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
Verlaine
Georges Brassens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Le revois-tu mon âme, ce Boule Miche d'autrefois
Et dont le plus beau jour fut un jour de beau froid
Dieu, s'ouvrit-il jamais une voie aussi pure
Au convoi d'un grand mort suivi de miniatures
Tous les grognards, petits, de Verlaine étaient là
Mais qui suivaient ce mort et la désespérance
Morte enfin, du premier rossignol de la France
Ou plutôt du second, François de Montcorbier
Voici belle lurette en fut le vrai premier
N'importe, Lélian, je vous suivrai toujours
Premier, second, vous seul
En ce plus froid des jours
N'importe, je suivrai toujours, l'âme enivrée
Ah, folle d'une espérance désespérée
Montesquiou-Fezensac et Bibi-la-Purée
Vos deux gardes du corps, entre tous moi dernier
In the song "Verlaine," Georges Brassens reflects on the funeral of the French poet Paul Verlaine. The first verse evokes memories of Boule Miche, the street where Verlaine died, and marvels at the purity of the path that Verlaine's cortege followed, despite the presence of the miniatures, or small and insignificant people, that trailed behind. In the second verse, Brassens paints a picture of Verlaine's funeral procession, with all of his small-time acquaintances or "grognards" following behind, coughing, shivering, and struggling on the icy ground. Verlaine was the first great poet of France, or the "first rossignol," and Brassens acknowledges the fact that he was actually preceded by Francois de Montcorbier, though he maintains his loyalty to Verlaine. The last part of the song is addressed to Montesquiou-Fezensac and Bibi-la-Purée, two of Verlaine's former friends, who served as his bodyguards until the end. Brassens confesses that he will follow them always, even though he is the last and least important of the group.
Line by Line Meaning
L'enterrement de Verlaine
The funeral of Verlaine
Le revois-tu mon âme, ce Boule Miche d'autrefois
Do you see, my soul, that Boule Miche of olden times?
Et dont le plus beau jour fut un jour de beau froid
And whose most beautiful day was a day of beautiful cold
Dieu, s'ouvrit-il jamais une voie aussi pure
God, did a path ever open up so pure?
Au convoi d'un grand mort suivi de miniatures
At the funeral procession of a great dead man followed by miniatures
Tous les grognards, petits, de Verlaine étaient là
All the little grumblers of Verlaine were there
Toussotant, frissonnant, glissant sur le verglas
Coughing, shivering, slipping on the ice
Mais qui suivaient ce mort et la désespérance
But who followed this dead man and the despair
Morte enfin, du premier rossignol de la France
Finally dead, the first nightingale of France
Ou plutôt du second, François de Montcorbier
Or rather the second, François de Montcorbier
Voici belle lurette en fut le vrai premier
For a long time now he has been the true first
N'importe, Lélian, je vous suivrai toujours
No matter, Lélian, I will always follow you
Premier, second, vous seul
First, second, only you
En ce plus froid des jours
On this coldest of days
N'importe, je suivrai toujours, l'âme enivrée
No matter, I will always follow, my soul enraptured
Ah, folle d'une espérance désespérée
Ah, mad with a desperate hope
Montesquiou-Fezensac et Bibi-la-Purée
Montesquiou-Fezensac and Bibi-la-Purée
Vos deux gardes du corps, entre tous moi dernier
Your two bodyguards, among all, me last
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Georges Brassens
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind