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 Deux Fauteuils
Jacques Brel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dans mon grenier tout dégoûtants
C'est le fauteuil de mon grand-père
Et le fauteuil de grand-maman
L'un est usé jusqu'à la corde
Souvent l'on dormit dans ses bras
Il est lourd de la sueur qu'il porte
L'autre presque neuf n'a deci, delà
Que quelques tache d'argent
Sur le dossier et sur les bras
Grand-mère y a pleuré dedans
Tout petit home de grande joie
Vous les connûtes encore amants
Se tenant tendrement les doigts
Disant les mots qu'on aime tant
J'ai retrouvé deux fauteuils verts
Dans mon grenier tout dégoûtants
C'est le fauteuil de mon grand-père
Et le fauteuil de grand-maman
The song Les Deux Fauteuils by Jacques Brel tells a very personal story of discovering two old green armchairs in the attic. The armchairs belong to the singer's grandparents, and they are worn with time and use. The armchair of the grandfather is especially old and heavy, having accumulated the sweat from his many hours of sitting on it. Meanwhile, the armchair of the grandmother is relatively new, but has been marked by her tears shed inside it. The singer then reflects on how he remembers his grandparents using the armchairs when they were still very much in love and holding hands, expressing the deep and tender love that they felt for each other.
The song is a poignant reflection on the passing of time and the way that even the most treasured things are lost to us over the years. The worn armchairs are a symbol of the singer's connection to his grandparents and their shared memories of love and happiness. The physical wear and tear of the chairs is a parallel to the emotional ebb and flow of human love, where joy and pain coexist in the memories of the past.
Line by Line Meaning
J'ai retrouvé deux fauteuils verts
I found two green armchairs
Dans mon grenier tout dégoûtants
In my attic, all disgusting
C'est le fauteuil de mon grand-père
One belonged to my grandfather
Et le fauteuil de grand-maman
The other belonged to my grandmother
L'un est usé jusqu'à la corde
One is worn out to the cord
Souvent l'on dormit dans ses bras
Often slept in its arms
Il est lourd de la sueur qu'il porte
Heavy with the sweat it holds
C'est le fauteuil de grand-papa
It's my grandpa's chair
L'autre presque neuf n'a deci, delà
The other one, almost new, has here and there
Que quelques tache d'argent
Only a few silver spots
Sur le dossier et sur les bras
On the back and on the arms
Grand-mère y a pleuré dedans
My grandma cried in it
Tout petit home de grande joie
A little man of great joy
Vous les connûtes encore amants
You still knew them in love
Se tenant tendrement les doigts
Holding each other's fingers tenderly
Disant les mots qu'on aime tant
Speaking the words we love so much
J'ai retrouvé deux fauteuils verts
I found two green armchairs
Dans mon grenier tout dégoûtants
In my attic, all disgusting
C'est le fauteuil de mon grand-père
One belonged to my grandfather
Et le fauteuil de grand-maman
The other belonged to my grandmother
Contributed by Ava N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Mary M. Brandes
on La Valse à Mille Temps
I love Jacques Brel songs.