GEORGE MICHAEL NEWS

On continue à se promener dans le répertoire de George Michael avec 4 nouvelles participations/témoignages sur 4 titres différents que je vous laisse découvrir aujourd’hui avec Hermann (France), Olga (USA), Cendrine (France) et Teresa (Royaume Uni).

Bonne lecture et merci encore à tous ! 

The song, One More Try, holds a special place in my heart because it's the song I truly believe George has chosen through which to communicate with me. I know it sounds crazy, but since he passed I have experienced a handful of unexplainable incidents, which I don't consider mere coincidences, where this song has appeared to me when I was having conflicting feelings about some aspect of his life. I have always felt it was George reaching out asking me to give him One More Try and not give up on him like I did many years before.

The lyrics,

When you were just a stranger
And I was at your feet
I didn't feel the danger
Now I feel the heat

take me back to when I first saw George in a WHAM! video as a teenage girl. He caught my attention immediately and I remember thinking that I had never seen a guy like him before. There was something different about him which made me fall for him right away. I saw no harm in having a crush on this beautiful boy, but then FAITH happened and something changed. Practically overnight, he was no longer this vibrant youth, but had become a man. He was so masculine, mysterious and sexual. And the feelings I was having were no longer that of a teenage girl, but were much deeper. They were those of a young woman truly attracted to a man. Right then and there, I knew I had to protect my heart because these feelings were not safe when it came to him. I could not allow myself to become completely immersed in them or him because it would only mean heartbreak. The lyrics which define this moment for me are,

So I don't want to learn to
Hold you, touch you
Think that you're mine

I had to distance myself from those feelings as well as from him because there was no doubt

I'm looking out for angels
Just trying to find some peace

with myself and the whole situation. Yes, I let him go because I could not bear the thought of living with that kind of pain and not being worthy of him.

So the years went by and I hardly heard anything about him, but when I did it would peak my interest and looking back now, it always made me happy to know he was still there. And then on Christmas Day 2016, I read on social media that he had passed away and my first thought was, "NO, NOT GEORGE MICHAEL!!" I did not want to accept he was gone. I did not want it to be true. In that moment, I lost my youth forever.

Seeing that he had died at a relatively young age, I wanted to know if he had been ill in the last years of his life. This is where my journey into discovering his life story began. I read, watched, and listened to anything I could about him, but a TV interview he gave in 1987 made me see a side to him I never knew existed. He was charming, personable, intelligent, eloquent, witty and, as always, gorgeous. He became relatable and human to me and those feelings I once had had resurfaced again, but his time for the person he was and not for that image of the man in the leather jacket. I could no longer deny them and they were fittingly telling me,

Now I think it's time
That you let me know
So if you love me
Say you love me

I finally admitted to myself and to him that I loved him and always had and always will, but it came at a price. The heartache and pain I so desperately wanted to avoid became inevitable at losing him forever.

My story isn't as compelling or touching as others, but in 2016 I was struggling with depression and loneliness, even considering giving up on everything, when he entered my life again in the saddest way possible. He helped me get through that difficult period of time in my life by listening to his music, learning about his life and connecting with his fanbase. He was there for me when no one else was; an angel in disguise. I terribly regret not having appreciated him for who he truly was all those years before and that I never saw him perform live, but when

I'm so cold
Inside
Maybe just one more try

I know he's always there to comfort me in the "WORDS" he left behind which show his heart and share the best of him.

OLGA Traduction ICI
 

Merci encore d'être le trait d'union entre ses fans et cet immense artiste et exceptionnelle personne qu'était George Michael. 
Merci de nous offrir une tribune pour exprimer toute l'admiration et l'affection que nous lui portons malgré sa disparition. 
Difficile de choisir des paroles tant l'ensemble d'entre elles font écho avec bien des moments de nos vies. Difficile de choisir des paroles alors que la voix de George est une extraordinaire caisse de résonance et donne toute sa dimension aux mots qui composent ses chansons. 
Pour autant, la chanson December Song (I dreamed of Christmas) cristallise pour moi beaucoup de sentiments et de messages. "There was always Christmas time. To Wipe the year away. I dreamed of Christmas. Yes, I dreamed like you. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. May your every New year dream come true". Ces mots décrivent parfaitement la magie de Noël, une trêve, une parenthèse quelles que soient les circonstances. Noël transcende tout et fait oublier l'espace d'un instant toutes les peines, toutes les souffrances, Noël apporte l'espoir de lendemains qui chantent. "I could believe in peace on earth". Cette chanson mêle lucidité et espoir. 
Et pourtant les "Noël" se suivent et se ressemblent, toujours les mêmes espoirs déçus mais toujours la même euphorie à l'arrivée des fêtes : "Sweet december song. When Snow would fall upon my bed White sugar from Jesus". 
Comme George, j'ai toujours aimé Noël et pourtant j'aurais pu avoir une bonne raison de détester cette fête. 22/12/92, 2ème jour de la semaine, 22h22, le téléphone retentit alors que nous emballons nos derniers cadeaux, ma grand-mère vient de rendre son dernier souffle à seulement 65 ans, j'ai 17 ans. C'est un choc immense... son cœur s'est arrêté de battre subitement. Elle rejoint sa dernière demeure le 26 décembre. Depuis presque 30 ans, Noël est empreint de joie et de tristesse. Que dire de ce 25 décembre 2016, de ce 25 décembre 2019....encore des larmes. 
Et pourtant, j'appréhende chaque année Noël avec la même émotion. Aujourd'hui, Décember song représente pour moi l'idée que je me fais de Noël - la magie opère : j'entends la voix de velours de George et vois cet enfant qui se blottit sur les genoux de sa maman qui lui caresse tendrement la tempe. Noël, ses illusions, ses espoirs, sa douceur et le réconfort d'une mère, meilleur rempart contre les épreuves de la vie. Cette image prend tout son sens quand on connaît l'attachement que George avait pour sa maman. Et depuis 2016, cette scène, d'une beauté infinie, apparaît comme une prémonition : un enfant s'abandonne à sa maman un matin de Noël et semble remettre sa vie entre ses mains. Elle l'accueille avec tout son amour. Le temps est comme suspendu : C'est la magie de Noël. 
CENDRINE

Thank you for this wonderful competition. I have so enjoyed reading the lyrics of George's songs and what they mean to everyone. George is such a big part of my life and I (like all of us) love and miss him so much.

For me it is "Waiting for that Day".  I have loved it since I first heard this song and saw him explain on The South Bank Show how he composed and recorded this. Over the years It has come to mean different things to me at different times in my life.  

When I was young someone really hurt me, I was trying to get over them and the words rang so true.

I just sit here on this mountain thinking to myself
You're a fool boy (in my head I sang girl)
Why don't you go down
Find somebody
Find somebody else
Oh my memory serves me far too well

Also sometimes I feel that I have not fulfilled all my dreams in life due to events beyond my control

Don't you know that
The years will come and go
Some of us will change our lives
Some of us still have nothing to show
Nothing baby but memories

Like everyone I have had to face seeing people I love become unwell and when I get scared and know I have to be there for them, I sing in my head

C'mon  now
I've got to be strong now

And since we lost our lovely George it has taken on a new meaning.  The last time I saw him was at the Royal Albert Hall for Symphonia on the 29th September 2012.  He sang this song that night and it was so special, so joyous everyone was up dancing and George was getting us to sing along.  The Royal Albert Hall was a sea of dancing happy faces and was filled with love and joy.  He left the stage that night saying "Take care of yourselves, see you next time"

There never was a next time for me to see him, but I treasure the memories of that night,  So now when I miss him as we all do the following words come into my head

Come back
Come back to me darling
I miss your Smile

We all miss his wonderful smile so much, but then I hear him sing

C'mon now
I've got to be strong now

He has given us so much with his wonderful music and he will be in our hearts always and forever loved.

TERESA Traduction ICI