Brel was born on 8th April 1929 in Schaarbeek, a district of Brussels, and lived half of his life in Paris. He died of lung cancer on 9th October 1978 in Bobigny in the suburbs of Paris, and is buried in the Marquesas Islands.
Although the Brels spoke French, they were of Flemish descent, with some of the family originating from Zandvoorde, near Ieper. Brel's father was co-owner of a cardboard factory and Brel started his professional life at that firm, apparently destined to follow in his father's footsteps. However he had no interest in it, showing instead an interest in the arts, having joined the Catholic-humanist youth organisation Franche Cordée, where he did some singing and acting. At Franche Cordée he met Thérèse Michielsen ('Miche'), and they married in 1950.
In the early 1950s Brel achieved some minor success in Belgium, singing his own songs. A 78rpm record ("La foire"/"Il y a") was released as a result. From 1954 Brel seriously pursued a singing career. He quit his job and moved to Paris, writing music and singing in the city's cabarets and music-halls.. In January 1955 he supported in the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels the performances of the Belgian pop and variety pioneer Bobbejaan Schoepen. After some success his wife and daughters joined him from Belgium. By 1956 he was touring Europe and he recorded the song "Quand on n'a que l'amour", which brought him his first major recognition. He appeared in a show with Maurice Chevalier and Michel Legrand.
By the end of the 1950s Miche and Brel's three daughters moved to Brussels. He and his family led separate lives from then on. Under the influence of his friend Georges Pasquier ('Jojo') and pianists Gérard Jouannest and François Rauber, Brel's style changed. He was no longer a Catholic-humanist troubadour, but sang grimmer songs about love, death, and the struggle that is life. The music became more complex and his themes more diverse, exploring love ("Je t'aime", "Litanies pour un retour"), society ("Les singes", "Les bourgeois", "Jaurès") and spiritual concerns ("Le bon Dieu", "Dites, si c'était vrai", "Fernand"). His work is not limited to one style. He was as proficient in comic compositions ("Le lion", "Comment tuer l'amant de sa femme...") as in more emotional ones ("Voir un ami pleurer", "Fils de...", "Jojo"). He composed and recorded his songs almost exclusively in French, and is widely recognised in French-speaking countries as one of the best French-language composers of all time.
Brel himself occasionally included parts of his songs in Flemish (Dutch), one of the three official languages of Belgium, as in Marieke. He also recorded eight other Flemish versions of songs, such as Mijn vlakke land (Le plat Pays), Laat Me Niet Alleen (Ne me quitte pas), Rosa, De Burgerij (Les Bourgeois), and De Nuttelozen van de Nacht (Les paumés du petit matin). Since his own command of the language was poor, these were translated by Ernst van Altena, renowned translator of French song. Although France was Brel's "spiritual home" and he expressed contradictory statements about his native Belgium, some of his best compositions pay tribute to Belgium.
A very successful theatrical review of his songs, "Jacques Brel is Alive and Living in Paris," was launched in 1968. It featured English translations of his songs, and it was late made into a film.
To English-speaking listeners, Brel's best-known song is probably "Seasons in the Sun," a hit for Terry Jacks in 1973. Its English lyrics are a translation by Rod McKuen of Brel's "Le Moribond."
For twenty years he was a major star gaining recognition beyond French audiences. In 1973 he retreated to French Polynesia, remaining there until 1977 when he returned to Paris and recorded his well-received final album.
A heavy smoker, it was discovered in 1973 that Brel had lung cancer. He died in 1978 and was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Atuona, Hiva Oa, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia only a few yards away from painter Paul Gauguin.
09-La lumiere jaillira
Jacques Brel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Claire et blanche un matin
Brusquement devant moi
Quelque part en chemin
La lumière jaillira
Et la reconnaîtrai
Pour l'avoir tant de fois
La lumière jaillira
Et de la voir si belle
Je connaîtrai pourquoi
J'avais tant besoin d'elle
La lumière jaillira
Et nous nous marierons
Pour n'être qu'un combat
N'être qu'une chanson
La lumière jaillira
Et je l'inviterai
A venir sous mon toit
Pour y tout transformer
La lumière jaillira
Et déjà modifié
Lui avouerai du doigt
Les meubles du passé
La lumière jaillira
Et j'aurai un palais
Tout ne change-t-il pas
Au soleil de juillet?
La lumière jaillira
Et toute ma maison
Assise au feu de bois
Apprendra ses chansons
La lumière jaillira
Parsemant mes silences
De sourires de joie
Qui meurent et recommencent
La lumière jaillira
Qu'éternel voyageur
Mon cœur en vain chercha
Mais qui était en mon cœur
La lumière jaillira
Reculant l'horizon
La lumière jaillira
Et portera ton nom
The lyrics of Jacques Brel's "La lumière jaillira" depict a man eagerly awaiting the arrival of the light that he has been hoping for every day. He describes the light as "clear and white" and expects it to appear suddenly on his path. He knows that he'll recognize it when it arrives as he has longed for it so much for so many days. She'll be so beautiful that he will know exactly why he needed her all this while. When they meet, he will marry her and the two of them will become one song and one fight together.
As the light arrives, it will transform everything around him including his home. He will invite her indoors to make changes to his furniture and upon seeing her, he'll know why he needed her. As the beauty of the light illuminates his life, he believes his whole house too will appreciate this transformation and will learn to sing.
The man compares the beauty of the light to the joyous smile on his heart's face as she changes everything around him, bringing love and joy into his life. Finally, he knows that the light will take away the name of the person he loves and with it, will take his horizon too, leaving him basking and content in the light's embrace.
Line by Line Meaning
La lumière jaillira
Hope of enlightenment will come.
Claire et blanche un matin
It will be bright and clear like a beautiful morning.
Brusquement devant moi
It will happen suddenly, just in front of me.
Quelque part en chemin
Somewhere along the journey of life.
Et la reconnaîtrai
I will recognize it immediately.
Pour l'avoir tant de fois
Because I have been waiting for it for so long.
Chaque jour espérée
I have hoped for it every day.
Et de la voir si belle
When I see it, I will realize how beautiful it is.
Je connaîtrai pourquoi
I will understand why I needed it so badly.
Et nous nous marierons
We will become one.
Pour n'être qu'un combat
Together we will fight as one.
N'être qu'une chanson
We will be like one harmonious song.
Et je l'inviterai
I will invite it into my life.
A venir sous mon toit
To come and change everything in my life.
Pour y tout transformer
To transform everything completely.
Et déjà modifié
Already, it will have changed everything.
Lui avouerai du doigt
I will show it all my past belongings with a finger.
Les meubles du passé
All the things I have kept from the past.
Et j'aurai un palais
I will have a palace of my own.
Tout ne change-t-il pas
Everything will be changed, just like in the warmth of July sun.
Au soleil de juillet?
Where everything is different and transformed.
Assise au feu de bois
Surrounded by warmth and the light of the fire.
Apprendra ses chansons
My house will be filled with its joyful songs.
Parsemant mes silences
Filling my quiet moments with happiness.
De sourires de joie
Smiling with joy.
Qui meurent et recommencent
Which fade away and then start all over again.
Qu'éternel voyageur
I, as an eternal traveler,
Mon cœur en vain chercha
Have searched for this enlightenment in vain.
Mais qui était en mon cœur
But it was always in my heart all along.
Reculant l'horizon
Pushing back the boundaries of the horizon.
Et portera ton nom
And will be called by your name.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: FRANCOIS RAUBER, JACQUES ROMAIN G. BREL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mary M. Brandes
on La Valse à Mille Temps
I love Jacques Brel songs.