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.
Les Coeurs Tendres
Jacques Brel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Qu'on y entre sans frapper
Y en a qui ont le cœur si large
Qu'on en voit que la moitié
Y en a qui ont le cœur si frêle
Qu'on le briserait du doigt
Y en qui ont le cœur trop frêle
Z'ont pleins de fleurs dans les yeux
Les yeux à fleur de peur
De peur de manquer l'heure
Qui conduit à Paris
Y en a qui ont le cœur si tendre
Qu'y reposent les mésanges
Y en qui ont le cœur trop tendre
Moitié hommes et moitié anges
Y en a qui ont le cœur si vaste
Qu'ils sont toujours en voyage
Y en a qui ont le cœur trop vaste
Pour se priver de mirages
Z'ont pleins de fleurs dans les yeux
Les yeux à fleur de peur
De peur de manquer l'heure
Qui conduit à Paris
Y en a qui ont le cœur dehors
Et ne peuvent que l'offrir
Le cœur tellement dehors
Qu'ils sont tous à s'en servir
Celui-là a le cœur dehors
Et si frêle et si tendre
Que maudits soient les arbres morts
Qui ne pourraient point l'entendre
À plein de fleurs dans les yeux
Les yeux à fleur de peur
De peur de manquer l'heure
Qui conduit à Paris
In Les Coeurs Tendres, Jacques Brel sings about people whose hearts come in different sizes and strengths. Some have hearts so large that others can enter without knocking, while some have hearts so fragile that they can be broken with a single touch. The song describes people who have hearts that are too tender, too vast, or so much outside of themselves that they are vulnerable to being taken advantage of. However, despite their differences, all these people have something in common: the fear of missing the moment that leads to Paris, which represents hope and the fulfillment of their dreams.
The song echoes the French philosopher Blaise Pascal's statement that "The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing." Brel delves into the emotional complexity of the human heart, which can be both fragile and strong, tender and vast. Les Coeurs Tendres also touches on the transient nature of life, showing that our fears and our hearts' vulnerabilities connect us as humans. Furthermore, the song's solemn tone and Brel's expressive singing style create a sense of melancholy that heightens the emotional impact of the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Y en a qui ont le cœur si large
There are some people who have a heart so spacious
Qu'on y entre sans frapper
That you can enter it without knocking
Y en a qui ont le cœur si frêle
There are some who have a heart so fragile
Qu'on le briserait du doigt
That you could break it with a finger
Y en a qui ont le cœur trop frêle
Some people have a heart too fragile
Pour vivre comme toi et moi
To live like you and me
Z'ont plein de fleurs dans les yeux
They have flowers in their eyes
Les yeux à fleur de peur
Eyes brimming with fear
De peur de manquer l'heure
Afraid of missing the hour
Qui conduit à Paris
That leads to Paris
Y en a qui ont le cœur si tendre
There are some who have a heart so soft
Qu'y reposent les mésanges
That the sparrows rest in
Y en a qui ont le cœur trop tendre
Some people have a heart too soft
Moitié hommes et moitié anges
Half human and half angel
Y en a qui ont le cœur si vaste
Some people have a heart so vast
Qu'ils sont toujours en voyage
That they are always on a journey
Y en a qui ont le cœur trop vaste
Some people have a heart too vast
Pour se priver de mirages
To deprive themselves of illusions
Y en a qui ont le cœur dehors
Some people have their heart outside
Et ne peuvent que l'offrir
And can only offer it
Le cœur tellement dehors
The heart so outside
Qu'ils sont tous à s'en servir
That everyone can make use of it
Celui-là a le cœur dehors
That one has the heart outside
Et si frêle et si tendre
And so frail and soft
Que maudits soient les arbres morts
Cursed be the dead trees
Qui ne pourraient point l'entendre
That couldn't hear it
A plein de fleurs dans les yeux
Has plenty of flowers in their eyes
Les yeux à fleur de peur
Their eyes brimming with fear
De peur de manquer l'heure
Afraid of missing the hour
Qui conduit à Paris
That leads to Paris
Lyrics © WARNER CHAPPELL MUSIC FRANCE
Written by: Jacques Brel, Diane Dufresne
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@AnnRiba
Y en a qui ont le cœur si large
Qu´on y entre sans frapper
Y en a qui ont le cœur si large
Qu´on n´en voit que la moitié
Y en a qui ont le cœur si frêle
Qu´on le briserait du doigt
Y en a qui ont le cœur trop frêle
Pour vivre comme toi et moi
Z´ont plein de fleurs dans les yeux
Les yeux à fleur de peur
De peur de manquer l´heure
Qui conduit à Paris
Y en a qui ont le cœur si tendre
Qu´y reposent les mésanges
Y en a qui ont le cœur trop tendre
Moitié hommes et moitié anges
Y en a qui ont le cœur si vaste
Qu´ils sont toujours en voyage
Y en a qui ont le cœur trop vaste
Pour se priver de mirages
Z´ont plein de fleurs dans les yeux
Les yeux à fleur de peur
De peur de manquer l´heure
Qui conduit à Paris
Y en a qui ont le cœur dehors
Et ne peuvent que l´offrir
Le cœur tellement dehors
Qu´ils sont tous à s´en servir
Celui-là a le cœur dehors
Et si frêle et si tendre
Que maudits soient les arbres morts
Qui ne pourraient point l´entendre
A plein de fleurs dans les yeux
Les yeux à fleur de peur
De peur de manquer l´heure
Qui conduit à Paris
@JoelStiefel-uj7jq
Les mots me manquent c est indescriptible
Un mot tout de même.. magnifique....
@souadriahi8305
Qu'elles belles paroles tu est l'ange l'oiseau qui propage tes chants a travers le monde pour donner le bonheur a ceux qui on en besoin merci Brel repose en paix
@minouminouche4647
Une belle chanson, un beaux texte!⚘️⚘️⚘️⚘️du grand Brel!
@prandichristel4826
J ai jamais entendue des chanssons aussi vrais et reel que de brel j ai 47 ans et a présent les paroles me touche car certeines me fond panser a ma vie c est fou brel et un visionnaire ❤🤩
@jeanmarcguiriato6915
Du pur Brel.
@sariamira1172
Un vrai parolier la chanson de tous les temps un grand monsieur..qui ne meurt pas....le temps où l'Art......
@jeanmosca9229
J’aime ses textes à ce point que mon dernier passage à l’église se fera sur "Prière païenne " et "Le moribond "
@xanaorispaa3736
le meilleur, le plus vivant, plein d'amour, d'intelligence et de tendresse. Un génie, un ange.
@adelmechri8944
Tte àfait comme toi ange
@hafidprotin1966
@@adelmechri8944 ‹'