Story Behind The Song

Parlez-vous Francais? Suggested by a girl of the same name, I remember my infatuation with her and with the composition as it came out on a baby grand piano somewhere in Southern California. Drawing upon my trip to France in August, 1998, and overwhelmed by...

Song Description

Parlez-vous Francais? Suggested by a girl of the same name, I remember my infatuation with her and with the composition as it came out on a baby grand piano somewhere in Southern California. Drawing upon my trip to France in August, 1998, and overwhelmed by the countryside in the north which bore the brunt of Nazi forces, I have included a generic lovers' conversation, to suggest perhaps that all is fair in love and war, and that both 'should be declared...' Story Behind the Music: Written in 1975, and while I had an analog recording made a few years later, it wasn't until late in the 80's that I finally recorded the individual tracks in a digital format. But upon the completion of the basic tracks, no further production followed until Michael French and I began to lay out its production in Studio B early in June, 2001. After recording the basic instruments, we moved to Studio A and proceeded to create new tracks including many guitar parts, both electric and acoustic which had never been recorded. I had always envisioned a French ambience to the production to include French language dialogue as a way of creating that certain, yet elusive 'je ne sais quoi' of France. For this remaster, I replaced the sampled drums and bass by replicating the original tracks, mirroring the characteristics of the original parts in the newly recorded tracks. The Notre Dame cathedral bells are heard in the introduction transitioning to a French lovers' cafe dialogue that gives way to the full orchestral instrumentation of the arrangement; inclusive of choir. Ethnic instrumentation in the production includes Accordian, Hurdy Gurdy, Harpsichord and French Horn.