Barbara 'Göttingen' - song that helped reconcile France & Germany

In 1964 French chanteuse Barbara was invited to perform at Göttingen University in Germany, and loved the town. She wrote this song to celebrate it, reflecting on the history between the countries - aged 10-15 as a Jewish girl she had lived in hiding from the Nazis in Paris. German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, a Göttingen student at the time, said it had a major influence on him, later quoting the lyrics (see below). Later she also recorded a German version.
A BBC website feature says it did as much as any political speech to thaw the still-raw relations between the countries: - www.bbc.co.uk/...
Barbara has been described as being in a Nouvelle Chanson style. She was good friends George Brassens and Jacques Brel, co-starring in Brel's movie 'Franz' - • franz 1971 avec jacque... A quarter of a million people attended Barbara's funeral in 1997. This live version of Göttingen is from 1966.
(If France & Germany can reconcile, maybe a song might do the same for the UK and EU?)
From Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.o...)
en.wikipedia.o...)
A brief subtitled excerpt here: • Barbara Gottingen Fren...
French lyrics: - (GB & DE below)
Bien sur, ce n'est pas la Seine,
Ce n'est pas le bois de Vincennes,
Mais c'est bien joli tout de meme,
A Gottingen, a Gottingen.
Pas de quais et pas de rengaines
Qui se lamentent et qui se trainent,
Mais l'amour y fleurit quand meme,
A Gottingen, a Gottingen.
Ils savent mieux que nous, je pense,
L'histoire de nos rois de France,
Herman, Peter, Helga et Hans,
A Gottingen.
Et que personne ne s'offense,
Mais les contes de notre enfance,
"Il etait une fois" commence
A Gottingen.
Bien sur nous, nous avons la Seine
Et puis notre bois de Vincennes,
Mais Dieu que les roses sont belles
A Gottingen, a Gottingen.
Nous, nous avons nos matins blemes
Et l'ame grise de Verlaine,
Eux c'est la melancolie meme,
A Gottingen, a Gottingen.
Quand ils ne savent rien nous dire,
Ils restent la a nous sourire
Mais nous les comprenons quand meme,
Les enfants blonds de Gottingen.
Et tant pis pour ceux qui s'etonnent
Et que les autres me pardonnent,
Mais les enfants ce sont les memes,
A Paris ou a Gottingen.
O faites que jamais ne revienne
Le temps du sang et de la haine
Car il y a des gens que j'aime,
A Gottingen, a Gottingen.
Et lorsque sonnerait l'alarme,
S'il fallait reprendre les armes,
Mon c? Ur verserait une larme
Pour Gottingen, pour Gottingen.
Mais c'est bien joli tout de meme,
A Gottingen, a Gottingen.
Et lorsque sonnerait l'alarme,
S'il fallait reprendre les armes,
Mon coeur verserait une larme
Pour Gottingen, pour Gottingen.
An English translation: -
Göttingen Version: #2
Of course, it's not the Seine
It's not the Bois de Vincennes.
But it's pretty nevertheless
In Göttingen, in Göttingen.
No quays, and no old tunes,
Moaning and dragging on.
But anyhow love blossoms there
In Göttingen, in Göttingen.
They know better than us, I think,
The history of the kings of France
Hermann, Peter, Helga and Hans,
In Göttingen.
And nobody should feel offended,
But the tales of our childhood,
"Once upon a time..", they start
In Göttingen.
Of course, we have the Seine,
And then - our Bois de Vincennes,
But God, the roses are beautiful
In Göttingen, in Göttingen.
We have our pale mornings,
And the grey soul of Verlaine.
Them, they are melancholy itself
In Göttingen, in Göttingen.
When they don't have anything to say,
They stay here and smile to us.
But we understand them anyway,
The blond children of Göttingen.
Too bad for those who are stunned
May the others forgive me,
But children are the same,
In Paris or in Göttingen.
May never come back
The time of blood and hatred.
Because there are people I love
In Göttingen, in Göttingen.
When would ring the alarm,
If we had to take up arms again,
My heart would shed a tear
For Göttingen, for Göttingen.
But still, it is pretty
In Göttingen, in Göttingen.
When would ring the alarm,
If we had to take up arms again,
My heart would shed a tear
For Göttingen, for Göttingen.
German lyrics: -
Na ja, dort gibt es keine Seine
Und auch nicht den Wald von Vincennes.
Doch schöne Orte, die ich kenne
in Göttingen, in Göttingen.
Es gibt keine Kais oder Lieder,
die klagen und kehren immer wieder.
Und dennoch blüht auch dort die Liebe
in Göttingen, in Göttingen.
Mir scheint, als ob sie besser wüssten
die Geschichte Frankreichs großer Fürsten.
Hermann, Peter, Helga und Hans
in Göttingen
Und dass sich niemand je beklage:
doch die Märchen uns'rer Kindertage
"Es war einmal...", ja, sie begannen
in Göttingen
Na ja, wir haben unsere Seine
Und unseren Wald von Vincennes
Doch schönere Rosen ich nicht kenne
als in Göttingen, in Göttingen.
Wir haben unsere grauen Morgen,
Verlaines Seele ... ...
Continues here - no space:
www.songtexte....
#Barbara #Göttingen #FrenchGermanReconciliation @Gazely Gaze

[@gillestrudeau836]

Quelle voix cristalline. Et des textes qui ne se font plus.

[@michaelschenk6686]

I love the French songs - THANK YOU - DANKE❤

[@2a-887]

Merci à vous. Français et allemands sont cousins, liés par cette artère qu'est le Rhin.

[@clausstimpfig3803]

wunderbar

[@FrankBell]

Thanks for sending me here, Wolfgang on 85th St!