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.
Je Suis Malade
Jacques Brel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fête la sous-préfète
Sous le lustre à facettes
Il pleut des orangeades
Et des champagnes tièdes
Et des propos glacés
Des femelles maussades
De fonctionnarisés
Aux fenêtres ouvertes
Les dîneurs familiaux
Repoussent leurs assiettes
Et disent qu'il fait chaud
Les hommes lancent des rots
De chevaliers teutons
Les nappes tombent en miettes
Par-dessus les balcons
Je suis un soir d'été
Aux terrasses brouillées
Quelques buveurs humides
Parlent de haridelles
Et de vieilles perfides
C'est l'heure où les bretelles
Soutiennent le présent
Des passants répandus
Et des alcoolisants
Je suis un soir d'été
De lourdes amoureuses
Aux odeurs de cuisine
Promènent leur poitrine
Sur les flancs de la Meuse
Il leur manque un soldat
Pour que l'été ripaille
Et monte vaille que vaille
Jusqu'en haut de leurs bas
Je suis un soir d'été
Aux fontaines les vieux
Bardés de références
Rebroussent leur enfance
A petits pas pluvieux
Ils rient de toute une dent
Pour croquer le silence
Autour des filles qui dansent
A la mort d'un printemps
Je suis un soir d'été
La chaleur se vertèbre
Il fleuve des ivresses
L'été a ses grand-messes
Et la nuit les célèbre
La ville aux quatre vents
Clignote le remords
Inutile et passant
De n'être pas un port
Je suis un soir d'été
The first verse of Jacques Brel's song "Je Suis Un Soir D'Eté" describes a festive atmosphere in a small town. The singer is observing the celebration of the local sub-prefect in a room lit by facetted chandeliers. The room is filled with the sounds of people sipping warm orangeade and champagne while conversing about their daily routines. The women in attendance lack enthusiasm, and the men are confidently announcing their presence by letting out burps akin to those of Teutonic knights. All the while, the singer is conveying to the audience that they are experiencing the sensation of savoring the evening's summer breeze.
The next verse has the singer shifting his focus to a different location, where families are gathered around their open windows. They are pushing away their plates, claiming that it has become too hot to eat. The men continue to display their acts of manliness by grunting and burping while the tablecloths are falling apart on the balconies. The singer describes himself once again as "un soir d'été," for he is engrossed in the beauty of the summer evening.
The last verse places the singer in the midst of the old town near the river Meuse. The older men, who are wise and experienced, stroll around the area, sinking back into their childhood memories as they listen to the music and laughter of the youth around them. The women, on the other hand, are more curious about their surroundings, swaying their bodies to the music and catching the attention of the older men. Their summer evening is lively, marked by the sound of the river and the fluttering of the wind.
Line by Line Meaning
Et la sous-préfecture
And the sub-prefecture
Fête la sous-préfète
Celebrating the sub-prefect
Sous le lustre à facettes
Under the faceted chandelier
Il pleut des orangeades
Orangeades are raining
Et des champagnes tièdes
And lukewarm champagnes
Et des propos glacés
And icy conversations
Des femelles maussades
Unpleasant females
De fonctionnarisés
Bureaucratized people
Je suis un soir d'été
I am a summer evening
Aux fenêtres ouvertes
With open windows
Les dîneurs familiaux
Families dining
Repoussent leurs assiettes
Pushing away their plates
Et disent qu'il fait chaud
And saying it's hot
Les hommes lancent des rots
Men belching
De chevaliers teutons
Like Teutonic knights
Les nappes tombent en miettes
The tablecloths are falling apart
Par-dessus les balcons
Over the balconies
Je suis un soir d'été
I am a summer evening
Aux terrasses brouillées
On the blurry terraces
Quelques buveurs humides
A few damp drinkers
Parlent de haridelles
Talking about nagging women
Et de vieilles perfides
And deceitful old women
C'est l'heure où les bretelles
It's the time when suspenders
Soutiennent le présent
Support the present
Des passants répandus
Dispersed pedestrians
Et des alcoolisants
And drinkers
Je suis un soir d'été
I am a summer evening
De lourdes amoureuses
Heavy lovers
Aux odeurs de cuisine
With the smell of cooking
Promènent leur poitrine
Showing off their bosoms
Sur les flancs de la Meuse
On the banks of the Meuse
Il leur manque un soldat
They are missing a soldier
Pour que l'été ripaille
So that summer can feast
Et monte vaille que vaille
And rise as best it can
Jusqu'en haut de leurs bas
Up to the top of their stockings
Je suis un soir d'été
I am a summer evening
Aux fontaines les vieux
At the fountains, the old
Bardés de références
Loaded with references
Rebroussent leur enfance
Going back to their childhood
A petits pas pluvieux
In small, rainy steps
Ils rient de toute une dent
They laugh with all their might
Pour croquer le silence
To enjoy the silence
Autour des filles qui dansent
Around the dancing girls
A la mort d'un printemps
At the death of a spring
Je suis un soir d'été
I am a summer evening
La chaleur se vertèbre
The heat is overwhelming
Il fleuve des ivresses
The river of drunkenness
L'été a ses grand-messes
Summer has its great masses (of people)
Et la nuit les célèbre
And the night celebrates them
La ville aux quatre vents
The city in all directions
Clignote le remords
Flickers with regret
Inutile et passant
Useless and fleeting
De n'être pas un port
Of not being a port
Je suis un soir d'été
I am a summer evening
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.