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 Plat Pays
Jacques Brel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pour dernier terrain vague
Et des vagues de dunes
Pour arrêter les vagues
Et de vagues rochers
Que les marées dépassent
Et qui ont à jamais le cœur
À marée basse
De brumes à venir
Avec le vent de l'est
Écoutez-le tenir
Le plat pays
Qui est le mien
Avec des cathédrales
Pour uniques montagnes
Et de noirs clochers
Comme mâts de cocagne
Où des diables en pierre
Décrochent les nuages
Avec le fil des jours
Pour unique voyage
Et des chemins de pluie
Pour unique bonsoir
Avec le vent d'ouest
Écoutez-le vouloir
Le plat pays
Qui est le mien
Avec un ciel si bas
Qu'un canal s'est perdu
Avec un ciel si bas
Qu'il fait l'humilité
Avec un ciel si gris
Qu'un canal s'est pendu
Avec un ciel si gris
Qu'il faut lui pardonner
Avec le vent du nord
Qui vient s'écarteler
Avec le vent du nord,
Écoutez-le craquer
Le plat pays
Qui est le mien
Avec de l'Italie
Qui descendrait l'Escaut
Avec Frida la Blonde
Quand elle devient Margot
Quand les fils de novembre
Nous reviennent en mai
Quand la plaine est fumante
Et tremble sous juillet
Quand le vent est au rire
Quand le vent est au blé
Quand le vent est au sud
Écoutez-le chanter
Le plat pays
Qui est le mien
The song Le Plat Pays by Jacques Brel is a tribute to his homeland of Belgium. The lyrics describe the physical features of the country, emphasizing its flatness and lack of mountains. The opening lines set the scene with the North Sea as the final wild territory, and vast stretches of dunes to hold back the tides, along with rocks that remain at low tide. The mist from the sea contrasts with the wind from the east that persists, shaping the land; together, they blend into the vivid description of the flat land that is Brel's own.
The next verse brings a different perspective with the metaphor of cathedrals as unique mountains, and black belfries like flag poles. In the belfries, stone devils take down the clouds, and the landscape is everything that Brel has ever known. People live their lives through days that pass, and with the rain comes only rest. When the wind is from the west, it is as if it had a purpose, it blows and desires this flat land, Brel's own.
The chorus is a repetition of the title, Le Plat Pays, and is followed by a bridge that mixes illusion with reality. The sky is so low that a canal has gotten lost in it, and it humbles even the sky that is so grey that it needs to be forgiven for its sadness. The wind from the north cracks and splits itself on the land, the same flat land that with Italy at its feet and Frida, the blonde who becomes Margot, when November's sons return in May, makes it an everlasting spiritual presence. The wind from the south sings and talks about the joy of ripe wheat, while Jacques Brel declares that it is his own flat country.
Line by Line Meaning
Avec la mer du Nord
Pour dernier terrain vague
The vast expanse of the North Sea serves as the final frontier of the land, beyond which lie endless and unexplored depths.
Et des vagues de dunes
Pour arrêter les vagues
The unbroken rows of sand dunes stand as barriers between the restless waves of the sea, holding them back from inundating the land.
Et de vagues rochers
Que les marées dépassent
Et qui ont à jamais le cœur
À marée basse
The jagged rocks that line the coast are battered incessantly by the tide, yet their hearts only truly reveal themselves when the waters recede.
Avec infiniment
De brumes à venir
The future is shrouded in infinite amounts of mist, making it impossible to discern what lies ahead.
Avec le vent de l'est
Écoutez-le tenir
The wind blowing from the east can be heard fiercely howling, as if struggling to catch its breath amid the flat landscape.
Avec des cathédrales
Pour uniques montagnes
The only mountains that exist here are the soaring cathedrals with their spires reaching towards the heavens.
Et de noirs clochers
Comme mâts de cocagne
The black bell towers of the churches look like candy canes placed side-by-side, inviting people to enjoy their sweetness.
Où des diables en pierre
Décrochent les nuages
The stone gargoyles perched atop the towers seem to be playfully trying to remove the clouds from the sky.
Avec le fil des jours
Pour unique voyage
The only journey people undertake here is the steady march of time, as it winds its way through the days and years of their lives.
Et des chemins de pluie
Pour unique bonsoir
The only way to bid farewell to the day is by walking down rain drenched paths, feeling the cool droplets wash away all the worries of the day.
Avec le vent d'ouest
Écoutez-le vouloir
The wind from the west can be heard whispering its desires, as if urging the people here to follow their own ambitions.
Avec un ciel si bas
Qu'un canal s'est perdu
Avec un ciel si bas
Qu'il fait l'humilité
The sky here is so low that even the canals seem to have lost their way, reminding people of their humble place in the vastness of the universe.
Avec un ciel si gris
Qu'un canal s'est pendu
Avec un ciel si gris
Qu'il faut lui pardonner
The gloomy, overcast sky here can be so oppressive that even the canals, which are supposed to be life-giving, seem to have given up. But the people here know how to forgive it for this.
Avec le vent du nord
Qui vient s'écarteler
Avec le vent du nord,
Écoutez-le craquer
The north wind here is so fierce that it seems to be tearing itself apart as it howls through the landscape, making its presence felt through the deafening sound of its fury.
Avec de l'Italie
Qui descendrait l'Escaut
Avec Frida la Blonde
Quand elle devient Margot
Sometimes, Italy seems to take a detour here while journeying down the Escaut River, and the people here tell stories of how Frida the Fair-Haired woman transforms into Margot. These folk stories serve to lighten up the otherwise melancholic atmosphere of the place.
Quand les fils de novembre
Nous reviennent en mai
Quand la plaine est fumante
Et tremble sous juillet
In November, many people from this place venture out to other lands to make a better living. However, they eventually return here in May, when the fields are smoking hot under the scorching sun of July.
Quand le vent est au rire
Quand le vent est au blé
Quand le vent est au sud
Écoutez-le chanter
When the wind here is playful, wafting through the fields of corn, or when it blows warm and gentle from the south, it can be heard singing a happy tune - bringing joy and lightness to the hearts of people living here.
Le plat pays
Qui est le mien
This flat land may be unremarkable to outsiders, but it is the home of the person singing this song – and it is the most beautiful place in the world to him.
Lyrics © SEMI, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jacques Brel
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mary M. Brandes
on La Valse à Mille Temps
I love Jacques Brel songs.