THE BEAUTIFUL CITY
"The Boulevardiers" unpublished (1981)
The Boulevardiers has not been officially released as a song so far.
It was written in 1981 and goes back to that "one
summer a few years ago when I was unemployed. And my big hero in those
days was my friend Brian who was also...well, he wasn't unemployed but
he was freelanced, which to me seemed like the same thing. He got up in
the morning and sat around for a couple of hours and drank a cup of coffee
and read the paper - this seemed admirable to me, and something I wanted
to do, too. His word for doing this was being a Boulevardier. So during
that summer when I was unemployed I was a Boulevardier as was my other
friend. So the three of us would sit around doing nothing and being very
pleased with ourselves. So this song came out of that."(3)
In The Boulevardiers the narrator describes a very positive picture
of the city. There are no traces of any hurry or rush, the characters,
who are all friends, have lots of time and they are enjoying life.
("...and eat and drink and talk all day/ and watch the sun") There is no
sign of hostility, the first stanza contains "like" five times and "love"
one time. The narrator starts with "I" in the first line, mentions "you"
and "him" and finally sums all up in "we" in the fourth line. A feeling
of security and comradeship is conveyed. The community and solidarity seems
not to be restricted to the humans only, but includes the city and nature.
The sun seems to be a friend, too, it is "...like / a lover's hand/ as
it comes down/ and touches you/ touches me/ touches him/ touches you".
Everybody cares for each other, and it is important that everybody is happy,
that everybody is pleased. The emotions and feelings of everybody are looked
after. "But still you will/ insist insist/ until each last one has been
kissed/ and each one is happy"
The Boulevardiers see the city, even its ugly sides, in the positive
light of the sinking sun. "He loves the city/ with the bricks and broken
bottles/ and the pretty little flowers/ as they grow against the wall."
Nature and city do not exclude each other, they seem in fact to rely on
each other. The flowers lean against the wall, they are supported by it.
The beauty of the city is not only expressed by adjectives like "pretty",
but also by the onomatopoeia of the alliteration in "bricks and broken
bottles". Nature and city form a unity.
The city is not cold and modern, but almost picturesque. "And when
the sun goes down/ we walk along the cobblestone ground". In fact one almost
has the impression that the narrator describes a small town or village.
(Well, probably Suzanne does describe The Village here.) There is a feeling
of overall satisfaction and optimism. The characters dream of a successful
future and of their career ("rich", "brave", "bold") and nothing can disturb
their composure. "All right", "OK" and "fine" stress the relaxed atmosphere
of community and friendship.
The Boulevardiers pictures a positive city, a city in which one feels
comfortable and secure. There is no violence, no hostility, no anonymity.
Everyone is looked after and the characters form a strong "we". There is
no rush or hurry, the time is set by the sun, the characters orientate
to 'nature's clock'. ("and when the sun goes down/ we walk along the cobblestone
ground") The mood is optimistic and relaxed, the future looks bright and
there are no traces of doubt or despair. Nature and city form a unity,
beauty can be found in every aspect of the city. "If
you grow up in a city like this" Vega says in an interview "you learn to
find things beautiful that other people might not think of as beautiful.
You see broken glass on the sidewalk and that's beautiful or find some
little plant growing and that seems beautiful or you see dirty children
playing in the street in the fire hydrant and that's beautiful. And that's
the world I grew up in."(4)
The Boulevardiers surely describes that view of the city and shows
the positive aspects of it.