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 amours d'antan
Georges Brassens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Margot, la blanche caille, et Fanchon, la cousette
Pas la moindre noblesse, excusez-moi du peu
C'étaient, me direz-vous, des grâces roturières
Des nymphes de ruisseau, des Vénus de barrière
Mon prince, on a les dames du temps jadis qu'on peut
Car le cœur à vingt ans se pose où l'œil se pose
La plus humble bergère est un morceau de roi
Ça manquait de marquise, on connut la soubrette
Faute de fleur de lys on eut la pâquerette
Au printemps Cupidon fait flèche de tout bois
On rencontrait la belle aux Puces, le dimanche
"Je te plais, tu me plais" et c'était dans la manche
Et les grands sentiments n'étaient pas de rigueur
"Je te plais, tu me plais, viens donc beau militaire"
Dans un train de banlieue on partait pour Cythère
On n'était pas tenu même d'apporter son cœur
Mimi, de prime abord, payait guère de mine
Chez son fourreur sans doute on ignorait l'hermine
Son habit sortait point de l'atelier d'un dieu
Mais quand, par-dessus le moulin de la Galette
Elle jetait pour vous sa parure simplette
C'est Psyché tout entiere qui vous sautait aux yeux
Au second rendez-vous y avait parfois personne
Elle avait fait faux bond, la petite amazone
Mais l'on ne courait pas se pendre pour autant
La marguerite commençait avec Suzette
On finissait de l'effeuiller avec Lisette
Et l'amour y trouvait quand même son comptant
C'étaient, me direz-vous, des grâces roturières
Des nymphes de ruisseau, des Vénus de barrière
Mais c'étaient mes amours, excusez-moi du peu
Des Manon, des Mimi, des Suzon, des Musette
Margot la blanche caille, et Fanchon, la cousette
Mon prince, on a les dames du temps jadis qu'on peut
Georges Brassens's Les amours d'antan is a nostalgic song that describes the singer's former romantic adventures in Paris. The singer reminisces about his past loves and how he was content with the common, working-class women he met. He mentions Margot, Fanchon, and a "grisette" - a term used to describe a young French working-class woman with whom he fell in love. The singer notes that they were not from the nobility, but they were still beautiful to him, describing them as "nymphs of the stream" and "barrier Venuses."
The singer reflects on how love was different when he was younger, with passion and impulsive behavior taking the forefront over deeper emotions. He describes how love was easy, and one could find it anywhere, even with the most common of women. He acknowledges that these women may not have been the most significant of ladies, but they were his loves, and he treasured them.
Overall, the song captures the feeling of romantic nostalgia and the recognition that love can come from an unexpected source, whether the nobility or the working class. It highlights the idea that love and passion can be found in anybody if you look for it.
Line by Line Meaning
Moi, mes amours d'antan c'était de la grisette
My past loves were just common women
Margot, la blanche caille, et Fanchon, la cousette
Such as Margot, the fair-haired one, and Fanchon, the seamstress
Pas la moindre noblesse, excusez-moi du peu
None of them were nobles, but pardon the lack of grandeur
C'étaient, me direz-vous, des grâces roturières
You might say they were just common beauties
Des nymphes de ruisseau, des Vénus de barrière
They were like water nymphs or prostitutes
Mon prince, on a les dames du temps jadis qu'on peut
One can only have the women of the old times that one can get
Car le cœur à vingt ans se pose où l'œil se pose
At twenty, the heart follows where the eyes lead
Le premier cotillon venu vous en impose
The first person to dance with impresses you
La plus humble bergère est un morceau de roi
Even the simplest shepherdess is like a queen
Ça manquait de marquise, on connut la soubrette
We didn't have any marquises, so we settled for actresses
Faute de fleur de lys on eut la pâquerette
In place of royalty, we had humble little daisies
Au printemps Cupidon fait flèche de tout bois
In Spring, Cupid shoots his arrows at everyone
On rencontrait la belle aux Puces, le dimanche
We would meet ladies at the flea market on Sundays
"Je te plais, tu me plais" et c'était dans la manche
"I like you, you like me" and that was it
Et les grands sentiments n'étaient pas de rigueur
Deep feelings were not necessary
"Je te plais, tu me plais, viens donc beau militaire"
"I like you, you like me, so come with me handsome soldier"
Dans un train de banlieue on partait pour Cythère
We'd take a suburban train to go to the "Isle of Love"
On n'était pas tenu même d'apporter son cœur
You weren't even required to bring your heart
Mimi, de prime abord, payait guère de mine
At first glance, Mimi didn't seem like much
Chez son fourreur sans doute on ignorait l'hermine
At her furrier's, they probably had no idea about her true worth
Son habit sortait point de l'atelier d'un dieu
But when she wore her simple outfit in front of the Moulin de la Galette
Mais quand, par-dessus le moulin de la Galette
and threw her charm at you, she was like the goddess Psyche
Elle jetait pour vous sa parure simplette
And you couldn't resist her simple allure for you
Au second rendez-vous y avait parfois personne
Sometimes there was no one at the second date
Elle avait fait faux bond, la petite amazone
That little Amazon had stood you up
Mais l'on ne courait pas se pendre pour autant
But we didn't go hang ourselves because of that
La marguerite commençait avec Suzette
We started with daisies with Suzette
On finissait de l'effeuiller avec Lisette
And finished the game with "he loves me, he loves me not" with Lisette
Et l'amour y trouvait quand même son comptant
And there was still enough love to go around
Mais c'étaient mes amours, excusez-moi du peu
But those were my loves, forgive me for being pleased with them
Des Manon, des Mimi, des Suzon, des Musette
Like Manon, Mimi, Suzon, and Musette
Margot la blanche caille, et Fanchon, la cousette
Like Margot the fair-haired one, and Fanchon the seamstress
Mon prince, on a les dames du temps jadis qu'on peut
One can only have the women of the old times that one can get
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Georges Brassens
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Marion Moisan
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