Sandwidi Pierre

Sandwidi Pierre
24" x 12"
oil on board, 2012

Je Suis un Salaud is the name of a song by Sandwidi Pierre that could have well been a contender for the Eurovision Song Festival if he had been European. It's a chanson in the tradition of the great chansonistas. He could have contended with Buranovskiye Babushki and Engelbert Humperdinck who are probably around the same age as Mr. Pierre. But Sandwidi Pierre is not from Europe and I'm not even sure if he's still alive today. Sandwidi Pierre hails from Burkino Faso and is nicknamed Le Troubadour de la Savane which is precisely the title of the record Je Suis un Salaud is found on. It was recorded in Nigeria around 1984. After looking up the meaning of the word "salaud" I intuitively likened the song to some hits I heard growing in the Netherlands: Ik Ben Gerrit and Mijn Naam is Haas, songs that should have been contenders in the Eurovision as well. I don't know who won the contest this year but I sure hope it was the Buranovskiye Babushki group of old ladies that sing traditional Russian songs. Somehow I don't think they've gotten many votes though. You can listen to Je Suis un Salaud via the great excavators of the on-line site Ghost Capital.