My Musical Stories: Lola Marsh's "Le Sud"

Israeli indie pop band Lola Marsh is relatively new to the music scene, having just released one album and an EP thus far.  Formed in Tel Aviv, their album released last year, Remember Roses has been spotted by me in several of the stations I've volunteered for.  The band has a nice sound to them, led by amazing vocals from lead vocalist Yael Shoshana Cohen and a warm diverse instrumentation to back her up.  They're really good at what they do, and I'm hoping they'll put out another album or two in the years to come.

There's a song on the back end of Remember Roses that really speaks to me, enough that I recognized it as #4 on my Top 10 Songs of 2017 list last December.  In the song, Shoshana Cohen sings about an island in Southern Italy that "Looks like Louisana", where "A gentle breeze moves the white sheets on the terrace so tenderly", and it "Feels like the south, where time lasts forever".  These dreamy lyrics are put against a backing track with drums, violin, guitar, and even some whistling during the bridge of the song.  When put together in motion what I'm describing makes for a really cool song that's been worth at least a good hundred replays for my eager ears.

The song Le Sud was originally recorded and released by artist Nino Ferrer in France way back in 1975.  I have heard that version, and the lyrics are in French, but being I had first heard the Lola Marsh version, I had the gist of what he was singing.  I feel that the French version is almost equal to the English one in terms of song quality, but in my humble opinion the Lola Marsh version edges the Nino Ferrer one out just slightly because of the dreamy trance it can put someone in.

I'd like to tell you about the real meaning behind Le Sud, but since the internet pulls up absolutely nothing, I'll just tell you what I think the song is about.  To me, Le Sud is about a place we can go to feel happy that looks like another place we might be familiar with.  To Nino Ferrer when he originally recorded the song all those years ago, that was Southern Italy, which to him or his songwriter, looked like Louisana.  The lyrics used to describe Southern Italy in the song, which include lines like "And in the yard all the children they are playing.  Still young and free."  and "I look around at this beauty that surrounds me.  It's all I need." fit into our minds for places we've been before that give us memories of other places.

A good example of Le Sud for me would be Bemidji.  For me, Bemidji is the closest reminder to my hometown of the Iron Range when I'm in Fargo.  The small community in Northwestern Minnesota is how I remember home without driving the entire five hours to go home.  The lyrics used by the artists in the song don't one hundred percent describe Bemidji, but for more on that you can read my previous blog post about it here. With lakes, trees, and actual elevated hills, the city is quite different from Fargo in terms of landscaping and general appearance.  Plus, two years after moving to Fargo, I still hold an opinion that Bemidji is the friendlier community to be in.  I'm sorry, but to me that's the truth.

Where would you consider your Le Sud to be?  Feel free to drop a comment and I'll respond when I am able.

That's really all I have on this wonderful French-English tune.  I invite you to listen to it for yourself by clicking on the videos below.  I included both the original by Nino Ferrer and the cover by Lola Marsh for your listening pleasure.  Have a nice week, and don't struggle too hard at school yet.