
Sans le Coq Rouge
I dreamed that we were together again, our purple and yellow faces floating in the blue-painted sky. The same violin that played at our wedding was there, still inviting us to dance. That pony you loved, with the huge eyes and fluttery eyelashes, gazed at me in the old way – as if we were still in those glorious days before the sadness, before the avalanche of loss. Bold blue midnight sang of forever – soaring, swooping melodies that spoke of all the wonderful worlds we would explore. In my dream, everything had wings, everything was flying. We were together.
Can you see what I saw? You always could read my mind, why not my dream? Wherever you are now, maybe your sight is all encompassing, maybe you can see the magnificent whole – the limitless sky, the richness of the blue paint, our joyously floating figures, the violin weaving its magic. Maybe you can see the huge white moon, round and shimmering with light, swimming in the sky, dipping into the lake below. Maybe I am the moon in the sky and you are the reflection of the moon in the water. In my dream, everything had wings, everything was swimming, floating, singing, flying. We were together, we were forever.
“I painted my hands and my face blue, then was suddenly swept up by the wind, and started to fly in the infinite sky.” Somewhere I had heard these words in a beloved song inspired by a painting. Somewhere I too had seen the famous painting. Perhaps somewhere, somehow, I myself had painted it. Somewhere, someday the dream will come again and then again, each time more clearly. I will touch the infinite; I will learn to fly. And we will be together, in the world of dreams, the world of imagination, the world of flight. And this time, there will be no red rooster to announce the dawn.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleThe memories through colours… how wonderful! I hope he really did see what she wanted him to see. I really liked it!
Thank you so much, Greene. Yes, colors are very important in this story, in the painting it is based on, and in the song quoted in the last paragraph. The painting is Marc Chagall’s Le Coq Rouge (The Red Rooster). My title imagines a dream world without the rooster, which I imagine as crowing to wake the sleeper from his dream.
I so much enjoyed this poignant and evocative vignette, with its mindset of reminiscing, questioning, wondering, imagining, reinventing… I love the pervasiveness of words signifying color and movement, so profoundly fused by music and painting (two arts which are in the foreground of this scene). You’ve exquisitely woven these words to create a unique and captivating atmosphere. It was truly a delightful reading experience!
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleOh Bethany, what a delight to read your comment! I am so glad you enjoyed the story. With your love of foreign languages, your deep knowledge of music and your inherent artistry, I can see how you would relate to this painting and story, just as I have. Thanks for reading!!
A very intriguing story, Julie. What is the quote that begins the last paragraph? Tell us more!
Hello Fuji. Thanks for your question! The quote is the beginning of the famous Italian song “Volare”, which was inspired by two of Marc Chagall’s paintings. The story goes that Franco Migliacci had a bit too much wine, fell asleep, had vivid dreams and woke up staring at Chagall reproductions on the wall. In “Le coq rouge” was a yellow man suspended in midair, while in “Le peintre et la modelle”, half… Read more »
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleHere’s the original song “Volare”, from a 1958 recording. It was chosen to represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest 1958. Sadly, the version that became popular in the United States, sung by Dean Martin, lost a lot of the surreal poetry and beauty in the English translation. I much prefer the original!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qivzSaALee8
Your love of music always shines through in your stories Julie, always very informative and interesting – Thank you.
The Rooster though. I like to think he is excited about what may lay in the day ahead! No pun intended ha, ha!
Eric, you’re one of a kind. Your comments invariably make me laugh! Thanks for reading, and for your unique sense of humor.
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleJulie, humor has the sound of music, once the right note is struck – you have the symphony of laughter.
Oh! I love this story. The descriptions are well detailed. A nice one, Julie. Is the first paragraph a personal experience?
Hello Thompson. Thanks so much for reading and for commenting. Nothing in this story is related to any of my personal experiences. Instead, the entire story is based on the Chagall painting “Le Coq Rouge” – The Red Rooster. He painted this soon after the sudden, unexpected death of his beloved wife, his lifelong partner. I imagined him speaking to her through the painting. I incorporated the quotes from the song “Nel… Read more »
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To Leave Comments - Please SignIn with GoogleJulie, what a very rich and colorful story you are serving us. I was familiar with Chagall (I even saw an expo with his art in Paris as a 20 year visitor) and with the song Volare (which also became very popular in Sweden and was translated and sung in Swedish), but I didn’t have any idea that there was a connection between the two of them. Your story is like a… Read more »
That was a very colorful story, Julie. It is a story with art that was blended with music. So entertaining and interesting. I enjoyed and love it.
What an exquisite use of colour and music in your story, Julie. I love the idea of dreaming about and dreaming yourself into the painting. Flying together, forever. Volare indeed.
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