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.

Les Filles Et Les Chiens
Jacques Brel Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Les filles
C'est beau comme un jeu
C'est beau comme un feu
C'est beaucoup trop peu

Les filles
C'est beau comme un fruit
C'est beau comme la nuit

C'est beaucoup d'ennuis

Les filles
C'est beau comme un r'nard
C'est beau comme un r'tard
C'est beaucoup trop tard

Les filles
C'est beau tant qu'ça peut
C'est beau comme l'adieu
Et c'est beaucoup mieux

Mais les chiens
C'est beau comme des chiens
Et ça reste là
A nous voir pleurer

Les chiens
Ça ne nous dit rien
C'est peut-être pour ça
Qu'on croit les aimer

Les filles
Ça vous pend au nez
Ça vous prend au thé
Ça vous prend les dés

Les filles
Ça vous pend au cou
Ça vous pend au clou
Ça dépend de vous

Les filles
Ça vous pend au cœur
Ça se pend aux fleurs
Ça dépend des heures

Les filles
Ça dépend de tout
Ça dépend surtout
Ça dépend des sous

Mais les chiens
Ça n'dépend de rien
Et ça reste là
A nous voir pleurer

Les chiens
Ça ne nous dit rien
C'est peut-être pour ça
Qu'on croit les aimer

Les filles
Ça joue au cerceau
Ça joue du cerveau
Ça se joue tango

Les filles
Ça joue l'amadou
Ça joue contre joue
Ça se joue de vous

Les filles
Ça joue à jouer
Ça joue à aimer
Ça joue pour gagner

Les filles
Qu'elles jouent les p'tites femmes
Qu'elles jouent les grandes dames
Ça se joue en drames

Mais les chiens
Ça ne joue à rien
Parce que ça n'sait pas
Comment faut tricher

Les chiens
Ça ne joue à rien
C'est peut-être pour ça
Qu'on croit les aimer

Les filles
Ça donne à rêver
Ça donne à penser
Ça vous donne congé

Les filles
Ça se donne pourtant
Ça se donne un temps
C'est donnant donnant

Les filles
Ça donne de l'amour
A chacun son tour
Ça donne sur la cour

Les filles
Ça vous donne son corps
Ça se donne si fort
Que ça donne des r'mords

Mais les chiens
Ça ne vous donne rien
Parce que ça n'sait pas
Faire semblant d'donner

Les chiens
Ça ne vous donne rien
C'est peut-être pour ça
Qu'on doit les aimer

Et c'est pourtant pour les filles
Qu'au moindre matin

Qu'au moindre chagrin
On renie ses chiens

Overall Meaning

In Jacques Brel's song "Les Filles Et Les Chiens," the French singer discusses the differences between women and dogs as companions. He begins by saying that girls are lovely, but just like a game or a fire, they aren't sufficient. Girls are described as being as attractive as fruits, sunsets, red foxes, and something that comes too late. Girls are like goodbyes, which are beautiful, but farewells are better.

On the other hand, dogs are not remarkable, and they just remain and observe us cry. Dogs are not responsible for anything, and we think we love them simply because they don't give us anything. Girls, on the other hand, are always approaching us, whether it's playing tag or playing with our emotions. Girls are poised as exotic individuals who always have the upper hand in relationships, whether young or elderly, minor or major. Girls provide and take away things like pleasure, love, and regrets.

However, at the end of the day, females are often the reason we abandon our canine friends. It seems as though beneath the glamor of girls, there is a sinister quality that makes us abandon our creatures who are less attractive but always available for us. At the conclusion of the song, Brel implores his listeners to remember these and other aspects of this complex relationship, as well as to recognize that our faithful hounds are always there for us.

Line by Line Meaning

Les filles C'est beau comme un jeu C'est beau comme un feu C'est beaucoup trop peu
Girls are beautiful like a game or a fire, but it's not enough

Les filles C'est beau comme un fruit C'est beau comme la nuit C'est beaucoup d'ennuis
Girls are beautiful like a fruit or a night, but they bring a lot of trouble

Les filles C'est beau comme un r'nard C'est beau comme un r'tard C'est beaucoup trop tard
Girls are beautiful like a fox or a delay, but it's too late

Les filles C'est beau tant qu'ça peut C'est beau comme l'adieu Et c'est beaucoup mieux
Girls are beautiful as long as they can be, like a goodbye, and it's better that way

Mais les chiens C'est beau comme des chiens Et ça reste là A nous voir pleurer
But dogs are beautiful like dogs, and they stay there watching us cry

Les chiens Ça ne nous dit rien C'est peut-être pour ça Qu'on croit les aimer
Dogs don't say anything to us, maybe that's why we think we love them

Les filles Ça vous pend au nez Ça vous prend au thé Ça vous prend les dés
Girls come naturally to you, like a tea or a dice game

Les filles Ça vous pend au cou Ça vous pend au clou Ça dépend de vous
Girls hang around your neck, or on a hook, it depends on you

Les filles Ça vous pend au cœur Ça se pend aux fleurs Ça dépend des heures
Girls hold on to your heart, they hang on the flowers, it depends on the hour

Les filles Ça dépend de tout Ça dépend surtout Ça dépend des sous
Girls depend on everything, especially money

Mais les chiens Ça n'dépend de rien Et ça reste là A nous voir pleurer
But dogs don't depend on anything, and they stay there watching us cry

Les filles Ça joue au cerceau Ça joue du cerveau Ça se joue tango
Girls play hoop games, use their brains, and they play tango

Les filles Ça joue l'amadou Ça joue contre joue Ça se joue de vous
Girls play with fire, play face-to-face, and play with you

Les filles Ça joue à jouer Ça joue à aimer Ça joue pour gagner
Girls play games, play love, and play to win

Les filles Qu'elles jouent les p'tites femmes Qu'elles jouent les grandes dames Ça se joue en drames
Whether they play small women, or play grand ladies, it ends up in drama

Mais les chiens Ça ne joue à rien Parce que ça n'sait pas Comment faut tricher
But dogs don't play anything, because they don't know how to cheat

Les chiens Ça ne joue à rien C'est peut-être pour ça Qu'on croit les aimer
Dogs don't play anything, maybe that's why we think we love them

Les filles Ça donne à rêver Ça donne à penser Ça vous donne congé
Girls make you dream, make you think, or give you time off

Les filles Ça se donne pourtant Ça se donne un temps C'est donnant donnant
Girls give themselves away, but just for a while, it's a give-and-take

Les filles Ça donne de l'amour A chacun son tour Ça donne sur la cour
Girls give love, but to each in turn, it happens in the courtyard

Les filles Ça vous donne son corps Ça se donne si fort Que ça donne des r'mords
Girls give you their body, they give so much, that it creates remorse

Mais les chiens Ça ne vous donne rien Parce que ça n'sait pas Faire semblant d'donner
But dogs don't give you anything, because they don't know how to pretend to give

Les chiens Ça ne vous donne rien C'est peut-être pour ça Qu'on doit les aimer
Dogs don't give you anything, maybe that's why we should love them

Et c'est pourtant pour les filles Qu'au moindre matin Qu'au moindre chagrin On renie ses chiens
And yet, to the girls, at the slightest morning, at the slightest sorrow, we deny our dogs

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GERARD JOUANNEST, JACQUES ROMAN BREL

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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