11 November 2013

René Louis Lafforgue: Cimetière de Cachan #3

René Louis Lafforgue (1925–67)* was of Basque origin and exiled in France. He took part in the French Resistance with his brother Sylvain (1928–44), who died fighting for freedom. He became a very popular singer-songwriter but died in a car crash on the road from Albi to Castres.

Lafforgue appears as one of Georges Perec's memories in Je me souviens (1978), a book inspired by Joe Brainard's I Remember (1970). Of Perec's 480 memories, Lafforgue is number 467.

*I took these dates from those on the grave, although his given birthdate doesn't tally with other sources.


Below are links to three of Lafforgue's songs, the first one being a performance with Georges Brassens on guitar, the second two being recordings of two of his most popular songs:

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René Louis Lafforgue: 'Le Poseur de rails'
René Louis Lafforgue: 'Julie la Rousse'

René Louis Lafforgue: 'L'Écluse'

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