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Activity 2: French Chanson

Discover together with your children the chanson style – songs that are stories.
The chanson is a musical style that developed in France in the early 1930s.
It emphasizes stage presence and the communication of deep emotion through words.
The greats of the French chanson in the twentieth century: Édith Piaf, Charles Aznavour, Jacques Brel, Georges Brassens, Yves Montand, Serge Gainsbourg, Dalida.
In Israel, many local versions of French chansons were created, with one of the most familiar examples being the song “Ilu Tziporim” by Naomi Shemer.
As part of the activity (by Dr. Omri Ruach Midbar), you can get to know the Hebrew version together and be exposed to additional songs from the genre.

The Activity

אילו ציפורים
  • Play the song “Ilu Tziporim” for the children.
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  • Sing along with them, and after the song is familiar to them, you can tell them that its origin is in the French chanson and play it for them.
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  • After they know the French chanson, you can play additional French chansons for them (for example: by other singers).

If All the Birds (Si Tous Les Oiseaux)

Lyrics: Jean Broussolle 
Music: Jean-Pierre Calvet
Hebrew lyrics: Naomi Shemer

If the birds that fly over the sea
If the birds spoke like human beings
What stories the birds would surely have
About the lands beyond the mountains.

All the wondrous shores, all the azure lakes
All the snow-capped ridges
All the days of hardship passed along the way
All the Sabbaths and the holidays.

If the birds that fly over the sea
If the birds spoke like human beings
What kinds of songs the birds would surely have
What a carnival it would be for all the poets.

All the green of the forest, all the darkness of the storm
All the summer’s delight in the hearts
That which turns into autumn colors
Of disappointed loves.

All the wondrous shores, all the azure lakes
All the snow-capped ridges
All the days of hardship passed along the way
All the Sabbaths and the holidays.

But the birds are faithful to their silence
And with the coming of autumn
They take flight with a stroke of a wing
And the secrets remain with them.

After becoming familiar with the song, you can develop a conversation with the children through the questions:
If the birds spoke like human beings, what stories would they tell about us? (For example – about life in Israel, about children in Israel, about life in the village, in the kibbutz, in the city).

You can write a letter and/or a drawing that describes what a bird flying over the children’s residential area could tell.