July 9.45pm – Episode 2 - Breakthrough Single
Sat 16th July 9.45pm (tbc) – Episode 3 – Anthem

Find out more about the programme on the BBC Two website. You might be able to watch the series online using the BBC iPlayer.

Carosel - I'm Sorry (Official Video) from carosel on Vimeo.

A friend tipped me off about this band, actually from my neck of the woods in Dublin. I haven’t seen them live nor know their work. All I can say is that there are times when you stand back and let the songwriting do the work. “I’m Sorry” is a very straightforward contemporary ballad. They seem to have made the most of a trip to Paris to shoot a very straightforward contemporary video too. There are times when you really can keep it simple, stupid. This is one of them, and my tip of the week. Check them out at Carosel.

UPDATE: I have since learnt that Carosel are now actually based in Paris “for inspiration, beauty and [the] artistic vitality of the city”.

Although I spend a lot of time sending out music demos and tracks to people, I also occasionally have to sit at my desk and receive them. Over the years, I have acted as an occasional A&R person for different projects ranging from Playstation games to niche labels and singers. My latest stint for a small label in Europe prompted me to write down some of the things that strike about listening to other people’s music.

• There’s a lot of it out there!

It really is a buyer’s market in many respects. If A&R people are not careful they can be overwhelmed by submissions. In fact, the label I was working for in this case has more or less decided that it is not a very productive use of time to check demos that are sent in and will be switching to a panel that makes personal recommendations soon. Lesson: get to know (and be liked by) people that count, such as radio programmers, concert promoters, influential journalists, etc.

• Stick to the brief

If it’s a song pitch, don’t send dance tracks to someone looking for country. If it’s a deep house label, your Eurodance is probably going to irritate them more than anything else. They won’t be so overwhelmed that they will change their own style, believe me, and they won’t sit down and give you career advice about what to do with songs that are in their eyes irrelevant. Lesson: focus, focus, focus.

• Sameness means instant death

What am I looking for when checking song demos? Basically, something that stands out. No matter what the genre, you want something that demonstrates some distinctiveness, that will be recognised on the radio. The voice is absolutely essential for this, followed by the instrumentation and groove. Lyrics will be checked as a way of separating the great from the good in the second run. But remember, there are thousands of bands and producers churning out stuff in your genre. How distinctive are you within that genre?

Along the same lines, if you have 12 tracks in the same tempo you are inviting people to skip onto the next track and then the one after that. Variety is the spice of society.

One exception to this is when you are pitching song demos. The demo singer hopefully is close to that of the one being pitched to, but it’s not an absolute necessity. In this case melody and lyrics are the two keys points, as everything else can be re-arranged.

• An awful lot of music should be re-written

It’s very frequent to come across a song that has “something”. It could be a vibe, or a good singer or some quirky arrangement. But too few people keep re-writing the songs until they are really good and have all the elements in place. That means playing with structure, tempo and instrumentation until you have milked every good idea. This is another way of breaking out of the sameness mode. Yeah, it takes time. Lesson: look at the various versions of “Torn” to see what a difference a great arrangement can make. Aspire to that.

• You don’t have much time to catch my attention

I’d say that 20 seconds is the max for knowing if a track is worth listening to. If that sounds cruel, it’s not. It comes from listening to lots of music out of the blue. If a song hasn’t grabbed you after 20 seconds or the first chorus at most, it rarely does after the third verse. Lesson: focus on that first verse and chorus as if they are all people will ever hear. In many cases, this is true.

• Some writers are not sure what they want

Think carefully about who you are sending stuff to, and why. Are you looking for a label deal or a licence? Are you pitching a song to a singer? Is the publishing available? Are you open to co-writes? Have your answers before you send stuff. This also helps you craft a clear letter.

• Graphics/visuals are nice, but…

Some submissions come with complete artwork, which is always nice. But just make sure that all the info is readily available. Don’t hide the woods behind the trees. Lesson: always remember that it’s the music that will clinch the deal, not the envelope it came in.

I hope that helps, and doesn’t put you off sending in stuff. If you have any tips you think could be useful, drop them below as a message.

As a lyric writer, I’m not usually terribly interested in legal affairs. They are important, I can recognise that. But it’s not something that I follow closely. But skimming through the programme of the World Copyright Summit, I was surprised to see how much data is on the agenda.

Let’s face it, data translate into money. All of our lyrics and music end up as files and are managed in large banks of other files. Whether it be for programming, licensing or the precious work that goes on at authors’ rights societies, if your data is not in order, you won’t get paid.

It’s worth remembering this the next time you make MP3 copies of your files. Check the metadata. Are the composers listed? The publisher? Is there contact info? I usually also add my URL. One of the reasons I mention this is that Last.fm now requires that you add the composer and hopefully the IIRC code to the files so they can accurately credit the people involved. As a reminder, Last.fm pays authors’ rights. I’ve often wondered how they did this, so there’s the answer right there.

Metadata and micro-payments
If you’re wondering what metadata is and how you can add it to your files, check your music software and/or use one of the many tools you’ll find on the web. For Winamp users, click the “view file info” button and you’ll be given all the various options. It’s very easy to use. Get into the habit. Increasingly, authors rights involve recovering multiple streams of micro-payments. You won’t get these without accurate metadata in your files.

Those that are legally-minded might want to get the broader picture at the World Copyright Summit in Brussels for €900 (I told you data means money). Speakers include major publishers, composers, lawyers, authors rights societies, Google or, as the French would say, the complete intellectual property ecosystem. Check the programme.