Boum!
"Boum!" (French pronunciation: [bum], onomatopoeia similar to "boom" in English) is a popular 1938 song by the French singer/songwriter Charles Trenet which won him the Grand Prix du Disque.[1] Its light, irreverent lyrics express a joie de vivre typical in French popular music produced during the late 1930s.[2] According to historian Charles Rearick, Trenet's songs of the period represented escapism at a time dominated by political unrest and economic uncertainty.[3]
It includes depictions of the sounds made by various animals and also various onomatopoeia. The lyric to the refrain is:
Boum! | Boom! |
Quand notre coeur fait Boum! | When our heart goes "Boom!" |
Tout avec lui dit Boum! | Everything goes "Boom!" with it, |
Et c'est l'amour | And it is love |
Qui s'éveille. | Which awakes. |
"Boum!" has been recorded by other artists and in English translation. In 1994 the song was covered by Belgian singer Maurane.[4]
The song has featured in a variety of films and documentaries, including The World at War, Something's Gotta Give, Toto the Hero, Skyfall, and A Good Year. In the BBC TV-series 'Allo 'Allo, Edith Artois often sings it, saying that it is one of her favourites. It has also been used in commercial advertising.
Parody[]
In Hergé's The Adventures of Tintin comic Land of Black Gold, Trenet's "Boum!" is transformed into a radio advertising jingle for a fictional roadside assistance company, "Simoun" ("Autocart" in the English editions). In the computer animated film Mortadelo and Filemon: Mission Implausible, Jimmy el Cachondo sings it with an alternative lyric in Spanish.
References[]
- ^ Yves Montand; Jeremy Leggatt; Patrick Rotman; Hervé Hamon (1992), You See, I Haven't Forgotten, New York: Knopf, p. 49, ISBN 978-0-679-41012-6
- ^ Rearick, Charles (1997). The French in Love and War: Popular Culture in the Era of the World Wars. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 212-4. ISBN 978-0300064339.
- ^ Rearick, Charles (1997). The French in Love and War: Popular Culture in the Era of the World Wars. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 212. ISBN 978-0300064339.
- ^ "Clip Maurane, Boum, vidĂŠo et Paroles de chanson". Jukebo.fr. Archived from the original on 2013-01-26. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
External links[]
- French songs
- Charles Trenet songs
- Songs written by Charles Trenet
- 1938 songs