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 l'ombre des chansons
Jacques Brel Lyrics
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Que tu veux oublier
Pour chanter les leçons
D’un monde fatigué
Suis l’ombre des chansons
Qui auraient pu jeter
Au fond de ta prison
Tout habillé de noir
Je te suis dans tes rêves
Tes rêves illusoires
Où le jour qui se lève
Sans foi, sans joie, s’achève
Suis l’ombre de l’ami
Dont tu laissas la main
La main qui te servit
À faire tes lendemains
Suis l’ombre de l’ami
Qui faisait qu’au matin
Pour toi chantait la vie
Et s’ouvraient les chemins
Tout habillé de noir
Je te suis au désert
Où t’entraîne l’espoir
De conquérir la terre
L’enfant méchant se perd
Suis l’ombre des amours
Que tu t’es refusées
En refusant toujours
À ton cœur d’espérer
Suis l’ombre des amours
Que tu as gaspillées
En gaspillant les jours
Qui sont faits pour aimer
Tout habillé de noir
Je te suis dans la vie
Ta vie où chaque soir
Se désole et vieillit
Ton cœur qui meurt d’ennui
Suis l’ombre de tout ça
Que tu as rejeté
Au plus profond de toi
Pour ne plus y penser
Suis l’ombre de tout ça
De cette vie passée
Que demain, toi et moi
Pouvons recommencer
The lyrics of Jacques Brel's song "Je suis l'ombre des chansons" convey a sense of melancholy and nostalgia. The singer describes themselves as the shadow of forgotten songs, the songs that should have brought clarity to a weary world. The repetition of being the "shadow" emphasizes a sense of invisibility or being overlooked. The lyrics suggest that the songs have been abandoned or ignored by the listener, who instead chooses to sing the lessons of a tired world.
The singer also positions themselves as the shadow of a lost friend, someone whose hand was left behind, the hand that helped shape the listener's future. This reinforces the theme of loneliness and longing for connection. The lyrics continue to describe the singer as the shadow of the listener's dreams, illusory dreams where the daybreaks offer neither faith nor joy.
The song speaks of lost loves, the shadows of love that the listener has denied themselves by refusing to hope. It suggests that the listener has wasted their days, which were meant for love. The singer remains by the listener's side, dressed in black, following them through their life where each evening brings sadness and aging. The listener's heart is described as dying of boredom.
Finally, the lyrics speak of the shadow of everything that the listener has rejected, buried deep within themselves to avoid thinking about it. It suggests that tomorrow, both the listener and the singer can start anew, leaving the past behind.
Overall, the lyrics of "Je suis l'ombre des chansons" evoke a sense of longing, regret, and a desire for renewal. The singer's role as the shadow represents the presence of these forgotten elements and the hope for a fresh beginning.
Line by Line Meaning
Suis l’ombre des chansons
I am the shadow of the songs
Que tu veux oublier
That you want to forget
Pour chanter les leçons
To sing the lessons
D’un monde fatigué
Of a tired world
Suis l’ombre des chansons
I am the shadow of the songs
Qui auraient pu jeter
That could have cast
Au fond de ta prison
Into the depths of your prison
Un rayon de clarté
A ray of light
Tout habillé de noir
All dressed in black
Je te suis dans tes rêves
I follow you in your dreams
Tes rêves illusoires
Your illusory dreams
Où le jour qui se lève
Where the day that rises
Sans foi, sans joie, s’achève
Ends without faith, without joy
Suis l’ombre de l’ami
I am the shadow of the friend
Dont tu laissas la main
Whose hand you let go
La main qui te servit
The hand that served you
À faire tes lendemains
To make your tomorrows
Suis l’ombre de l’ami
I am the shadow of the friend
Qui faisait qu’au matin
Who made it so that in the morning
Pour toi chantait la vie
Life sang for you
Et s’ouvraient les chemins
And the paths opened
Tout habillé de noir
All dressed in black
Je te suis au désert
I follow you into the desert
Où t’entraîne l’espoir
Where hope leads you
De conquérir la terre
To conquer the earth
L’enfant méchant se perd
The wicked child gets lost
Suis l’ombre des amours
I am the shadow of the loves
Que tu t’es refusées
That you have denied yourself
En refusant toujours
By always refusing
À ton cœur d’espérer
To let your heart hope
Suis l’ombre des amours
I am the shadow of the loves
Que tu as gaspillées
That you have wasted
En gaspillant les jours
By wasting the days
Qui sont faits pour aimer
That are meant for love
Tout habillé de noir
All dressed in black
Je te suis dans la vie
I follow you in life
Ta vie où chaque soir
Your life where every evening
Se désole et vieillit
Grows saddened and ages
Ton cœur qui meurt d’ennui
Your heart that dies of boredom
Suis l’ombre de tout ça
I am the shadow of all that
Que tu as rejeté
That you have rejected
Au plus profond de toi
Deep within yourself
Pour ne plus y penser
To not think about it anymore
Suis l’ombre de tout ça
I am the shadow of all that
De cette vie passée
Of this past life
Que demain, toi et moi
That tomorrow, you and me
Pouvons recommencer
Can start over
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.