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 Sabots D'Hélène
Georges Brassens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Les trois capitaines l'auraient appelée vilaine
Et la pauvre Hélène était comme une âme en peine
Ne cherche plus longtemps de fontaine, toi qui as besoin d'eau
Ne cherche plus, aux larmes d'Hélène, va-t'en remplir ton seau
Moi j'ai pris la peine de les déchausser
Les sabots d'Hélène, moi qui ne suis pas capitaine
Dans les sabots de la pauvre Hélène, dans ses sabots crottés
Moi j'ai trouvé les pieds d'une reine et je les ai gardés
Son jupon de laine était tout mité
Les trois capitaines l'auraient appelée vilaine
Et la pauvre Hélène était comme une âme en peine
Ne cherche plus longtemps de fontaine, toi qui as besoin d'eau
Ne cherche plus, aux larmes d'Hélène, va-t'en remplir ton seau
Moi j'ai pris la peine de le retrousser
Le jupon d'Hélène moi qui ne suis pas capitaine
Et j'ai vu ma peine bien récompensée
Sous le jupon de la pauvre Hélène, sous son jupon mité
Moi j'ai trouvé des jambes de reine et je les ai gardées
Et le cœur d'Hélène n'savait pas chanter
Les trois capitaines l'auraient appelée vilaine
Et la pauvre Hélène était comme une âme en peine
Ne cherche plus longtemps de fontaine, toi qui as besoin d'eau
Ne cherche plus, aux larmes d'Hélène, va-t'en remplir ton seau
Moi j'ai pris la peine de m'y arrêter
Dans le cœur d'Hélène, moi qui ne suis pas capitaine
Et j'ai vu ma peine bien récompensée
Et dans le cœur de la pauvre Hélène qu'avait jamais chanté
Moi j'ai trouvé l'amour d'une reine et moi je l'ai gardé
Georges Brassens's Les Sabots d'Hélène is a comic song about a poor, plain woman named Hélène, who is ridiculed by three captains for her dirty wooden shoes, her worn-out woolen skirt, and her inability to sing. The song begins with Hélène's lament over her dirty sabots, and the captains' mockery. However, the singer, who is not a captain but a simple man, takes the trouble of taking off Hélène's shoes and finds her feet beautiful, like those of a queen. He then retrousses her skirt and finds her legs equally beautiful, like those of a queen. And finally, he stops by Hélène's heart and finds love there, like that of a queen.
The song is a satire on the shallowness of beauty standards and the elitism of the ruling class, who dismiss the poor and the humble. It also celebrates the power of love to transform ugliness into beauty, and the value of taking the time to appreciate the hidden qualities of a person. By subverting the stereotype of the fairytale princess and the handsome prince, Brassens creates a subversive tale of love and social justice.
Line by Line Meaning
Les sabots d'Hélène étaient tout crottés
Hélène's wooden shoes were completely soiled with dirt.
Les trois capitaines l'auraient appelée vilaine
Three sailors would have called her ugly.
Et la pauvre Hélène était comme une âme en peine
And poor Hélène was like a lost soul.
Ne cherche plus longtemps de fontaine, toi qui as besoin d'eau
Stop looking for a fountain, if you need water.
Ne cherche plus, aux larmes d'Hélène, va-t'en remplir ton seau
Stop searching for water in Hélène's tears, go fill your bucket instead.
Moi j'ai pris la peine de les déchausser
I took the time to remove her shoes.
Les sabots d'Hélène, moi qui ne suis pas capitaine
Hélène's wooden shoes, me, who is not a sailor.
Et j'ai vu ma peine bien récompensée
And I saw my efforts well-rewarded.
Dans les sabots de la pauvre Hélène, dans ses sabots crottés
In poor Hélène's dirty shoes.
Moi j'ai trouvé les pieds d'une reine et je les ai gardés
I found the feet of a queen and kept them.
Son jupon de laine était tout mité
Her woolen skirt was full of holes.
Moi j'ai pris la peine de le retrousser
I took the time to lift it up.
Le jupon d'Hélène moi qui ne suis pas capitaine
Hélène's skirt, me, who is not a sailor.
Sous le jupon de la pauvre Hélène, sous son jupon mité
Under poor Hélène's worn-out skirt.
Moi j'ai trouvé des jambes de reine et je les ai gardées
I found the legs of a queen and kept them.
Et le cœur d'Hélène n'savait pas chanter
And Hélène's heart didn't know how to sing.
Moi j'ai pris la peine de m'y arrêter
I took the time to stop and listen to her heart.
Dans le cœur d'Hélène, moi qui ne suis pas capitaine
In Hélène's heart, me, who is not a sailor.
Et j'ai vu ma peine bien récompensée
And I saw my efforts well-rewarded.
Et dans le cœur de la pauvre Hélène qu'avait jamais chanté
And in the heart of poor Hélène who had never sung before.
Moi j'ai trouvé l'amour d'une reine et moi je l'ai gardé
I found the love of a queen and I kept it.
Lyrics © WARNER CHAPPELL MUSIC FRANCE
Written by: Georges Brassens
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind