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.
Amsterdam
Jacques Brel Lyrics
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Y a des marins qui chantent
Les rêves qui les hantent
Au large d'Amsterdam
Dans le port d'Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui dorment
Comme des oriflammes
Le long des berges mornes
Dans le port d'Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui meurent
Pleins de bière et de drames
Aux premières lueurs
Mais dans le port d'Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui naissent
Dans la chaleur épaisse
Des langueurs océanes
Dans le port d'Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui mangent
Sur des nappes trop blanches
Des poissons ruisselants
Ils vous montrent des dents
À croquer la fortune
À décroisser la Lune
À bouffer des haubans
Et ça sent la morue
Jusque dans le cœur des frites
Que leurs grosses mains invitent
À revenir en plus
Puis se lèvent en riant
Dans un bruit de tempête
Referment leur braguette
Et sortent en rotant
Dans le port d'Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui dansent
En se frottant la panse
Sur la panse des femmes
Et ils tournent et ils dansent
Comme des soleils crachés
Dans le son déchiré
D'un accordéon rance
Ils se tordent le cou
Pour mieux s'entendre rire
Jusqu'à ce que tout à coup
L'accordéon expire
Alors le geste grave
Alors le regard fier
Ils ramènent leurs bataves
Jusqu'en pleine lumière
Dans le port d'Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui boivent
Et qui boivent et re-boivent
Et qui re-boivent encore
Ils boivent à la santé
Des putains d'Amsterdam
D'Hambourg ou d'ailleurs
Enfin ils boivent aux dames
Qui leur donnent leurs jolis corps
Qui leur donnent leurs vertu
Pour une pièce en or
Et quand ils ont bien bu
Se plantent le nez au ciel
Se mouchent dans les étoiles
Et ils pissent comme je pleure
Sur les femmes infidèles
Dans le port d'Amsterdam
Dans le port d'Amsterdam
The song "Amsterdam" by the Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel tells the story of the sailors who live and work in the port of Amsterdam. The lyrics depict the gritty and raw atmosphere of the port, where sailors sing about their dreams and fears, sleep on the cold banks, eat fish with their bare hands, drink heavily, dance with prostitutes, and make lewd gestures. The song captures the essence of a place where life is rough, but also where a sense of camaraderie prevails. The lyrics also suggest that the sailors find solace and a sense of purpose in their work, as they are born and die in the port, surrounded by the vastness of the ocean.
The verses of the song are structured as a series of vignettes, each one portraying a distinct aspect of the sailors' lives. The first two verses describe the sailors singing and sleeping by the banks, while the third one paints a more somber picture of sailors dying from alcoholism and sorrow. The fourth verse portrays the sailors eating fish and boasting about their strength and courage. The fifth verse describes the smell of the port and the sailors' crude behavior towards women. The sixth verse depicts the sailors dancing with prostitutes and enjoying their company. The final verse features the sailors drinking to the health of the prostitutes and then contemplating life under the stars.
Overall, "Amsterdam" is a powerful and evocative song that portrays the lives of sailors as a metaphor for the human condition. Brel's lyrics are poignant and full of empathy, showing the inherent beauty in even the harshest of lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Dans le port d'Amsterdam
In the port of Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui chantent
There are sailors who sing
Les rêves qui les hantent
The dreams that haunt them
Au large d'Amsterdam
Off the coast of Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui dorment
There are sailors who sleep
Comme des oriflammes
Like banners
Le long des berges mornes
Along the dreary banks
Y a des marins qui meurent
There are sailors who die
Pleins de bière et de drames
Full of beer and drama
Aux premières lueurs
At the first light
Mais dans le port d'Amsterdam
But in the port of Amsterdam
Y a des marins qui naissent
There are sailors who are born
Dans la chaleur épaisse
In the thick heat
Des langueurs océanes
Of oceanic languors
Y a des marins qui mangent
There are sailors who eat
Sur des nappes trop blanches
On overly white tablecloths
Des poissons ruisselants
Dripping fish
Ils vous montrent des dents
They show you their teeth
À croquer la fortune
To take a bite of fortune
À décroisser la Lune
To unhook the moon
À bouffer des haubans
To devour rigging
Et ça sent la morue
And it smells of cod
Jusque dans le cœur des frites
Even in the heart of French fries
Que leurs grosses mains invitent
That their big hands invite
À revenir en plus
To come back for more
Puis se lèvent en riant
Then they rise laughing
Dans un bruit de tempête
In a stormy noise
Referment leur braguette
Zip up their trousers
Et sortent en rotant
And leave burping
Y a des marins qui dansent
There are sailors who dance
En se frottant la panse
Rubbing their bellies
Sur la panse des femmes
On the bellies of women
Et ils tournent et ils dansent
And they turn and they dance
Comme des soleils crachés
Like spit-out suns
Dans le son déchiré
In the torn sound
D'un accordéon rance
Of a musty accordion
Ils se tordent le cou
They twist their necks
Pour mieux s'entendre rire
To better hear themselves laugh
Jusqu'à ce que tout à coup
Until suddenly
L'accordéon expire
The accordion dies
Alors le geste grave
Then the serious gesture
Alors le regard fier
Then the proud look
Ils ramènent leurs bataves
They bring back their Dutchmen
Jusqu'en pleine lumière
Into the full light
Y a des marins qui boivent
There are sailors who drink
Et qui boivent et re-boivent
And who drink and drink again
Et qui re-boivent encore
And drink again
Ils boivent à la santé
They drink to the health
Des putains d'Amsterdam
Of the whores of Amsterdam
D'Hambourg ou d'ailleurs
Of Hamburg or elsewhere
Enfin ils boivent aux dames
Finally they drink to the ladies
Qui leur donnent leurs jolis corps
Who give them their beautiful bodies
Qui leur donnent leurs vertu
Who give them their virtues
Pour une pièce en or
For a piece of gold
Et quand ils ont bien bu
And when they have drunk well
Se plantent le nez au ciel
They stick their nose in the air
Se mouchent dans les étoiles
They blow their nose in the stars
Et ils pissent comme je pleure
And they piss like I cry
Sur les femmes infidèles
On unfaithful women
Dans le port d'Amsterdam
In the port of Amsterdam
Lyrics © WARNER CHAPPELL MUSIC FRANCE
Written by: Jacques Brel
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mary M. Brandes
on La Valse à Mille Temps
I love Jacques Brel songs.