Video Premiere: Annabelle Chvostek, “D’être Humain”
Being human often involves failing miserably to find ourselves, to discover the forces or objects that make us happy, getting up and doing it again. One day, in the midst of losing the one puzzle piece necessary to complete the jigsaw picture, we find happiness, contentment, satisfaction in a moment, and that moment shines like a beacon, illuminating the darkness of misery and leaving us smiling wryly and knowingly and confident that we’ve discovered the path to being human. Just as soon, of course, we lose the jigsaw piece again, fall off the yoga ball while we’re working out, knit a scarf that trips us up, and make green macaroni. Annabelle Chvostek’s slowly circling, pattering “D’être Humain” captures this daily journey from disappointment to elation. While the song opens with minor chords that reflect the disappointment and frustration of the woman in the video (Lizzie Moffatt), the song opens up halfway through into a bright, jaunty dance along a Django Reinhardt-like guitar swing, elevating our emotions from sadness and weariness to elation. The smile on the woman’s face in the final frame of his video is priceless capturing as it her does unbridled joy and the radiance of her accomplishment and self-satisfaction.
As Chvostek recalls of the song and video: “This is a tune about being present in the beauty of the imperfections of life, amidst all its pain and all its love. I went to Uruguay to work with Fernando Rosa on the record String of Pearls and took a scrap of a lyric and melody with me that I’d been stuck on for years. It had a certain pathos to it, almost a lament. Fernando suggested that we swing it, pull in the jazz manouche, make it more upbeat. It suddenly came alive and with it a flood of lyrics emerged. He invited over his friend Federico Brann, a tango guitar player who is also a studious follower of the swing style of Django Reinhardt. And so this song was born, as we batted back and forth the dichotomies of this beautiful and challenging life while tapping our toes to the infectious swing of the Selmer-Maccaferri guitar. Creating this tune unleashed a whole deep dive for me into this era and style of music. I ended up connecting to the Jazz Manouche scene in Toronto to make the final recording for the album, which features Debi Botos on lead guitar and Mark Duggan on vibraphone.”
“D’être Humain” is from Annabelle Chvostek’s 2021 album, String of Pearls, available – HERE
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“D’être humain” by Annabelle Chvostek and Fernando Rosa
C’est pas facile
D’être humain
D’être humain
C’est pas facile
Il y a mille petite douceurs
Dans la douleur
Dans la douleur
Il y a mille petite douleurs
Dans la douceur
Dans la douceur
Personne n’a dit que
Ça serait simple
Personne n’a dit que
Ça serait si beau
Les fleurs et la merde
La fumée et l’air pur
Le bruit et le calme
L’exquis et l’affreux
Malgré tous ces détours
Je t’aime encore
Je t’aime toujours
C’est pas facile
English translation:
It’s not easy
Being human
Being human
Human being
It’s not easy
There are countless moments of sweetness
Within the pain
There are countless little hurts
Amidst the sweetness
Nobody said it would be simple
Nobody said it would be so beautiful
The flowers and the crap
The smoke and clean air
The noise and the calm
The exquisite and the awful
Even with all these detours
I still love you
I’ll always love you
It’s not easy
