Charles Trenet(查尔斯.德内 1913-2001) 是法国的国民歌王，二十世纪的二、三十年代就已成为香颂的代表人物，与Edith Piaf齐名，一生创作了不少广受欢迎的歌曲，还曾参与电影演出，可说是位多才多艺的艺人。他的歌曲大部分节奏明亮，歌词则充着温暖的感情与自然风光，带给人安抚的作用。他有许多歌曲都被翻唱成英文，比如这首他的代表作“La mer”，英文版就是“Beyond the sea”，在电影《海底总动员》里你一定听过。他另外也有一些歌被Nat King Cole，Frank Sinatra等翻成带有爵士乐味道的英文歌曲。by Bruce EderCharles Trenet was among the last of his kind of singer, a holdover from the era of pre-World War II France and the prime of Maurice Chevalier, as well as singer/composers such as Georges Brassens and Leo Ferre. Originally an art student, Trenet turned to singing in his early twenties. The relaxed, genial style and persona that he presented stood in sharp contrast to the stage-fright with which he was afflicted from the outset, and that he never completely overcame. His smooth, light baritone was attractive and his persona won over audiences in music hall performances, where he became known as Le Fou Chantant (the Singing Fool) — at one of his most famous engagements, in 1938, he was scheduled to sing three songs in what was the opening set of the evening and was called back by the audience and performed a total of 12 songs that night, and the featured performer never went on. Trenet composed as well as sang and enjoyed his first big hit in 1939 with Boum, an infectiously bubbly tune that captured the French listening publics attention. After World War II, Trenets career moved into international circles as his songs started getting picked up in translation, usually with lyrics by Lee Wilson — his biggest success was La Mer, a piece that Bobby Darin turned into an English language hit (as Beyond the Sea). His other hits included such songs as Le Soleil A Des Rayons De Pluie, Il Y Avait Des Abres, Printemps a Rio, Bonsoir Jolie Madame, and Que Reste-Il De Nos Amours (better known in English as I Wish You Love).Trenets longevity was something of a surprise even to him — the singer had intended to retire in the 1970s, and had made a farewell tour of France; then he agreed to a request for a farewell concert in Canada and found the reception there so encouraging, that he chose to keep performing and was still working in the 1990s, a period in which at least four CDs of his work were released. Over the course of his 60-year career, Trenet published some 850 songs as well as books of poetry and a handful of novels, although he tended to dismiss the significance of his productivity with a certain detached amusement. Into his 80s, he still presented an ebullient visage, a broad grin topped by thinning red hair that made him look exactly like the aging music hall entertainer that he was. Trenet was still writing songs very prolifically in the late 90s, often inspired by thoughts that occurred to him as he worked on his fiction, which was one reason he had so much trouble completing the latter.