Le Vin
Georges Brassens Lyrics


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Avant de chanter ma vie
De faire des harangues
Dans ma gueule de bois
J'ai tourné sept fois ma langue
J'suis issu de gens
Qui étaient pas du genre sobre
On conte que j'eus
La tétée au jus d'octobre

Mes parents on dû
Me trouver au pied d'une souche
Et non dans un chou
Comme ces gens plus ou moins louches
En guise de sang
Ô, noblesse sans pareille
Il coule en mon cœur
La chaude liqueur d'la treille

Quand on est un sage
Et qu'on a du savoir-boire
On se garde à vue
En cas de soif, une poire
Une poire ou deux
Mais en forme de bonbonne
Au ventre replet
Rempli du bon lait d'l'automne

Jadis, aux Enfers
Certes, il a souffert tantale
Quand l'eau refusa
D'arroser ses amygdales
Être assoiffé d'eau
C'est triste, mais faut bien dire
Que, l'être de vin
C'est encore vingt fois pire

Hélas, il ne pleut
Jamais du gros bleu qui tache
Qu'ell's donnent du vin
J'irai traire enfin les vaches
Que vienne le temps
Du vin coulant dans la Seine




Les gens, par milliers
Courront y noyer leur peine

Overall Meaning

The song "Le Vin" by Georges Brassens tells the story of a man who loves wine deeply and considers it an essential part of his life. Before delving into his story, he makes sure to mention his family's history of alcoholism and his own childhood experience with wine. He talks about his noble blood, claiming that the warm liquid of the vineyard runs through his heart. The man then goes on to give some tips on how to be a wise drinker, advising to have a pear-shaped container filled with autumnal milk-like wine whenever feeling thirsty.


Brassens then pauses the narrative to reference Tantalus from Greek mythology, a man who was condemned to stand in water up to his chin with fruit hanging over his head. Whenever he tried to take a sip or a bite, the water receded, and the fruit moved out of reach. The man comments that being thirsty for water is sad, but being thirsty for wine is much worse. Finally, he declares that he will go and milk the cows, anticipating a time when wine will be so abundant that people will pour their heartache into the Seine river.


Overall, the song "Le Vin" is a celebration of the pleasures of wine, but it also acknowledges the potential dangers of excessive drinking. It advocates for a moderate approach to wine, where it can be enjoyed without becoming a source of misery or addiction.


Line by Line Meaning

Avant de chanter ma vie
I won’t be singing my life story any time soon


De faire des harangues
Nor will I be delivering any speeches


Dans ma gueule de bois
Before I’ve succumbed once more to a hangover


J'ai tourné sept fois ma langue
I’ve thought through what I'm about to say


J'suis issu de gens
I came from people who weren't fond of sobriety


Qui étaient pas du genre sobre
My ancestors definitely weren't teetotalers


On conte que j'eus
It's said that I had


La tétée au jus d'octobre
A sip of wine while still a baby


Mes parents on dû
My parents must have


Me trouver au pied d'une souche
Found me at the foot of a tree trunk


Et non dans un chou
Rather than under a cabbage leaf


Comme ces gens plus ou moins louches
Like those shady characters in fairy tales


En guise de sang
In place of common blood


Ô, noblesse sans pareille
Oh, unmatched nobility


Il coule en mon cœur
A warm stream of wine courses through my heart


La chaude liqueur d'la treille
Straight from the grapevine


Quand on est un sage
If you're wise


Et qu'on a du savoir-boire
And you know the art of drinking


On se garde à vue
You always have on hand


En cas de soif, une poire
A flask or two of pear brandy


Une poire ou deux
One or two flasks


Mais en forme de bonbonne
Shaped like a traditional store canister


Au ventre replet
Beneath an ample waistcoat


Rempli du bon lait d'l'automne
Filled with the year's best homemade spirits


Jadis, aux Enfers
Once in Hell


Certes, il a souffert tantale
Tantalus surely suffered


Quand l'eau refusa
When the water refused


D'arroser ses amygdales
To quench his burning thirst


Être assoiffé d'eau
Being thirsty for water


C'est triste, mais faut bien dire
It's sad, but it must be said


Que, l'être de vin
Being thirsty for wine


C'est encore vingt fois pire
Is twenty times worse


Hélas, il ne pleut
Sadly, it never rains


Jamais du gros bleu qui tache
Anything but heavy rain that ruins the crop


Qu'ell's donnent du vin
Only grapevines provide us with wine


J'irai traire enfin les vaches
I'll start milking the cows without delay


Que vienne le temps
Until the moment when


Du vin coulant dans la Seine
The time comes for wine to flow through the Seine


Les gens, par milliers
Thousands of people


Courront y noyer leur peine
Will come to drown their sorrows and grief




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Georges Brassens

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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