chanson
- noun
- /ʃɑ̃ˈsɒn/
:
canción
- Bowie based the Ziggy character on an eclectic group of his favourite singers from the early rock 'n' roll of Little Richard to the theatrical chansons of Jacques Brel.
Examples
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He often listens to French chansons while enjoying a cup of coffee in the café.
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The festival featured various artists performing traditional chansons that celebrated French culture.
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Include a variety of musical genres: madrigals, chansons, folk songs, spirituals, and others.
Academic text (2002) -
An aria, a chanson, a simple lullaby, and soon my protean mind changes its rankling tune.
Fiction book (2001) -
Well, I get tired after two, so Je suis crevé après deux chansons, the third costs extra.
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Pianists who perform the works of Schubert and Chopin or singers of German lieder and French chansons attempt to preserve the music "as written," although they recognize occasions for personal expression through interpretation of the score.
Academic text (1991) -
The poet captivated everyone with her beautiful chansons that spoke of love and nature.
Compounds
- Archaic
A long Old French poem that tells stories of heroic knights and their deeds
How Traditional
Surface Forms
Etymology
Chanson comes from the Latin verb cantare, which means 'to sing', and it passed into Old French, making it like the English word chant. So a chanson is simply a French 'song', often a lyrical or traditional one.