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
Les Quatre Bacheliers
Georges Brassens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sans vergogne,
La vraie crème des écoliers,
Des ecoliers.
Pour offrir aux filles des fleurs,
Sans vergogne,
Nous nous fîmes un peu voleurs,
Les sycophantes du pays,
Sans vergogne,
Aux gendarmes nous ont trahis,
Nous ont trahis.
Et l'on vit quatre bacheliers
Sans vergogne,
Qu'on emmène, les mains liées,
Les mains liées.
On fit venir à la prison,
Sans vergogne,
Les parents des mauvais garçons,
Mauvais garçons.
Les trois premiers pères, les trois,
Sans vergogne,
En perdirent tout leur sang-froid,
Tout leur sang-froid.
Comme un seul ils ont déclaré,
Sans vergogne,
Qu'on les avait déshonorée,
Déshonorés.
Comme un seul ont dit " C'est fini,
Sans vergogne,
Fils indigne, je te renie,
Je te renie. "
Le quatrième des parents,
Sans vergogne,
C'était le plus gros, le plus grand,
Le plus grand.
Quand il vint chercher son voleur
Sans vergogne,
On s'attendait à un malheur,
A un malheur.
Mais il n'a pas déclaré, non,
Sans vergogne,
Que l'on avait sali son nom,
Sali son nom.
Dans le silence on l'entendit,
Sans vergogne,
Qui lui disait : " Bonjour, petit,
Bonjour petit. "
On le vit, on le croirait pas,
Sans vergogne,
Lui tendre sa blague à tabac,
Blague à tabac.
Je ne sais pas s'il eut raison,
Sans vergogne,
D'agir d'une telle façon,
Telle façon.
Mais je sais qu'un enfant perdu,
Sans vergogne,
A de la corde de pendu,
De pendu,
A de la chance quand il a,
Sans vergogne,
Un père de ce tonneau-là,
Ce tonneau-là.
Et si les chrétiens du pays,
Sans vergogne,
Jugent que cet homme a failli,
Homme a failli.
Ça laisse à penser que, pour eux,
Sans vergogne,
L'Evangile, c'est de l'hébreu,
C'est de l'hébreu.
Georges Brassens's song Les Quatre Bacheliers tells the story of four young bachelors, who shamelessly offered flowers to the girls, even if they had to steal them. But the tattle-tales of the village betrayed them to the police, and so the four boys are taken away with their hands tied. Their parents are called to the prison, where they have to face the shame that their kids had caused. The first three fathers, one after the other, disowned their sons, claiming they had been dishonored. None of them showed any mercy or compassion for their offspring's mistake. However, the fourth father shocked everyone by greeting his son affectionately, offering him his tobacco-pouch, and not complaining about his son's name being tarnished.
This song, written in 1953, may be interpreted in many ways, but it mainly deals with the concept of paternal love, forgiveness, and redemption. The four bachelors are disobedient, but their mistakes should not be weighed against their lives. The fourth father, who embraces his son, is the real hero of the song because he represents the kind of parent who understands that his son's actions do not define him, and that affection and mercy should be offered unconditionally. In a Christian community that is defined by its moral values, this kind of forgiveness means that the moral fabric of the community is not based on justice and punishment but on love and grace. Furthermore, the song critiques the hypocrisy of the religious people who judge and condemn others without compassion, using Christian values for their own interests.
Line by Line Meaning
Nous étions quatre bacheliers
Sans vergogne,
La vraie crème des écoliers,
Des écoliers.
We were four bachelors without any shame, the very best of schoolboys.
Pour offrir aux filles des fleurs,
Sans vergogne,
Nous nous fîmes un peu voleurs,
Un peu voleurs.
To offer flowers to girls without any shame, we became small-time thieves.
Les sycophantes du pays,
Sans vergogne,
Aux gendarmes nous ont trahis,
Nous ont trahis.
The informers of the country without any shame, betrayed us to the policemen.
Et l'on vit quatre bacheliers
Sans vergogne,
Qu'on emmène, les mains liées,
Les mains liées.
And people saw four bachelors without any shame, being taken away handcuffed.
On fit venir à la prison,
Sans vergogne,
Les parents des mauvais garçons,
Mauvais garçons.
Without any shame, they made the parents of the bad boys visit them in the prison.
Les trois premiers pères, les trois,
Sans vergogne,
En perdirent tout leur sang-froid,
Tout leur sang-froid.
The three first fathers, all three without any shame, lost their composure.
Comme un seul ils ont déclaré,
Sans vergogne,
Qu'on les avait déshonorée,
Déshonorés.
All at once, without any shame, they declared that their honor had been taken.
Comme un seul ont dit " C'est fini,
Sans vergogne,
Fils indigne, je te renie,
Je te renie. "
All at once, without any shame, they disowned their unworthy sons, saying it was over.
Le quatrième des parents,
Sans vergogne,
C'était le plus gros, le plus grand,
Le plus grand.
The fourth parent, without any shame, was the biggest, the tallest.
Quand il vint chercher son voleur
Sans vergogne,
On s'attendait à un malheur,
À un malheur.
When he came to pick up his thief without any shame, they expected something bad to happen.
Mais il n'a pas déclaré, non,
Sans vergogne,
Que l'on avait sali son nom,
Sali son nom.
But he didn't declare, without any shame, that his name had been dirtied.
Dans le silence on l'entendit,
Sans vergogne,
Qui lui disait : " Bonjour, petit,
Bonjour petit. "
In silence, without any shame, they heard him telling his son: "Hello, little one, hello little one."
On le vit, on le croirait pas,
Sans vergogne,
Lui tendre sa blague à tabac,
Blague à tabac.
They saw him, without any shame, extend his tobacco pouch to his son, which one would hardly believe.
Je ne sais pas s'il eut raison,
Sans vergogne,
D'agir d'une telle façon,
Telle façon.
Without any shame, I don't know if he was right to act in such a way.
Mais je sais qu'un enfant perdu,
Sans vergogne,
A de la corde de pendu,
De pendu.
Without any shame, I know that a lost child has a noose waiting.
A de la chance quand il a,
Sans vergogne,
Un père de ce tonneau-là,
Ce tonneau-là.
Without any shame, he is lucky when he has a father of that sort.
Et si les chrétiens du pays,
Sans vergogne,
Jugent que cet homme a failli,
Homme a failli.
Without any shame, if the Christians of the country judge that this man failed.
Ça laisse à penser que, pour eux,
Sans vergogne,
L'Evangile, c'est de l'hébreu,
C'est de l'hébreu.
Without any shame, it makes one wonder if, for them, the Gospel is like a foreign language.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: GEORGES CHARLES BRASSENS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind