The flooded song

While floods have been occurring or threatening in France for several months, let’s look back at the way in which our popular music allows itself (or not) to be submerged.

“It looks like it’s raining”, Mathieu Boogaerts sings to us in 2012. It seems like it’s raining, in fact, and floods are threatening. You heard it on France Info, they started this year in the North of France, then here and there in other regions, then the water and the concern rise together in the Paris region, the Bouchage plain has was flooded to avoid a flood of the Rhône in Lyon…

But, strangely enough, the song in our house does not worry easily. While in the United States, floods generate an imposing repertoire.

In the first episode of These songs that make the news this weekend you hear excerpts from:

Mathieu Boogaerts, It looks like it’s raining, 2012

Memphis Minnie & Kansas Joe McCoy, When the Levee Breaks, 1927

Alain Bashung, Black people, 2002

Anthony, The water rose up the steps of the small staircase, 1968

Daniel Darc, The rain falling, 2004

Scoundrel, The water rises, 2011

Anne Sylvestre, Through the flooded fields, 1967

Bertrand Belin, A flood, 2013

Ile de France National Orchestra, Vittoria Choir, Didier Henry, The Flood (The Wrath of God), 1875 (1991 recording)

Nana Mouskouri, The sky is black, 1973

You can also follow the news of this column on Twitter.

And you can also find the podcast on this link Behind our voices, with the writing and composition secrets of eight major artists of the French scene, Laurent Voulzy, Julien Clerc, Bénabar, Dominique A, Carla Bruni, Emily Loizeau, Juliette and Gaëtan Roussel.