If I may contribute a curious bit of pedantry, I seem to recall from the Joan Peyser biography, which I do not have on hand to consult, that Boulez actually said “Vous êtes de la merde!”, which (I think) would be more grammatical.
Well that’s interesting; according to Peyser’s 1977 book Boulez: Composer, Conductor, Enigma, he said “Vous êtes merde!”; whereas when she recalls the same incident in her 1999 book To Boulez and Beyond, it’s “Vous êtes de la merde!”. Ah well: quod scripsi scripsi and all that – i like the punchiness of the three-word version, irrespective of its grammar!
Mark
9 years ago
Excellent account of the piece – thank you! But, just to confirm the first commenter, “vous etes merde” is not French. “Vous m’emmerdez”, “vous ete un merdeux” are both more likely than “vous etes merde” or even “vous etes de la merde”. “You are shit” – however translated – sounds more like an English-speakers jibe than a Frenchman’s.
Thanks for the comment Mark – seeing as grammar is something i care quite a lot about, i’m bowing to its pressure, and have altered the article accordingly; Joan Peyser’s later account has “Vous êtes de la merde” – so we’ll go with that!
If I may contribute a curious bit of pedantry, I seem to recall from the Joan Peyser biography, which I do not have on hand to consult, that Boulez actually said “Vous êtes de la merde!”, which (I think) would be more grammatical.
Well that’s interesting; according to Peyser’s 1977 book Boulez: Composer, Conductor, Enigma, he said “Vous êtes merde!”; whereas when she recalls the same incident in her 1999 book To Boulez and Beyond, it’s “Vous êtes de la merde!”. Ah well: quod scripsi scripsi and all that – i like the punchiness of the three-word version, irrespective of its grammar!
Excellent account of the piece – thank you! But, just to confirm the first commenter, “vous etes merde” is not French. “Vous m’emmerdez”, “vous ete un merdeux” are both more likely than “vous etes merde” or even “vous etes de la merde”. “You are shit” – however translated – sounds more like an English-speakers jibe than a Frenchman’s.
Thanks for the comment Mark – seeing as grammar is something i care quite a lot about, i’m bowing to its pressure, and have altered the article accordingly; Joan Peyser’s later account has “Vous êtes de la merde” – so we’ll go with that!