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.
Chanson Sans Paroles
Jacques Brel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
T'écrire une chanson
Sur cette mélodie
Rencontrée une nuit
J'aurais aimé ma belle
Rien qu'au point d'Alençon
T'écrire un long poème
T'écrire un long "je t'aime"
Je t'aurais dit "amour"
Je t'aurais dit "toujours"
Mais de mille façons
Mais par mille détours
Je t'aurais dit "partons"
Je t'aurais dit "brûlons
Brûlons de jour en jour
De saisons en saisons"
Mais le temps que s'allume
L'idée sur le papier
Le temps de prendre une plume
Le temps de la tailler
Mais le temps de me dire
"Comment vais-je l'écrire?"
Et le temps est venu
Où tu ne m'aimais plus
Mais le temps que s'allume
L'idée sur le papier
Le temps de prendre une plume
Le temps de la tailler
Mais le temps de me dire
"Comment vais-je l'écrire?"
Et le temps est venu
Où tu ne m'aimais plus
The lyrics to Jacques Brel's "Chanson Sans Paroles" tell the story of a man who wishes to write a song for his beloved but never gets the chance. He laments that he would have loved to write a long poem for her, professing his love in a thousand different ways, and urging her to run away with him to burn together with passion through every season. However, by the time he finds the inspiration to write and takes up the pen, it is too late; his lover has stopped loving him back.
The song's lyrics touch on the theme of lost opportunities and the fleeting nature of love. It speaks to the regret we often feel for not seizing the chance to express our love to the ones we cherish, and how time can warp our relationships beyond recognition. The setting of the song, with its reference to the Point d'Alençon, a town famous for its lace, provides a nice touch of specificity and adds to the romantic atmosphere.
Line by Line Meaning
J'aurais aimé ma belle
I would have liked, my beautiful one
T'écrire une chanson
To write you a song
Sur cette mélodie
About this melody
Rencontrée une nuit
Encountered one night
J'aurais aimé ma belle
I would have liked, my beautiful one
Rien qu'au point d'Alençon
Just at the point of Alençon
T'écrire un long poème
To write you a long poem
T'écrire un long "je t'aime"
To write you a long "I love you"
Je t'aurais dit "amour"
I would have said to you "love"
Je t'aurais dit "toujours"
I would have said to you "always"
Mais de mille façons
But in a thousand ways
Mais par mille détours
But by a thousand detours
Je t'aurais dit "partons"
I would have said to you "let's go"
Je t'aurais dit "brûlons
I would have said to you "let's burn"
Brûlons de jour en jour
Let's burn day by day
De saisons en saisons"
From season to season
Mais le temps que s'allume
But the time it takes for the idea to light up
L'idée sur le papier
The idea on paper
Le temps de prendre une plume
The time to take a pen
Le temps de la tailler
The time to sharpen it
Mais le temps de me dire
But the time to tell myself
"Comment vais-je l'écrire?"
"How am I going to write it?"
Et le temps est venu
And the time has come
Où tu ne m'aimais plus
Where you didn't love me anymore
Lyrics © SEMI, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: FRANCOIS RAUBER, JACQUES BREL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Francoise Chapron
superbe
Bernard Malbert
Ecrire une chanson...écrire un beau poème écrire toujours écrire amour. Mais tout ça s écrit comme ça...BREL JACQUES.
Roselyne Desauty
Beau à pleurer
soraya hamayed
Trop beau
Andrei Lavrov
Le temps ... ennemi de nos vies
Mohand Ibeddouzene
On dirait qu'il l'a chanté pour moi.
Raq Le Quat
Qui va écrire les paroles de cette chanson ?
https://youtu.be/z3BKNItV8K0