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
Le Vin
Georges Brassens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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
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