He was uncompromising when composing his songs. His tactical method of addressing issues was profound and often humorous, making him a unique and effective figure in the French community.
Brassens, born in 1921 in the small Mediterrenean port of Sete, wanted to be a poet. He realized very early however that poetry in the 20th century could hardly put bread on the table and instead set himself to become a singer.
He is much less famous internationally than contemporaries like Charles Aznavour, Edith Piaf and Yves Montand, as much of the impact of his songs came from the lyrics, which proved difficult to translate into other languages. He loved the Middle Ages and used a great deal of Old French vocabulary, as well as many classical - ie., Latin and Greek - references. Few people, even in France, possess the background to fully understand his songs.
Yet he was at the same time a hugely popular singer and many of his songs still carry a lot of appeal and relevance. In this sense, he can be compared to Boris Vian, to Jacques Brel, and to a lesser extent to Serge Gainsbourg.
He was very sophisticated, yet at the same time used profanity liberally. While he wasn't politically engaged, he was nevertheless unambiguously a leftist, many of his songs carrying blatant and buoyant anarchist overtones.
While his music was initially quite primitive, the 1950's St-Germain-des-Pres influence quickly made itself felt and while subdued and - in his mind - always secondary to the lyrics, it became increasingly sophisticated - to the point that many of his songs have been covered and reinterpretated by jazzmen (see for instance this UK site: www.projetbrassens.eclipse.co.uk)
He died in 1981, but up to this date (2006) there are few French people - including most of those born since - who can't sing along to his most famous song, Les Copains d'abord ("Friends foremost") or his "Bancs public" ("Public Benches").
For those interested, this site carries a number of (quite good) English tranlations of his songs: www.brassens.org
Au bois de mon cœur
Georges Brassens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Y a des petites fleurs, y a des petites fleurs
Y a des copains au, au bois d'mon cœur
Au, au bois d'mon cœur
Au fond de ma cour j'suis renommé
Au fond de ma cour j'suis renommé
J'suis renommé pour avoir le cœur mal famé
Au bois d'Vincennes
Y a des petites fleurs, y a des petites fleurs
Y a des copains au, au bois d'mon cœur
Au, au bois d'mon cœur
Quand y a plus d'vin dans mon tonneau
Quand y a plus d'vin dans mon tonneau
Dans mon tonneau ils n'ont pas peur de boire mon eau
De boire mon eau
Au bois d'Meudon
Y a des petites fleurs, y a des petites fleurs
Y a des copains au, au bois d'mon cœur
Au, au bois d'mon cœur
Ils m'accompagnent à la mairie
Ils m'accompagnent à la mairie
À la mairie, chaque fois que je me marie
Que je me marie
Au bois d'Saint-Cloud
Y a des petites fleurs, y a des petites fleurs
Y a des copains au, au bois d'mon cœur
Au, au bois d'mon cœur
Chaque fois qu'je meurs fidèlement
Chaque fois qu'je meurs fidèlement
Fidèlement, ils suivent mon enterrement
Mon enterrement
Des petites fleurs, des petites fleurs
Au, au bois d'mon cœur, au, au bois d'mon cœur
In "Au bois de mon cœur," Georges Brassens takes his listeners on a journey through different forests where he has various experiences with his friends. In the first stanza, he sings about the forest of Clamart, where there are lovely little flowers and where he has friends. The refrain reinforces this location as being close to his heart, referred to as “au bois d'mon cœur” (in the forest of my heart). Though he is not physically in the forest throughout the song, it serves as a metaphorical representation of close friendships.
In the second stanza, Brassens suggests that he is unpopular among his neighbors by singing about being famous in his courtyard for having a bad reputation. In the third, he talks about the forest of Vincennes, where his wine has run out, and his friends drink his water instead, thereby emphasizing the camaraderie of his relationships. In the fourth, he mentions the forest of Meudon, where he says that his friends accompany him to the city hall every time he gets married, indicating that he might not take marriage as seriously as they do. Lastly, he mentions the forest of Saint-Cloud where they follow him to his gravesite, conjuring an image of lifetime companionship.
Overall, Brassens emphasizes the importance of loyal friends in his life and uses the various forests as a motif throughout the song, each one representing different experiences he has with them.
Line by Line Meaning
Au bois d'Clamart
In the woods of Clamart
Y a des petites fleurs, y a des petites fleurs
There are small flowers, there are small flowers
Y a des copains au, au bois d'mon cœur
There are friends in the woods of my heart
Au, au bois d'mon cœur
In the woods of my heart
Au fond de ma cour j'suis renommé
At the back of my courtyard, I am renowned
J'suis renommé pour avoir le cœur mal famé
I am renowned for having a bad reputation
Le cœur mal famé
The bad reputation
Au bois d'Vincennes
In the woods of Vincennes
Quand y a plus d'vin dans mon tonneau
When there's no more wine in my barrel
Dans mon tonneau ils n'ont pas peur de boire mon eau
In my barrel, they are not afraid to drink my water
De boire mon eau
To drink my water
Au bois d'Meudon
In the woods of Meudon
Ils m'accompagnent à la mairie
They accompany me to the city hall
À la mairie, chaque fois que je me marie
At the city hall, every time I get married
Que je me marie
When I get married
Au bois d'Saint-Cloud
In the woods of Saint-Cloud
Chaque fois qu'je meurs fidèlement
Every time I die faithfully
Fidèlement, ils suivent mon enterrement
Faithfully, they follow my funeral
Mon enterrement
My funeral
Des petites fleurs, des petites fleurs
Small flowers, small flowers
Au, au bois d'mon cœur, au, au bois d'mon cœur
In the woods of my heart
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Georges Brassens, Joel Favreau
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ilducedimas
Ah Tonton Georges, tu es mort avant ma naissance mais tu me manques comme une membre de ma famille. Content aussi de voir Pierre Nicolas toujours fidèle à la contrebasse.
@claudedrault3589
Georges tu n'es plus là, mais j'aime toujours entendre tes chansons et te regarder chanter, un très beau partage, merci claude
@abdellahabdellah1072
Ce genre de chanteurs et de chansons nous manque bcp
@josebonanno5382
oui
@MsMarielyne
Je suis à Sète actuellement et toujours je pense à lui 😍
@keepcalmandcarryon8934
"Tout est bon chez lui y'a rien à jeter..."
@Caspalov
C'est toujours très touchant de l'entendre et ça me fait bien plaisir de le revoir et de l'écouter :))
@pierrick4621
Quel artiste incroyable quand on y pense
@Rosenoelle3
C'est certain 🎶🎼🎵🎸quel artiste qui fait partie des plus grands.
@bernarddoubravass7123
@@Rosenoelle3 chanson la plus représentative du personnage