It was my friend Sasha who introduced me to Pink Martini back when we were living in Budapest. It’s no coincidence that since then, Sasha has become a highly successful balboa dancer, and Pink Martini has become one of my favorite bands.

There have only been two times in my life when through sheer determination and luck I managed to get to the front of a huge crowd. The night night when I first saw Pink Martini in concert was one of them. I literally bulldozed through to get us to the stage. I did not care, and it was totally worth it.

You had to be there to see China Forbes, the lead singer, in action. There was this woman on the stage – dressed quite modestly, in a long dress with long sleeves – and she would raise her arm and the crowd would just go mad. So much energy, sensuality, and joy were coming through this woman, her voice, and the music.

Pink Martini played in Houston last fall, and unfortunately the Houston Symphony location was too formal for the band and their music. You could not dance. The vibe was still there, but it was not the same without a dancefloor.

It was at the Houston concert where I first heard Dosvedanya Mio Bombino. I immediately thought that if I ever needed a goodbye song, this would be the one.

And now I have the perfect occasion – and the perfect song, classy, friendly, cheerful, and with a bit of Russian and Italian thrown in.

Turning a page. Closing a chapter. Welcoming the new and exciting. Do svidanya.

From Aix-en-Provence (which was lovely, thank you) we did a day trip to Avignon – the old seat of the papal power and the home of the famous pont d’Avignon. The bridge’s official name is Pont Saint-Bénezet. (Apparently it did not make for a good rhyme.)

The best part (apart from being in Avignon on a gorgeous, warm, sunny Sunday): a photo, video and audio installation dedicated to the popular song in the bridge’s honor. Sur le pont d’Avignon has been sung in languages ranging from German to Polish and to tunes from barocco to swing!

After coming back to US and suffering from a serious Euro- and franconostalgia, I dug deep into YouTube. Here are the lyrics to the addictive tune:

Sur le pont d’Avignon
L’on y danse, l’on y danse
Sur le pont d’Avignon
L’on y danse tous en rond
Les beaux messieurs font comm’ ça
Et puis encore comm’ ça

Sur le pont d’Avignon
L’on y danse, l’on y danse
Sur le pont d’Avignon
L’on y danse tous en rond
Les bell’ dames font comm’ ça
Et puis encore comm’ ça

Jean Sablon – an adorable version from the 30s (40s?) with a very young and upbeat feel.

Mireille Mathieu – featuring a collage of historical and contemporary photos and seriously charming German lyrics: Auf der Brücke ist musique…

And the winner, Jean Sablon’s hot swing version which is seriously retro and has awesome footage of pre-war Paris. Unfortunately, this awesome video is non-embeddable, so you just need to take my word for it and click here for 3 minutes of bliss. Seriously, it’s gorgeous.

Now, having had this dose of awesomeness, I am going to do my one-minute commute: boot up my work laptop and plug into the matrix. Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday!