Tag: Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Classic photo of Saint-Germain-des-Prés jazz scene, 1951

In 1951, photographer Robert Doisneau captured a vibrant moment at Club Saint-Germain in Paris, showcasing Claude Mocquery and James Campbell dancing. The image, set in the heart of the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district, epitomizes the post-war Parisian jazz scene, where intellectuals, artists, and musicians gathered in lively cafés and clubs. Doisneau, known for his humanist photography, skillfully framed this dance, capturing not just the motion but the spirit of the time—a blend of music, culture, and the joie de vivre that defined Paris in the 1950s. The photograph remains a timeless representation of the city’s creative energy during that era.

There is no more after… in Saint-Germain-des-Prés… (and no more before either!)

Been to Saint-Germain-des-Pres? Not only does it not exist, but it hardly even briefly existed. Just enough time to forge a media and historiographic myth called for sustainable profitability. This is the thesis supported by the historian Eric Dussault in The invention of Saint-Germain-des-Prés (247 pages, 22 euros, Vendémiaire), probable synthesis of a large-scale university work if we judge by the importance of the sources. He explains the phenomenon by the indifference of cultural historians and by the subordination of history to memory. Because if until 1960 the narration of the epic was well done by journalists, afterwards it concentrated exclusively in the mouth and under the nostalgic pen of actors and witnesses of the time who were authoritative by dint of being taken over. in loop for sixty years without the slightest critical perspective. They are Léo Larguier for his picturesque Saint-Germain-des-Prés, mon village , the Fargue of the unequaled  Pedestrian of Paris , Simone de Beauvoir memorialist ( La Force des choses) and Boris Vian, indispensable master of the premises and author of the Manuel de Saint-Germain-des-Prés guide  (written in 1950 but published in 1974). Continue reading “There is no more after… in Saint-Germain-des-Prés… (and no more before either!)” →

à bicyclette dans une rue de Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Chanson du Jour: Le Métèque (1969)

Georges Moustaki (born Giuseppe Mustacchi) gave France some of its best-loved music, writing over 300 songs for some of the most popular singers, including Edith Piaf, who popularized his composition Milord.

As a young musician, Georges Brassens took Moustaki under his wing, introducing him to artists and intellectuals hanging out in the cafes around Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Moustaki eventually adopted the first name of the only musician he called “master.”

Moustaki wrote Le Métèque in 1969, and it was his first breakthrough hit.

Françoise Hardy doesn’t actually sing on this – as the YouTube title might suggest. Yet I would say her presence adds a certain je ne sais quoi.