Cyril's songs

Since Falling for Emma was published, readers have been saying they wished they could hear Cyril’s songs. Believe me, I wish I could hear them too . . . that is, in real life, and not just in my head.

The best I can do for you at this juncture is excerpt some of the lyrics featured in different Bistro La Bohème books, and point you to a couple of singer-songwriters whose musical universe and style are the closest to Cyril’s.

Let’s start with the singers.

Bénabar is the French chanson star who taught himself to play the piano at the age of twenty-five and then began to write beautiful songs. He performed them in bars and nightclubs and toured nonstop until success came in the late 1990s. The song below is one of my favorites. It’s about a family house (the title translates as “Four Walls and a Roof”), but what it really talks about is the impermanence of all things and the tragic beauty of life.

Hozier is a young Irish musician whose breakthrough 2013 single, “Take Me to Church,” is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful songs ever written. It talks about faith, romantic love, and the human condition. Oh, and if you haven’t seen dancer Sergei Polunin’s performance to this song, you’ve got to watch it right now. Seriously—drop everything you’re doing and watch it.

Mind-blowing, isn’t it?

And now, a few snippets of my favorite songs by Cyril.

Stray Dog

Grooming is for poodles,
Training is for hounds.
I traded my leash for dignity.
Got any scraps, anyone?

Under My Skin

I’m ablaze drowning in the ocean,
I’m adrift pacing in my room,
In my heart only one emotion--
Every
night I
crave
you,
Like a crazed wolf howling at the moon.
You’re under my skin--
tattooed.

Maybe I’m the One

Baby, come and sit with me--
here in the sun.
Baby, let me ease your pain.
Maybe I’m the one . . .

So Free

A gaping window. 
A gauze curtain
Slips outside, flaps
and hurtles
Toward the star-filled
heart
of the night.

Riding the evening breeze,
Into the outer space,
Planting a white-hot kiss
Onto the moon’s sweet face.

And if I didn’t
know better,
I’d bet it soared
untethered—
So free it seems.
So free.
It seems.


If you’re inspired to put any of these lyrics to music and record a song, knock yourself out—and be sure to send me the link!