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.
Comment tuer l
Jacques Brel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Quand on a été comme moi élevé
Dans les traditions?
Comment tuer l'amant de sa femme
Quand on a été comme moi élevé
Dans la religion?
Il me faudrait du temps
Et du temps j'en ai pas.
La nuit je veille de nuit
Le jour je veille de jour
Le dimanche je fais des extras.
Et même si j'étais moins lâche
Je trouve que ce serait dommage
De salir ma réputation.
Bien sûr je dors dans le garage.
Bien sûr il dort dans mon lit.
Bien sûr c'est moi qui fait l'ménage.
Mais qui n'a pas ses p'tits soucis?
Comment tuer l'amant de sa femme
Quand on a été comme moi élevé
Dans les traditions?
Il y a l'arsenic, ouais
C'est trop long.
Il y a le revolver
Mais c'est trop court.
Il y a l'amitié
C'est trop cher.
Il y a le mépris
C'est un péché.
Comment tuer l'amant d'sa femme
Quand on a reçu comme moi
La croix d'honneur
Chez les bonnes sœurs?
Comment tuer l'amant d'sa femme
Moi qui n'ose même pas
Le lui dire avec des fleurs?
Comme je n'ai pas l'courage
De l'insulter tout l'temps
Il dit que l'amour me rend lâche.
Comme il est en chômage
Il dit en me frappant
Que l'amour le rend imprévoyant.
Il croit que c'est amusant
Pour un homme qui a mon âge
Qui n'a plus de femme et onze enfants.
Bien sûr je leur fais la cuisine
Je bats les chiens et les tapis
Le soir je leur chante "Nuit de Chine".
Mais qui n'a pas ses p'tits soucis?
Pourquoi tuer l'amant d'sa femme
Puisque c'est à cause de moi
Qu'il est un peu vérolé?
Pourquoi tuer l'amant d'ma femme
Puisque c'est à cause de moi
Qu'il est pénicilliné?
The lyrics of Jacques Brel's song Comment tuer l'amant de sa femme? (How to kill your wife's lover?) are a satirical criticism of the extreme patriarchal values and societal expectations surrounding masculinity prevalent in the mid-20th century. The song talks about a man who is tormented by his wife's infidelity and societal pressure to act like a "real man". He talks about his inability to confront his wife's lover or take any tangible action against him. He is bound by the societal expectations of being a "gentleman" and "respectful" towards his wife's lover. The lyrics are a biting commentary on the pressure and social conditioning faced by men to conform to the stereotypical manly persona of being tough, dominant and aggressive.
In the song, the singer explains his predicament and his inability to take appropriate action against his wife's lover. He talks about the various means to kill the lover - arsenic, revolver or contempt - but he dismisses them all as either too time-consuming, too risky, too expensive or too immoral. The singer's wife is the breadwinner, and he is the homemaker, taking care of the children, cooking and cleaning. The song is a stark reminder of a world where men had to play a particular role, and any deviation from it was seen as weakness.
Line by Line Meaning
Comment tuer l'amant de sa femme
How to kill the lover of my wife
Quand on a été comme moi élevé Dans les traditions?
When one has been raised like me, in traditions?
Comment tuer l'amant de sa femme Quand on a été comme moi élevé Dans la religion?
How to kill the lover of my wife when one has been raised like me, in religion?
Il me faudrait du temps Et du temps j'en ai pas.
I would need time, but I do not have it.
Pour elle je travaille tout l'temps La nuit je veille de nuit Le jour je veille de jour Le dimanche je fais des extras.
For her, I work constantly. I stay up at night and during the day. On Sundays, I do extra work.
Et même si j'étais moins lâche Je trouve que ce serait dommage De salir ma réputation.
Even if I were less cowardly, I think it would be a shame to tarnish my reputation.
Bien sûr je dors dans le garage. Bien sûr il dort dans mon lit. Bien sûr c'est moi qui fait l'ménage. Mais qui n'a pas ses p'tits soucis?
Of course, I sleep in the garage. Of course, he sleeps in my bed. Of course, I do the cleaning. But who doesn't have their little problems?
Il y a l'arsenic, ouais C'est trop long. Il y a le revolver Mais c'est trop court. Il y a l'amitié C'est trop cher. Il y a le mépris C'est un péché.
There is arsenic, yes. But it takes too long. There is the revolver, but it is too short. There is friendship, but it’s too expensive. There is contempt, but it’s a sin.
Comment tuer l'amant d'sa femme Quand on a reçu comme moi La croix d'honneur Chez les bonnes sœurs?
How to kill the lover of my wife when I have received the Cross of Honor from the nuns?
Comment tuer l'amant d'sa femme Moi qui n'ose même pas Le lui dire avec des fleurs?
How to kill the lover of my wife when I don't even dare to tell her with flowers?
Comme je n'ai pas l'courage De l'insulter tout l'temps Il dit que l'amour me rend lâche.
Since I don't have the courage to insult him all the time, he says that love makes me a coward.
Comme il est en chômage Il dit en me frappant Que l'amour le rend imprévoyant.
Since he is unemployed, he says, while hitting me, that love makes him unprepared.
Il croit que c'est amusant Pour un homme qui a mon âge Qui n'a plus de femme et onze enfants.
He thinks it's amusing for a man of my age who has no wife but eleven children.
Bien sûr je leur fais la cuisine Je bats les chiens et les tapis Le soir je leur chante 'Nuit de Chine'. Mais qui n'a pas ses p'tits soucis?
Of course, I cook for them. I clean the dogs and the carpets. In the evening I sing to them 'Chinese Night'. But who doesn't have their little problems?
Pourquoi tuer l'amant d'sa femme Puisque c'est à cause de moi Qu'il est un peu vérolé?
Why kill the lover of my wife since it's because of me that he contracted a disease?
Pourquoi tuer l'amant d'ma femme Puisque c'est à cause de moi Qu'il est pénicilliné?
Why kill the lover of my wife since it's because of me that he is being treated with penicillin?
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mary M. Brandes
on La Valse à Mille Temps
I love Jacques Brel songs.