Here is a guitar adaptation of a Renaud song from 1977 : Buffalo Débile.
I have already mentioned here my attachment to Renaud and his songs. Besides, it’s a safe bet that I’ll definitely publish other songs of his on this blog!
Place de ma mob, Renaud’s second album after Amoureux de Paname, anchors his style. It is also my favorite album, probably because of the musical arrangements. Indeed, with a folk and acoustic color, the whole album is still relevant, in my opinion.
Why this song.
I have the chance to regularly replace Cheveu in the team of Monsieur Lune on the shows for young audiences. This role is a challenge because I have to appropriate Cheveu’s game which has its own identity, very pop and which I like. I play bass, electric and acoustic guitar, banjo and ukulele.
Still, with Nicolas, aka Monsieur Lune, we like to hum Renaud songs from time to time. Last weekend, while traveling to Pornic to play the incredible story of Gaston and Lucie, we hummed this Buffalo Débile at one point in the dressing rooms. I then felt like doing a version of it here.
Music.
In C minor on the original version, I transposed it in A min to be in agreement with my vocal range. Note that the harmony is quite simple. In Am, it gives: first degree with Am, fourth degree with Dm and fifth with E7. If you are interested in understanding harmony, you probably already know that these degrees I, IV and V are the basics.
For my guitar adaptation, I tried to emphasize the melodic lines as much as possible. This is one of the things I love to do with the guitar, the banjo or the ukulele. That is, being able to play the melody along with the harmonic grid. In the case of this song, I find that it underlines the lyrical dimension present in the melody.
Score and tablature.
If you wish, my guitar adaptation is available in pdf format just below this text.
This is a non-commercial sharing.