Under Pressure...

Hospitalité - Levalet

It is pouring with rain, the work is mounting up and the pressure is rising, relatively speaking, of course. That didn't stop me tracking down the above, however; yet another Levalet piece of street art around Reims. Called Hospitalité, the individuals it presents in its paper forms seem intent on escaping the inhospitable streets, clambering up this scaling old garage door that is just around the corner from my old flat. This all reminded me of the lyrics of Queen's Under Pressure, giving me yet another great excuse to upload one more video of the Amnéville concert!

                                 Under Pressure

                  Pressure pushing down on me
                  Pressing down on you no man ask for
                  Under pressure that brings a building down
                  Splits a family in two
                  Puts people on streets
                  That's okay
                  It's the terror of knowing
                  What the world is about
                  Watching some good friends
                  Screaming 'Let me out'
                  Pray tomorrow gets me higher
                  Pressure on people people on streets
                  Okay
                  Chippin' around - kick my brains around the floor
                  These are the days it never rains but it pours

                  People on streets
                  People on streets 
                  It's the terror of knowing
                  What this world is about
                  Watching some good friends
                  Screaming 'Let me out'
                  Pray tomorrow - gets me higher higher high
                  Pressure on people people on streets
                  Turned away from it all like a blind man
                  Sat on a fence but it don't work
                  Keep coming up with love but it's so slashed and torn
                  Why - why - why?

                  Love love love love love
                  Insanity laughs under pressure we're breaking
                  Can't we give ourselves one more chance
                  Why can't we give love that one more chance
                  Why can't we give love give love give love give love
                  Give love give love give love give love give love
                 'Cause love's such an old fashioned word
                 And love dares you to care for
                 The people on the (People on streets) edge of the night
                 And loves (People on streets) dares you to change our way of
                 Caring about ourselves
                 This is our last dance
                 This is our last dance
                 This is ourselves
                 Under pressure
                 Under pressure
                 Pressure

26 Years Ago...

Twenty-six years ago today, Freddie Mercury died. Whilst no one could ever take his crown, Queen is able to carry on, with Adam Lambert in place as frontman, giving a new twist to all those amazing songs that ran as a soundtrack to youth.

The show does indeed go on, and I went to the French concert two weeks ago, in Amnéville.
There was indeed much dancing and singing that night, but looking at the lyrics of many of the songs afterwards, I realised just how pensive some of these are.

                       Innuendo
      While the sun hangs in the sky and the desert has sand
      While the waves crash in the sea and meet the land
      While there's a wind and the stars and the rainbow
      Till the mountains crumble into the plain
      Oh yes we'll keep on tryin'
      Tread that fine line
      Oh we'll keep on tryin' yeah
      Just passing our time
      While we live according to race, color or creed
      While we rule by blind madness and pure greed
      Our lives dictated by tradition, superstition, false religion
      Through the eons, and on and on
      Oh yes we'll keep on tryin'
      We'll tread that fine line
      Oh we'll keep on tryin'
      Till the end of time
      Till the end of time

            Through the sorrow all through our splendor
            Don't take offence at my innuendo

      You can be anything you want to be
      Just turn yourself into anything you think that you could ever be
      Be free with your tempo, be free be free
      Surrender your ego - be free, be free to yourself

     Oooh, ooh -
     If there's a God or any kind of justice under the sky
     If there's a point, if there's a reason to live or die
     If there's an answer to the questions we feel bound to ask
     Show yourself - destroy our fears - release your mask
     Oh yes we'll keep on trying

     Hey tread that fine line
     Yeah we'll keep on smiling yeah
     And whatever will be - will be
     We'll just keep on trying
     We'll just keep on trying
     Till the end of time
     Till the end of time
     Till the end of time

I hadn't realised, either, that Freddie Mercury had been such a big cat fan...

Nothing could tarnish the appeal of Queen; my children grew up to a similar playlist as mine!

Like a Merry-go-round...

Another piece by the street artist - Charles Leval - 'Levalet' - right in the very centre of town, strategically placed next to the carousel. It must have been here for a while as it's peeling off. Nevertheless, it is still striking and quite thought-provoking too.

The apple held out in one hand, draws attention away from the knife in the other. Has the horse come to life, freed of its pole and never-ending circular existence, only be to be killed? After seeing this, I kept vaguely humming some ghost lyrics circulating in my head, driving me to distraction!

Eventually, I tracked those down to Invisible, by Alison Moyet....
               'Like the merry go round, I'm going up, I'm going down'.

Right, off to work - yet another merry-go-round! I will probably be humming away at Invisible as I go.