Tu Veux Que J'te Chante La Mer ?

His funeral was held on Friday in Paris. Alain Bashung died last week. He was sixty-one, a heavy smoker, and died, predictably, of lung cancer.

I wasn't a huge fan of his. But a few of his biggest hit songs are part of the repertoire of music that defines my first year in Paris, now over twenty-seven years ago. We have a couple of his albums from back then.

The television news reports covered his death of course. Friday's memorial service was held a couple blocks from where I lived back in 1981, at the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. He was buried in the Père-Lachaise cemetery.

I never saw Bashung sing live. I probably should have. He had another relatively big hit in 1991, and another just last year. He acted in more than a dozen films, none of which I can recall seeing.

But still, his death jarred me a bit. He was young, and his music conjures fond memories, at least for me.

J'ai dû rêver trop fort.