What Did Django Mean?

chip3174

Much thanks Scot and Teddy for the informative replies, it really is great there are such knowledgable folks here on the forum. Is the book Scot mentioned available from this site?


I'm just now watching/listening to the DVD: Django Reinhardt:Swing Guitar and they are just now covering the tour with Ellington. The narrator also says that the fact he could not speak english or barely read or write may have made him feel all the more isolated while in the US. The narrator also mentions the quote about "...being first in rome...", which perhaps leads one to infer he may have been expressing his discontent, a result from what happened on the American tour.

Not sure what tune it is, but there is a little bit of Django playing electric with Ellington's band backing him, cool stuff!

Chip

Elliot

Yes, the explanation I proffered was the obvious, generic (which I take to mean generalized) one, but I reached the equally obvious conclusion early that that is the most you're going to get here. I also think that Ted, you realize this and are not really looking for an answer but put it out to stimulate discussion about Django from a historical perspective, which is fine.

The reasons are also fairly obvious, as anyone with some understanding of semantics, interpretation, or even a reader of Don Quixote will recognize. So, at the risk of being a thread killer and all around party pooper, in sum:

1) We are dealing with a translation from a very idiogrammatic language. We would need to know if the words "Number One" and "Number Two" are the correct English translation, and whether they were chosen instead of other words which would have given a more precise meaning e.g. there may be words which Django could have used to denote 'first' or 'second' referring specifically to his position on the bill. We can only trust the interpreter's understanding of French language circa 1950.

However, even if we knew what was meant here,

2) We have the signifiers Rome and Kansas City. Without proper context (and this would be the job of a decent biographer), we have no idea if he meant the cities as themselves, the cities as places of billing on a tour, the cities as areas of welcome reception (critically, or popularly), or as referring to bands, bandleaders, or musicians either collectively or individually.

Yet even if we did know what he meant here as well,

3) The phrase "and so you see, brother" references an example which preceded it, which may either be definitive or illustrational of the general meaning of the subsequent phrase, the obvious one which I offered.

Because of the this, no amount of background knowledge can uncover the specific meaning Django was referring to, if there ever was one.

Teddy Dupont

Elliot wrote:

....Because of the this, no amount of background knowledge can uncover the specific meaning Django was referring to, if there ever was one.

I agree and I also agree with your doubts about the literal accuracy of this and any such translation. I think the Rome reference is understandable in that he performed with Ekyan & Co there in 1950 where he was certainly the No. 1 in that group at least. - Not a very successful engagement I might add.

Other than as a discussion point, my main reason for posting the question was to see whether anyone had any information to more conclusively establish whether the "No 2" related to America in general or to a particular individual, or whether he was actually talking about Grappelli and his proposed US tour.

Quotes taken out of context can be easily misunderstood and Django was not known as the most eloquent of people in any case.

kimmo

Elliot wrote:

1) We are dealing with a translation from a very idiogrammatic language. We would need to know if the words "Number One" and "Number Two" are the correct English translation, and whether they were chosen instead of other words which would have given a more precise meaning e.g. there may be words which Django could have used to denote 'first' or 'second' referring specifically to his position on the bill. We can only trust the interpreter's understanding of French language circa 1950.

Tu vois, mon frère, j'aime mieux être le premier à Rome que le deuxieme à Kansas City - from the back of Intégrale 18.

To me the translation seems close enough.