I was deeply moved today when I came across this song, written 4 months ago by a French maveric I hadn't heard of till now. He did not use a recording studio or fancy editing to make his official version of it on YouTube. It is one shot, one camera, one mic. Totally basic yet so very effective at catching a feeling which all of us can associate with.
"We've come to break the silence" he chants "we want to keep on dancing!"
Make sure your subtitles are on if you don't speak French. The translation isn't perfect but you get the idea.
Since releasing the song there have been a wave of flashmobs across the country, organised public performances like this one in a Paris train station a few weeks ago. Notice the people getting arrested at the end, coz yeah, this kind of flagrantly happy behaviour is very much illegal now.
This one at La Rochelle has a beatboxer ;)
This one in Avallon Forest has some amazing voices & costumes.
The list is endless when you look. So many people across not just France but multiple countries in Europe have done their own version of it.
Here is a pretty good European compilation.
The words, the music, the illegal public performances... it all mixes together perfectly to become something quite special and I must say, only the French could have pulled something like this off. To create a song which captures the moment so perfectly and inspires countless groups around the continent to sing along regardless of the potential legal consequences, all in a few months with zero publicity.
Bravo to the French man known as HK for his song and bravo to the people of Europe who are out there singing it for us now!
A beautiful feeling indeed and a great reminder of what it is to be human, because yes my friends, to dance is to be free.
And we must keep doing it!