Thomas Fersen, crooner

I admit it, I have a crush on a Frenchman. I was introduced to Thomas Fersen by way of the local library--I was looking for something new to listen to and found a CD called French Playground. Geared towards kids, the CD is a compilation of songs by various French artists. Intrigued by the list of titles and the names of the artists, I checked out the CD and brought it home. All the songs were good, but when track 11--entitled "Croque"-- scraped on, I was arrested by the Gypsy-band introduction and the gravelly smoker's voice, singing about coming home from work and his wife exclaiming that he looked like death. "Well, that's no surprise," he replies, "I work in a cemetery." I suppose it's not a joke everyone would appreciate, especially since the guy goes on to say he's starving and all he can think about during funerals are the potatoes he's growing in the empty graves, but I was completely taken in by the absurdity. I'm in love.

I love the goofy, melodramatic tune, the voice (oh, the voice!), the dark humor, and the play on words. And, of course, having listened to the song so much now that my children can sing along (in French!) I set out to find more of Thomas Fersen and discovered that all his songs are fun, catchy, and a bit irreverent. In other words, just the way I like 'em. Even if you don't speak French, Thomas Fersen is worth a listen for the tune and the voice (oh, again with the voice!)