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 lilas
Georges Brassens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Je n'achèt' que des lilas
Si ma chanson chante triste
C'est que l'amour n'est plus là
Comm' j'étais, en quelque sorte
Amoureux de ces fleurs-là
Je suis entré par la porte
Des lilas, y'en avait guère
Des lilas, y'en avait pas
Z'étaient tous morts à la guerre
Passés de vie à trépas
J'suis tombé sur une belle
Qui fleurissait un peu là
J'ai voulu greffer sur elle
Mon amour pour les lilas
J'ai marqué d'une croix blanche
Le jour où l'on s'envola
Accrochés à une branche
Une branche de lilas
Pauvre amour, tiens bon la barre
Le temps va passer par là
Et le temps est un barbare
Dans le genre d'Attila
Aux cœurs où son cheval passe
L'amour ne repousse pas
Aux quatre coins de l'espace
Il fait le désert sous ses pas
Alors, nos amours sont mortes
Envolées dans l'au-delà
Laissant la clé sous la porte
Sous la porte des Lilas
La fauvette des dimanches
Cell' qui me donnait le la
S'est perchée sur d'autres branches
D'autres branches de lilas
Quand je vais chez la fleuriste
Je n'achèt' que des lilas
Si ma chanson chante triste
C'est que l'amour n'est plus là
The song Les Lilas by Georges Brassens is a melancholic reflection on lost love. The singer of the song sings about his love for lilacs and how he only buys them when he visits the florist. He confesses that his song is sad because love is no longer present in his life. He remembers being in love with these beautiful flowers and entering through the door of the lilacs. However, he soon realizes that there are barely any lilacs left due to the war, and the ones that do exist are dying. Despite this, he finds a beautiful lilac blooming and tries to transfer his love for the flowers onto it by marking the day they took flight together with a white cross.
As time passes, he comes to realize that his love has died and nothing can bring it back. He compares the passage of time to the barbaric Attila who leaves a desert wherever he goes. The song ends with the singer reminiscing about the past and lamenting how his love has left him. He remembers the song that the bird gave him and how it has now perched on other lilac branches.
Overall, Les Lilas is a poignant and melancholic tale of lost love. The symbolism of the lilacs and their eventual demise serves as a metaphor for the singer's own lost love. The song's reflective melody adds to the sense of sadness and longing that permeates throughout the piece.
Line by Line Meaning
Quand je vais chez la fleuriste
Whenever I go to the florist
Je n'achèt' que des lilas
I only buy lilacs
Si ma chanson chante triste
If my song sounds sad
C'est que l'amour n'est plus là
It's because love is no longer there
Comm' j'étais, en quelque sorte
As I was, in a way
Amoureux de ces fleurs-là
In love with those flowers
Je suis entré par la porte
I entered through the door
Par la porte des Lilas
Through the Lilac door
Des lilas, y'en avait guère
There were hardly any lilacs
Des lilas, y'en avait pas
There were no lilacs
Z'étaient tous morts à la guerre
They had all died in the war
Passés de vie à trépas
Gone from life to death
J'suis tombé sur une belle
I stumbled upon a beauty
Qui fleurissait un peu là
That was blossoming a little there
J'ai voulu greffer sur elle
I wanted to graft onto her
Mon amour pour les lilas
My love for lilacs
J'ai marqué d'une croix blanche
I marked with a white cross
Le jour où l'on s'envola
The day we flew away
Accrochés à une branche
Hanging onto a branch
Une branche de lilas
A lilac branch
Pauvre amour, tiens bon la barre
Poor love, hold the line
Le temps va passer par là
Time will pass by
Et le temps est un barbare
And time is a barbarian
Dans le genre d'Attila
In the style of Attila
Aux cœurs où son cheval passe
In the hearts where his horse passes
L'amour ne repousse pas
Love does not grow back
Aux quatre coins de l'espace
In all corners of space
Il fait le désert sous ses pas
He makes a desert under his feet
Alors, nos amours sont mortes
So, our loves have died
Envolées dans l'au-delà
Gone away to the beyond
Laissant la clé sous la porte
Leaving the key under the door
Sous la porte des Lilas
Under the Lilac door
La fauvette des dimanches
The Sunday warbler
Cell' qui me donnait le la
The one that gave me the pitch
S'est perchée sur d'autres branches
Perched on other branches
D'autres branches de lilas
Other lilac branches
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: GEORGES CHARLES BRASSENS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
marie-hélène Piani
Une des plus belles chansons de Brassens... une poésie qui déchire le coeur
ouafouaf
une chanson magnifique, toute de simplicité, tirée d'un des meilleurs tonneaux de notre grand Brassens.
Bernard Doubravass
Du beau travail
fanfan Legrand
ouafouaf d'accord avec vous, ça fait un moment que je ne l'avais pas entendue. Elle est magnifique. Mais comme tout ce qu'a fait Brassens est grandiose, on a envie de tout écouter....
Annie TC
Trop beau , vive Brassens!!!
Jesús Vallés Gracia
Canción triste y hermosa.
Louis Ripoll
Encore un cru exceptionnel
Aptel Bruno
On t'aime Georges !