The singing frenchmen

I’ve come across a strange custom in France: singing in public. In fact, I’ve encountered a number of people who sing or hum to themselves in public settings like on a train, in a café or while walking along a busy street. At first, I thought it was just one or two isolated cases, and I attributed the singing to the friendly but eccentric nature of a couple of older men. However, I began to notice that a lot of people sing to themselves in public: Parisienne women, young pre-teen girls, 20-something-year-old men, students, shopkeepers and, of course, the friendly but eccentric older men.

Quite often, I even recognize the song. One time, I heard a girl belting out the theme song to the animated Anastasia movie, “Once Upon a December,” in French. Of course, it is more entertaining when I hear French speakers singing songs in English. For instance, I heard one young man attempting to sing the chorus of “September” by Earth, Wind and Fire. When he got to the verse, however, he gave up trying to pronounce the English words and proceeded to hum the tune. But my favorite moment was when a pre-teen girl passed me, singing down the aisle on the train. I could distinctly hear her attempting to pronounce the words of “Barbie Girl” by Aqua. However it sounded more like, “Am ah baby guh, on ah baby wah, ave en… da da…”

They may not smile or even make eye contact with strangers, but the French seem to have no reservations about singing to themselves in public. Is this a French thing? Although I’ve heard fellow Americans hum to themselves every now and then, I’ve never noticed this habit on a large scale like I have noticed it in France. I think I like it. :)

#europe #france #singing