Boum!

"Boum!" (French pronunciation: [bum], onomatopoeia similar to "boom" in English) is a popular 1938 song by the French singer/songwriter Charles Trenet which won him the Grand Prix du Disque.[1] It was one of several songs that Trenet wrote for the film La Route enchantée, for which he also wrote the screenplay and played the leading role. The film was directed by Pierre Caron, and was released in November 1938.[2] The song was initially released in 1938 by Columbia Records on a 10" single as the B-side to "Vous Êtes Jolie".[3]

Charles Trenet, the song's author, pictured in 1946

Its light, irreverent lyrics express a joie de vivre typical in French popular music produced during the late 1930s,[4] reflecting the political unrest and economic uncertainty of that time.[5]

It includes depictions of the sounds made by various animals and also various onomatopoeia. The lyric to the refrain is:

Boum!Boom!
Quand notre coeur fait Boum!     When our heart goes "Boom!"
Tout avec lui dit Boum!Everything goes "Boom!" with it,
Et c'est l'amourAnd it is love
Qui s'éveille.Which awakes.

"Boum!" has been recorded by other artists and in English translation. In 1994 the song was covered by Belgian singer Maurane.[6]

The song has featured in a variety of films and documentaries, including The World at War, Something's Gotta Give, Toto the Hero, Skyfall, and A Good Year. In the BBC TV-series 'Allo 'Allo!, Edith Artois often sings it, saying that it is one of her favourites. It has also been used in commercial advertising.

Parody

In Hergé's The Adventures of Tintin comic Land of Black Gold, Trenet's "Boum!" is transformed into a radio advertising jingle for a fictional roadside assistance company, "Simoun" ("Autocart" in the English editions). In the computer-animated film Mortadelo and Filemon: Mission Implausible, Jimmy el Cachondo sings it with an alternative lyric in Spanish.

References
  1. Montand, Yves; Rotman, Patrick & Hamon, Hervé (1992). You See, I Haven't Forgotten. Translated by Leggatt, Jeremy. New York: Knopf. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-679-41012-6.
  2. "La Route enchantée". IMDb. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  3. "Charles Trenet – Vous Êtes Jolie / Boum !!..." Discogs. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  4. Rearick, Charles (1997). The French in Love and War: Popular Culture in the Era of the World Wars. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 212-4. ISBN 978-0300064339.
  5. Rearick, Charles (1997). The French in Love and War: Popular Culture in the Era of the World Wars. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 212. ISBN 978-0300064339.
  6. "Clip Maurane, Boum, vidéo et Paroles de chanson". Jukebo.fr. Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2012-01-17.
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