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.
Le Gaz
Jacques Brel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Une maison qui se déhanche
Une maison qui se tire-bouchonne
Et qui pleure à grosses planches
L'escalier colimaçonne
C'est pas grand, non
Mais y a d'la place
Et moi je viens pour le gaz
Tu as un boudoir plein de bouddhas
Les bougies dansent dans leurs bougeoirs
Ça sent bon, c'est sans histoire
Ça ruisselle de taffetas
C'est rempli de photos d'toi
Qui sommeillent devant la glace
Tu as un boudoir plein d'bouddhas
Et moi et moi et moi
Je viens pour le gaz
Tu as un vrai divan de roi
Un vrai divan de diva
Du porto qu'tu rapportas
De la Porte des Lilas
T'as un p'tit chien et un grand chat
Un phono qui joue du jazz
Tu as un vrai divan de roi
Et moi et moi et moi
Je viens pour le gaz
Tu as des seins comme des soleils
Comme des fruits, comme des reposoirs
Tu as des seins comme des miroirs
Comme des fruits, comme du miel
Tu les recouvres, tout devient noir
Tu les découvres et je deviens Pégase
Tu as des seins comme des trottoirs
Et moi et moi et moi
Je viens pour le gaz
Et puis chez toi y a l'plombier
Et y l'bedeau et y a l'facteur
Le docteur qui fait le café
Le notaire qui sert les liqueurs
Y a la moitié d'un artilleur
Y a un poète de Carpentras
Il y a quelques flics
Et puis la main de ma sœur
Et tout ça est là pour le gaz
Allez, allez-y donc tous, rue de la Madone
C'est pas grand, non
Mais y a d'la place
Allez, allez-y donc tous, rue de la Madone
Et dites bien que c'est pour le gaz
The lyrics of Jacques Brel's "Le Gaz" tell the story of a man who visits a woman's home on the Rue de la Madone for the purpose of purchasing gas. As he explores her home, he describes it as a house that dances and weeps, with a spiral staircase, a boudoir full of Buddha statues, candles that dance in their holders, and a profusion of taffeta drapes. The woman's home is filled with photographs of her which lie asleep on a dressing table. The man is clearly enamored of the woman describing her as having breasts like the sun and fruit, as well as a divan fit for a king, port wine, and a collection of eclectic individuals that have gathered in her home.
The song's lyrics imbue the mundane act of buying gas with eroticism, as the singer uses his need for gas as an excuse to explore the object of his desire's home. The carefully crafted chaos of the woman’s home and the people within it, the sensual description of her beauty, and the initial objectivity of the man's connection add depth to the often superficial and transactional dynamics of relationships. Through his lyrics, Brel manages to convey a broader story about the human experience, specifically the ways in which we often mask our true intentions as we engage with one another.
Line by Line Meaning
Tu habites rue de la Madone
You live on Madone Street
Une maison qui se déhanche
A house that dances
Une maison qui se tire-bouchonne
A house that twists and turns
Et qui pleure à grosses planches
And that weeps with large planks
L'escalier colimaçonne
The spiral staircase
C'est pas grand, non
It's not big, no
Mais y a d'la place
But there is room
Et moi je viens pour le gaz
And I come for the gas
Tu as un boudoir plein de bouddhas
You have a boudoir full of Buddhas
Les bougies dansent dans leurs bougeoirs
The candles dance in their candlesticks
Ça sent bon, c'est sans histoire
It smells nice, it's uneventful
Ça ruisselle de taffetas
It's flowing with taffeta
C'est rempli de photos d'toi
It's filled with pictures of you
Qui sommeillent devant la glace
That sleep in front of the mirror
Et moi et moi et moi
And me, and me, and me
Je viens pour le gaz
I come for the gas
Tu as un vrai divan de roi
You have a real king's couch
Un vrai divan de diva
A real diva's couch
Du porto qu'tu rapportas
Some port that you brought back
De la Porte des Lilas
From the Porte des Lilas
T'as un p'tit chien et un grand chat
You have a little dog and a big cat
Un phono qui joue du jazz
A phonograph that plays jazz
Tu as des seins comme des soleils
You have breasts like suns
Comme des fruits, comme des reposoirs
Like fruits, like resting places
Tu as des seins comme des miroirs
You have breasts like mirrors
Comme des fruits, comme du miel
Like fruits, like honey
Tu les recouvres, tout devient noir
You cover them, everything turns black
Tu les découvres et je deviens Pégase
You uncover them and I become Pegasus
Tu as des seins comme des trottoirs
You have breasts like sidewalks
Et moi et moi et moi
And me, and me, and me
Je viens pour le gaz
I come for the gas
Et puis chez toi y a l'plombier
And then at your house there's the plumber
Et y l'bedeau et y a l'facteur
And there's the caretaker and there's the postman
Le docteur qui fait le café
The doctor who makes coffee
Le notaire qui sert les liqueurs
The notary who serves the liqueur
Y a la moitié d'un artilleur
There's half a soldier
Y a un poète de Carpentras
There's a poet from Carpentras
Il y a quelques flics
There are a few cops
Et puis la main de ma sœur
And then my sister's hand
Et tout ça est là pour le gaz
And all of that is there for the gas
Allez, allez-y donc tous, rue de la Madone
Come on, go there, on Madone Street
Et dites bien que c'est pour le gaz
And make sure to say it's for the gas
Lyrics © SENTRIC MUSIC
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
florent bel
geniale,comme toutes les chansons du grand Jacques!
Typiquesasu
Que c'est beau !
piperhillfan
C'est Brek, c'est parfait.
Marc Xirau
Quelle chanson! Escalier colimaçon. Ça ruisselle...Le Notaire qui sert les liqueurs. La description des seins comme des soleils, comme des fruits, comme des miroirs, comme du miel, comme des trottoirs.......... Et moi je viens pour le gazzzzzzz. Il faut voir cette chanson en direct chanté par Jacques. C'est frappant.
Philippe Simon
Quelle voix puissante !!!!!
Mustapha Bercichhe
chanteur et philosophe
Carl Senouci
Le seul chanteur et compositeur au monde qui a su caricaturer la connerie humaine dans des chansons ...Brel est un Dieu...et Dieu, je pense, devrait se sentir ridicule...
Anne-Sophie De Saedeleer
J adore
durmus ersahin
Un grand homme
Agathe Pawlowski
Paroles de Jacques brel