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.
Au Printemps
Jacques Brel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Et mon cœur et ton cœur
Sont repeints au vin blanc
Au printemps au printemps
Les amants vont prier
Notre-Dame du bon temps
Au printemps
Pour une fleur un sourire un serment
Toutes les filles
Vous donneront leurs baisers
Puis tous leurs espoirs
Vois tous ces cœurs
Comme des artichauts
Qui s'effeuillent en battant
Pour s'offrir aux badauds
Vois tous ces cœurs
Comme de gentils mégots
Qui s'enflamment en riant
Pour les filles du métro
Au printemps au printemps
Et mon cœur et ton cœur
Sont repeints au vin blanc
Au printemps au printemps
Les amants vont prier
Notre-Dame du bon temps
Au printemps
Pour une fleur un sourire un serment
Pour l'ombre d'un regard en riant
Tout Paris
Se changera en baisers
Parfois même en grand soir
Vois tout Paris
Se change en pâturage
Pour troupeaux d'amoureux
Aux bergères peu sages
Vois tout Paris
Joue la fête au village
Pour bénir au soleil
Ces nouveaux mariages
Au printemps au printemps
Et mon cœur et ton cœur
Sont repeints au vin blanc
Au printemps au printemps
Les amants vont prier
Notre-Dame du bon temps
Au printemps
Pour une fleur un sourire un serment
Pour l'ombre d'un regard en riant
Toute la Terre
Se changera en baisers
Qui parleront d'espoir
Vois ce miracle
Car c'est bien le dernier
Qui s'offre encore à nous
Sans avoir à l'appeler
Vois ce miracle
Qui devait arriver
C'est la première chance
La seule de l'année
Au printemps au printemps
Et mon cœur et ton cœur
Sont repeints au vin blanc
Au printemps au printemps
Les amants vont prier
Notre-Dame du bon temps
Au printemps
Au printemps
Au printemps
In Jacques Brel's song "Au printemps", the lyrics describe the excitement and joy that comes with the arrival of spring. The chorus repeats the phrase "Au printemps" (in the spring), emphasizing the renewed sense of life and energy that the season brings. The first verse describes how the hearts of the singer and their lover are "repainted with white wine," symbolizing the carefree and festive spirit of the season. The second verse talks about how all the girls will give their kisses and hearts to the lovers who pass by, comparing them to artichokes and cigarettes that are being offered and consumed.
The third verse amplifies the theme of celebration, where all of Paris transforms into a party, with the lovebirds playing the roles of herds of sheep or people attending village fairs. The final verse expands the celebration's scope to the entire world, projecting it as a miracle where people from all corners will come together with kisses that "speak of hope." The lyrics are characterized by Brel's poetic prowess, capturing the joy of spring and love through powerful metaphors and symbolism.
Overall, Jacques Brel's "Au printemps" is a song about the arrival of spring and how it brings people together in love and celebration, creating a sense of hope and joy that transcends all boundaries.
Line by Line Meaning
Au printemps au printemps
Springtime, springtime
Et mon cœur et ton cœur
And my heart and your heart
Sont repeints au vin blanc
Are painted with white wine
Les amants vont prier
Lovers will pray
Notre-Dame du bon temps
To Our Lady of good times
Pour une fleur un sourire un serment
For a flower, a smile, a vow
Pour l'ombre d'un regard en riant
For a glance in the shadow of a laugh
Toutes les filles
All the girls
Vous donneront leurs baisers
Will give you their kisses
Puis tous leurs espoirs
Then all their hopes
Vois tous ces cœurs
See all these hearts
Comme des artichauts
Like artichokes
Qui s'effeuillent en battant
That flutter as they open up
Pour s'offrir aux badauds
To offer themselves to passersby
Comme de gentils mégots
Like kind-hearted cigarette butts
Qui s'enflamment en riant
That ignite in laughter
Pour les filles du métro
For the girls of the metro
Tout Paris
All of Paris
Se changera en baisers
Will turn into kisses
Parfois même en grand soir
Sometimes even in a grand evening
Se change en pâturage
Turns into a pasture
Pour troupeaux d'amoureux
For flocks of lovers
Aux bergères peu sages
To the not-so-wise shepherdesses
Joue la fête au village
Plays the village party
Pour bénir au soleil
To bless under the sun
Ces nouveaux mariages
These new marriages
Toute la Terre
All the Earth
Se changera en baisers
Will turn into kisses
Qui parleront d'espoir
That will speak of hope
Vois ce miracle
See this miracle
Car c'est bien le dernier
Because it's the last
Qui s'offre encore à nous
That still offers itself to us
Sans avoir à l'appeler
Without having to call it
Qui devait arriver
That was supposed to come
C'est la première chance
It's the first chance
La seule de l'année
The only one of the year
Au printemps
In springtime
Au printemps
Springtime, springtime
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jacques Romain G. Brel
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@binetchristophe8281
Au printemps au printemps
Et mon cœur et ton cœur
Sont repeints au vin blanc
Au printemps au printemps
Les amants vont prier
Notre-Dame du bon temps
Au printemps
Pour une fleur un sourire un serment
Pour l’ombre d’un regard en riant
Toutes les filles
Vous donneront leurs baisers
Puis tous leurs espoirs
Vois tous ces cœurs
Comme des artichauts
Qui s’effeuillent en battant
Pour s’offrir aux badauds
Vois tous ces cœurs
Comme de gentils mégots
Qui s’enflamment en riant
Pour les filles du métro
Au printemps au printemps
Et mon cœur et ton cœur
Sont repeints au vin blanc
Au printemps au printemps
Les amants vont prier
Notre-Dame du bon temps
Au printemps
Pour une fleur un sourire un serment
Pour l’ombre d’un regard en riant
Tout Paris
Se changera en baisers
Parfois même en grand soir
Vois tout Paris
Se change en pâturage
Pour troupeaux d’amoureux
Aux bergères peu sages
Vois tout Paris
Joue la fête au village
Pour bénir au soleil
Ces nouveaux mariages
Au printemps au printemps
Et mon cœur et ton cœur
Sont repeints au vin blanc
Au printemps au printemps
Les amants vont prier
Notre-Dame du bon temps
Au printemps
Pour une fleur un sourire un serment
Pour l’ombre d’un regard en riant
Toute la Terre
Se changera en baisers
Qui parleront d’espoir
Vois ce miracle
Car c’est bien le dernier
Qui s’offre encore à nous
Sans avoir à l’appeler
Vois ce miracle
Qui devait arriver
C’est la première chance
La seule de l’année
Au printemps au printemps
Et mon cœur et ton cœur
Sont repeints au vin blanc
Au printemps au printemps
Les amants vont prier
Notre-Dame du bon temps
Au printemps
Au printemps
@antoinettecostanza6819
Une autre époque !
@christianlevagueresse
Une des rares chansons gaies de Jacques Brel et d'une poésie sublime ...
@ninaben916
Le printemps sera éternellement beau avec vous Grand Jacques !
@fasa5698
❤
@victory4926
2023
@delphine.m9043
💖️💐🌹En ce jour de printemps 2020💖💐🌹
@mariafernandamoco8545
Maravilhosa❤❤
@helenaferreira9773
Jacques
BREL grand.musique.merci
@user-ku8bc3yk9q
❤
@bravo_delta00
Vous etes une legende