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
La marguerite
Georges Brassens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Singulière du bréviaire de l'abbé
Trois pétales de scandale sur l'autel
Indiscrète, pâquerette, d'où vient-elle?
Trois pétales de scandale sur l'autel
Indiscrète, pâquerette, d'où vient-elle?
Dans l'enceinte sacrosainte, quel émoi
Quelle affaire, oui, ma chère, croyez-moi
La frivole fleur qui vole arrive en
Contrebande des plates-bandes du couvent
La frivole fleur qui vole arrive en
Contrebande des plates-bandes du couvent
Notre Père qui, j'espère êtes aux cieux
N'ayez cure des murmures malicieux
La légère fleur, peuchère ne vient pas
De nonnettes, de cornettes en sabbat
La légère fleur, peuchère ne vient pas
De nonnettes, de cornettes en sabbat
Sachez, diantre qu'un jour, entre, deux ave
Sur la pierre d'un calvaire il l'a trouvée
Et l'a mise, chose admise par le ciel
Sans ambages, dans les pages du missel
Et l'a mise, chose admise par le ciel
Sans ambages, dans les pages du missel
Que ces messes basses cessent, je vous prie
Non, le prêtre n'est pas traître à Marie
Que personne ne soupçonne plus jamais
La petite Marguerite, ah! Ça mais
Que personne ne soupçonne plus jamais
La petite Marguerite, ah! Ça mais
The song La Marguerite by Georges Brassens tells a story about a scandalous little daisy named Marguerite that ended up on the altar in a convent. The first verse says that Marguerite fell, which refers to her being accidentally placed on the altar. The next verse calls her "indiscreet" and a "paquerette" (daisy), highlighting the scandal of her presence on the sacred altar.
The third and fourth verses describe the commotion caused by Marguerite's presence in the otherwise sacred surroundings of the convent. The little flower is referred to as "frivole" (frivolous) and "vole" (thief), due to the fact that she arrived on the altar as a smuggler from outside the convent. The singer calls on God to ignore the "malicious murmurs" that Marguerite had generated.
The fifth and sixth verses reveal the origin of Marguerite, which was apparently found by chance on a roadside cross. The priest decided to put her in the missal as a simple gesture of beauty and innocence, but she caused quite a scandal. The last verse is a plea for everyone to forget the little daisy's indiscretion and not to blame the priest for her presence. Overall, the song is a lighthearted and playful critique of the Catholic Church's strict and uptight attitude towards anything that does not conform to their rules.
Line by Line Meaning
La petite Marguerite est tombée
The little Marguerite has fallen
Singulière du bréviaire de l'Abbé
Unique from the abbot's breviary
Trois pétales de scandale sur l'autel
Three petals of scandal on the altar
Indiscrete, pâquerette, d'où vient-elle?
Indiscreet, daisy, where did she come from?
Dans l'enceinte sacrosainte, quel émoi
In the sacred enclosure, what a commotion
Quelle affaire, oui, ma chère, croyez-moi
What an affair, yes, my dear, believe me
La frivole fleur qui vole arrive en
The frivolous flower that flies arrives
Contrebande des plates-bandes du couvent
Smuggled from the convent flower beds
Notre Père qui, j'espère êtes aux cieux
Our Father, who I hope is in heaven
N'ayez cure des murmures malicieux
Pay no attention to malicious murmurs
La légère fleur, peuchère ne vient pas
The light flower, poor thing, did not come from
De nonnettes, de cornettes en sabbat
Nuns or sisters in Sabbath
Sachez, diantre qu'un jour, entre, deux ave
Know, damn it, that one day, among two aves
Sur la pierre d'un calvaire il l'a trouvée
On the stone of a Calvary he found her
Et l'a mise, chose admise par le ciel
And put it, thing admitted by heaven
Sans ambages, dans les pages du missel
Without hesitation, in the pages of the missal
Que ces messes basses cessent, je vous prie
Let these whispers stop, I beg you
Non, le prêtre n'est pas traître à Marie
No, the priest is not a traitor to Mary
Que personne ne soupçonne plus jamais
May no one ever suspect again
La petite Marguerite, ah! Ça mais
The little Marguerite, oh! That's enough
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Georges Charles Brassens
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@luis-pablobolivarcordon6978
Une merveilleuse chanson
@neigevives799
"notre père qui j'espère êtes au cieux" du pur Brassens ! J'adore
@marie-neigevivesvives5209
Quel bijou cette chanson de notre auteur-compositeur-interprète qui encore est adulé, comme d'habitude prosodie parfaite !
@ianmoro8300
la meilleure de tonton Georges.
@philippesimon1181
Aujourd'hui c'est la meilleure. Demain ça en sera une autre
@bernardlome9757
Sur Ondes-Bleues , le 11 octobre à 14 h
@christophemendes6415
Mais quelle merveille...!
@charlittezia6498
D'accord avec vous. En si peu de temps, paroles et musique nous emportent dans une si belle histoire, comme toutes les chansons de Georges Brassens . Quel talent: mots choisis, textes concis....du bonheur à écouter.
Intemporel de plus
Merci George Brassens !!
@christophemendes6415
Charlitte ---> Merci pour lui ! :)
@philippesimon1181
Parait-il que cette chanson était prévue pour Brigitte Bardot !