Description

Book Synopsis
In 1959, Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel wrote and performed Ne me quitte pas (Don't leave me), a visceral and haunting plea for his lover to come back. As a teenager, Maya Angela Smith was so captivated by Nina Simone's powerful 1965 cover of the song that it inspired her to be a French professor. In Ne me quitte pas, Smith follows the classic song's long and varied journey, from Brel's iconic 1966 performance on French television to Simone's cover to Shirley Bassey's English-language version (If You Go Away) to its contemporary manifestations in popular culture. Throughout, Smith shows that as the song travels across languages, geographies, genres, and generations, it accumulates shifting artistic and cultural significance as each listener creates their own meaning.

Ne me quitte pas A Song by Jacques Brel and

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    A Hardback by Maya Angela Smith

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      Publisher: MD - Duke University Press
      Publication Date: 2/25/2025
      ISBN13: 9781478028253, 978-1478028253
      ISBN10: 1478028254

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      In 1959, Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel wrote and performed Ne me quitte pas (Don't leave me), a visceral and haunting plea for his lover to come back. As a teenager, Maya Angela Smith was so captivated by Nina Simone's powerful 1965 cover of the song that it inspired her to be a French professor. In Ne me quitte pas, Smith follows the classic song's long and varied journey, from Brel's iconic 1966 performance on French television to Simone's cover to Shirley Bassey's English-language version (If You Go Away) to its contemporary manifestations in popular culture. Throughout, Smith shows that as the song travels across languages, geographies, genres, and generations, it accumulates shifting artistic and cultural significance as each listener creates their own meaning.

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