10th arrondissement — “His guitar was underscoring my morning ride beyond Gare du Nord through the graffitied suburbs”

001 : Tim Cissell on the RER B, on the way to Charles de Gaulle, 10th arrondissement
Born in 1950 in St Louis, MO, USA, Tim Cissell currently works as Composer/Music producer Why Paris? I think Jimbo is still alive there somewhere… He digs the following Paris bits: 1. Women look you right in the eyes 2. I can take as long to eat a meal as I want 3. I can piss on a building at night on the way home if necessary 4. I love the color gray 5. Churches and museums are my thing He is, however, a bit miffed by the fact that the auto traffic usually tries to kill him, that it takes about three weeks for his legs to stop hurting from all the walking, the student groups at the museums, the queue jumping at Berthillon in summer, and uh-- two words-- dog shit. For more info on Tim Cissell you should send an email or visit his homepage.

image: Courambel
“His guitar was underscoring my morning ride beyond Gare du Nord through the graffitied suburbs”

After three weeks in a rental near Chatelet,^[1] I needed to get up earlier than I wanted in order to make the train trek to Charles de Gaulle^[2] and my plane ride home. A talented busker with his cart, amp and guitar was underscoring my morning ride beyond Gare du Nord^[3] through the graffitied suburbs.

I’m always a little sad to be leaving Paris and the opening lines of his song seemed appropriate:

Now that I’ve lost everything to you
You say you wanna start something new
And it’s breakin’ my heart you’re leavin’
Baby, I’m grievin’…

After the first vocal line in the chorus of this song, “Oh Baby, Baby, It’s a Wild World …”, there’s usually a descending, C-major scale melody played as a guitar solo.

Everyone knows this melody. If there is a hook in the song, that little guitar part might be the hook. Everyone always plays it like it was played on the record, everyone except this busker.

And like some busker lyrics are handed down informally from person to person and unintentionally changed, he played the melody deliberately and exactly the same way in each chorus. Except his new rhythm and dissonant notes reminded me of all the small joyful moments in travel when you think you know what’s coming, but you don’t.

[Listen to the music sample]

referenced works

Seedy neighborhood in central Paris. ↩

(CDG for short) International airport northeast of Paris. Formerly known as Roissy (still called Roissy by nostalgic Frenchmen). Reached from the center of Paris by the suburban train called the RER. ↩

Large railway station in northeastern Paris through which the RER to CDG passes. ↩

location information

Name: the RER B, on the way to Charles de Gaulle
Address: Gare du Nord 75010 Paris
Time of story: Morning
Latitude: 48.881891
Longitude: 2.35498
Map: Google Maps

commentary

017 “I opened the hip high gate and found a green wooden bench in the shade” — Anne Schwartz

016 “I didn't know what it was she had that I wanted.” — Catherine Vreeland

015 “She was still there, with her shining coat of orange and the green belt of the RER C at her feet.” — Lily Templeton

014 “Paris is its own reason.” — Tory Hoen

013 “Gilded angels taking off from Châtelet, Bastille, Invalides” — Jennifer K. Dick

012 “A dialogue out of nowhere and from the 5th dimension” — Jussara Nunes

011 “I started screaming New York-style obscenities.” — Richard Nahem

010 “Her soul is okay though, she’s just received Holy Communion at Saint-Nicolas, one station before” — Tom Frozart

009 “It felt like if things continued the way they were, my body would disintegrate” — Chris Huntington

008 “It reminded me of an Yves Saint Laurent dress, of mermaids and of Christmas” — Catharine Hewitson

007 “I felt a sense of relief as I experienced the rare soothing absence of fluorescent light” — Kincaid

006 “My fist flew wildly and connected with the warm Parisian evening air” — John Greiner

005 “Someone handed me a plastic cup of white wine and I sipped it so I didn’t have to make conversation” — Claire Oldman

004 “The white winter sunshine makes it warm enough for tourists and locals to sit outside the cafe on the Place des Abbesses” — Badaude

003 “Two cans of beer in the thin plastic bag” — Bronwyn Mahoney

002 “Je ne suis pas une femme facile” — Lauren Elkin

001 “His guitar was underscoring my morning ride beyond Gare du Nord through the graffitied suburbs” — Tim Cissell

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