Jacques Brel (8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and songw… Read Full Bio ↴Jacques Brel (8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and songwriter who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following in Belgium and France initially, and later throughout the world. He was widely considered a master of the modern chanson. Although he recorded most of his songs in French, he became a major influence on English-speaking songwriters and performers such as David Bowie, Alex Harvey, Leonard Cohen, Marc Almond and Rod McKuen. English translations of his songs were recorded by many top performers in the United States, including Ray Charles, Judy Collins, John Denver, the Kingston Trio, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, Scott Walker, and Andy Williams. In French-speaking countries, Brel was also a successful actor, appearing in ten films. He also directed two films, one of which, Le Far West, was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1973. Jacques Brel has sold over 25 million records worldwide, and is the third best-selling Belgian recording artist of all time.
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.
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.
Jean de Bruges
Jacques Brel Lyrics
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L’OURAGAN
À moi, Jean de Bruges
Grand quartier-maître sur La Coquette
Trente ans de mer et de tempêtes
À moi, Jean de Bruges
À moi
Tu offres un verre blond et joufflu
Tu offres un verre crémeux de bière
Et je te conte un ouragan
Le plus terrible ouragan
Qui ait fait trembler la terre
Alors, tu me l’offres ce verre
Jean de Bruges, voilà ton verre
Jean de Bruges, voilà ta bière
Le houblon donne de l’ardeur
Et tu pourras mieux nous faire peur
Tudieu, tudieu, c’était un ouragan
D’abord, le vent, un vent méchant
Trop chaud, trop lourd, trop gris, trop fort
Un vent hideux comme la mort
Et puis la pluie, la pluie
Qui vient, qui va
Qui cogne, qui mord, qui bat
Une vraie pluie de Golgotha
Adieu, mon Bruges
Adieu, Brugeois
J’ai peur, je prie, je crie, j’ai froid
J’ai cru mourir cette fois-là
Alors est arrivée plus haute qu’un nuage
Et plus noire qu’un péché, plus longue qu’un voyage
Une vague bâtie et de roc et d’acier
La forge qui avance comme l’animal blessé
Soudain, elle s’est dressée sur ses vagues de derrière
La tête dans le ciel et les pieds dans l’enfer
Et puis, en retombant, la vague a tout brisé
Des monts ont disparu, des océans sont nés
Et elle a fait une île
En retombant sur terre
De ce faubourg de Bruges
Qu’on nomme l’Angleterre
Jean de Bruges, ton ouragan
Va-t’en le raconter à Gand
Bourgeois, passant, curé, vicaire
Poète, marchand, soldat, notaire
Si tu ne veux pas que l’on te gruge
Mieux vaut payer, payer à boire
Avant l’histoire qu’après l’histoire
De Jean de Bruges, de Jean de Bruges
LA BALEINE
À moi, à moi, Jean de Bruges
Grand quartier-maître sur La Coquette
Trente ans de mer et de tempêtes
À moi, Jean de Bruges
À moi, tu offres un verre blond et joufflu
Tu offres un verre crémeux de bière
Et je te raconte aussitôt
Ma pêche avec un cachalot
Qui était bien le plus gros de la terre
Alors, tu me l’offres, ce verre
Jean de Bruges, voilà ton verre
Jean de Bruges, voilà ta bière
Le houblon te rendra causant
Tu mentiras plus aisément
C’était une baleine énorme
C’était une baleine énorme
Longue comme un canal de pluie
Large comme une brasserie
Avec des yeux comme des soleils
Comme vous n’en vîtes de pareils
C’était une baleine énorme, énorme
Sur La Coquette priait tout le monde
Cette baleine, c’est la fin du monde
Hurlait, hurlait, au mât de misaine
Hurlait, hurlait le capitaine
Mais c’est l’enfer et son démon
Hurlait, hurlait le moussaillon
Mais moi, mais moi
Sans peur, au bout du pont
Avec mes couteaux et harpons
Je lui ai sauté sur le dos
Frappé, tué
Plus de cachalot
Il a saigné, il a saigné
On n’a pas pu le ramener
C’était dans la mer d’Orient
Plus une seule baleine n’y bouge
Et cette mer, c’est la mer Rouge
Ah, Jean de Bruges
Cette baleine, tu nous l’as bien tuée cent fois
Ah ! Ah ! Jean de Bruges
Cette baleine, elle est à nous autant qu’à toi
LA SIRÈNE
À moi, Jean de Bruges
Grand quartier-maître sur La Coquette
Trente ans de mer et de tempêtes
À moi, Jean de Bruges
À moi, Jean de Bruges
Tu offres un verre blond et joufflu
Tu offres un verre crémeux de bière
Et je te conte mes amours
Car nul n’a connu mes amours
Qui étaient bien les plus étranges de la terre
Alors, tu me l’offres ce verre ?
Jean de Bruges, voilà ton verre
Jean de Bruges, voilà ta bière
Le houblon donne du sentiment
Tu pleureras plus aisément
C’était une sirène étrange
C’était une sirène étrange
Moitié sirène et moitié ange
Cela faisait longtemps de temps
Longtemps de temps, longtemps de vent
Qu’on l’entendait chanter la nuit
Et j’en pleurais comme aujourd’hui
Dieu, Dieu, sous la lune, qu’elle était belle
La mer lui servait de dentelle
Elle m’appelait, elle m’appelait
Elle m’aimait comme je l’aimais
Un soir, un soir, lassé d’être sœur Anne
Un soir de langueur océane
Je l’ai rejointe au coin d’une vague
Au loin s’endormait Copenhague
À moi, Jean de Bruges
Grand quartier-maître sur La Coquette
Trente ans de mer et de tempêtes
À moi, Jean de Bruges
À moi
Tu offres un verre blond et joufflu
Et je te conte un ouragan
Le plus terrible ouragan
Qui ait fait trembler la terre
Alors, tu me l’offres ce verre
Jean de Bruges, voilà ton verre
Jean de Bruges, voilà ta bière
Le houblon donne de l’ardeur
Et tu pourras mieux nous faire peur
Tudieu, tudieu, c’était un ouragan
D’abord, le vent, un vent méchant
Trop chaud, trop lourd, trop gris, trop fort
Un vent hideux comme la mort
Et puis la pluie, la pluie
Qui vient, qui va
Qui cogne, qui mord, qui bat
Une vraie pluie de Golgotha
Adieu, mon Bruges
Adieu, Brugeois
J’ai peur, je prie, je crie, j’ai froid
J’ai cru mourir cette fois-là
Alors est arrivée plus haute qu’un nuage
Et plus noire qu’un péché, plus longue qu’un voyage
Une vague bâtie et de roc et d’acier
La forge qui avance comme l’animal blessé
Soudain, elle s’est dressée sur ses vagues de derrière
La tête dans le ciel et les pieds dans l’enfer
Et puis, en retombant, la vague a tout brisé
Des monts ont disparu, des océans sont nés
Et elle a fait une île
En retombant sur terre
De ce faubourg de Bruges
Qu’on nomme l’Angleterre
Jean de Bruges, ton ouragan
Va-t’en le raconter à Gand
Bourgeois, passant, curé, vicaire
Poète, marchand, soldat, notaire
Si tu ne veux pas que l’on te gruge
Mieux vaut payer, payer à boire
Avant l’histoire qu’après l’histoire
De Jean de Bruges, de Jean de Bruges
LA BALEINE
À moi, à moi, Jean de Bruges
Grand quartier-maître sur La Coquette
Trente ans de mer et de tempêtes
À moi, Jean de Bruges
À moi, tu offres un verre blond et joufflu
Tu offres un verre crémeux de bière
Et je te raconte aussitôt
Ma pêche avec un cachalot
Qui était bien le plus gros de la terre
Alors, tu me l’offres, ce verre
Jean de Bruges, voilà ton verre
Jean de Bruges, voilà ta bière
Le houblon te rendra causant
Tu mentiras plus aisément
C’était une baleine énorme
C’était une baleine énorme
Longue comme un canal de pluie
Large comme une brasserie
Avec des yeux comme des soleils
Comme vous n’en vîtes de pareils
C’était une baleine énorme, énorme
Sur La Coquette priait tout le monde
Cette baleine, c’est la fin du monde
Hurlait, hurlait, au mât de misaine
Hurlait, hurlait le capitaine
Mais c’est l’enfer et son démon
Hurlait, hurlait le moussaillon
Mais moi, mais moi
Sans peur, au bout du pont
Avec mes couteaux et harpons
Je lui ai sauté sur le dos
Frappé, tué
Plus de cachalot
Il a saigné, il a saigné
On n’a pas pu le ramener
C’était dans la mer d’Orient
Plus une seule baleine n’y bouge
Et cette mer, c’est la mer Rouge
Ah, Jean de Bruges
Cette baleine, tu nous l’as bien tuée cent fois
Ah ! Ah ! Jean de Bruges
Cette baleine, elle est à nous autant qu’à toi
LA SIRÈNE
À moi, Jean de Bruges
Grand quartier-maître sur La Coquette
Trente ans de mer et de tempêtes
À moi, Jean de Bruges
À moi, Jean de Bruges
Tu offres un verre blond et joufflu
Tu offres un verre crémeux de bière
Et je te conte mes amours
Car nul n’a connu mes amours
Qui étaient bien les plus étranges de la terre
Alors, tu me l’offres ce verre ?
Jean de Bruges, voilà ton verre
Jean de Bruges, voilà ta bière
Le houblon donne du sentiment
Tu pleureras plus aisément
C’était une sirène étrange
C’était une sirène étrange
Moitié sirène et moitié ange
Cela faisait longtemps de temps
Longtemps de temps, longtemps de vent
Qu’on l’entendait chanter la nuit
Et j’en pleurais comme aujourd’hui
Dieu, Dieu, sous la lune, qu’elle était belle
La mer lui servait de dentelle
Elle m’appelait, elle m’appelait
Elle m’aimait comme je l’aimais
Un soir, un soir, lassé d’être sœur Anne
Un soir de langueur océane
Je l’ai rejointe au coin d’une vague
Au loin s’endormait Copenhague
In Jacques Brel's song "Jean de Bruges," the lyrics depict the experiences of Jean de Bruges, a seasoned sailor, as he shares three different tales - "L'ouragan" (The Hurricane), "La baleine" (The Whale), and "La sirène" (The Mermaid) - with a listener while enjoying a glass of beer. In each verse, Jean de Bruges narrates a captivating story that highlights the power and intensity of various natural elements.
In the first verse, "L'ouragan," Jean de Bruges recounts a terrifying hurricane that shook the earth. He describes the fierce wind, relentless rain reminiscent of a biblical deluge, and the destructive force of a massive wave that formed an island in what is known as England. The lyrics showcase the fear, desperation, and survival instincts of those caught in the onslaught of a devastating hurricane.
In the second verse, "La baleine," Jean de Bruges shares his encounter with an enormous whale during his fishing expedition. The lyrics describe the size of the whale, comparing it to the length of a rain canal and the width of a brewery. The crew of La Coquette, the ship Jean de Bruges serves on, panics, believing the appearance of the whale signifies the end of the world. While others fear the creature, Jean de Bruges fearlessly takes action, jumping onto its back and killing it with his knives and harpoons. The song concludes with Jean de Bruges stating that there are no more whales in the Oriental Sea, which is now known as the Red Sea.
In the final verse, "La sirène," Jean de Bruges reveals his strange love affair with a half-siren, half-angel creature. He describes the enchanting beauty and ethereal presence of the mermaid, whose haunting songs would make him weep. Eventually, Jean de Bruges gives in to his desires and meets the mermaid at the corner of a wave, leaving behind the life of a sailor. The dramatic lyrics evoke a sense of longing, enthrallment, and the inexplicable allure of forbidden love.
Lyrics © WARNER CHAPPELL MUSIC FRANCE
Written by: FRANCOIS MARIE JOSEPH RAUBER, JACQUES ROMAIN BREL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Mary M. Brandes
on La Valse à Mille Temps
I love Jacques Brel songs.