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 gens
Jacques Brel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Car cela peut arriver à toutes les filles de son âge
Mais lorsque sa mère apprit qu'elle allait être grand-mère
Retentirent tous les cris d'une majuscule colère
Vous parlez, ma bonne dame, de vice, d'immoralité
Mais faites-vous donc un drame des amants que vous avez?
Les gens qui ont bonne conscience
Les gens qui ont bonne conscience
Ont souvent mauvaise mémoire
Les gens qui ont bonne conscience
Dans les rues, le soir
Les gens qui ont bonne conscience
Ont souvent mauvaise mémoire
Et ceux qui se disent beaux parce qu'ils sont des idiots
Et ceux qui se disent malins parce qu'ils ne sont que laids
Et ceux qui se disent heureux parce qu'ils sont des bigots
Et ceux qui se disent bons parce qu'ils sont des niais
Tous ceux qui ont la tête haute parce qu'ils ont tout appris
Et qui ont l'âme sereine parce qu'ils n'ont rien compris
Les gens qui ont bonne conscience
Dans les rues, le soir
Les gens qui ont bonne conscience
Ont souvent mauvaise mémoire
Les gens qui ont bonne conscience
Dans les rues, le soir
Les gens qui ont bonne conscience
Ont souvent mauvaise mémoire
The song Les gens by Jacques Brel is a reflection on the hypocrisy of society and its attitudes towards morality. The song starts with a story of Jeannette, who has sinned and become pregnant out of wedlock. Her mother is outraged and criticizes her daughter for her immoral behavior, yet the singer questions the mother if she has never had any lovers. The song then transitions to a broader critique of society's values and beliefs. The people with good conscience who roam the streets at night, seem to have a selective memory that fails to remember their hypocrisies. The people who believe they are smart because of their physical qualities, or happy because of their religious beliefs or who are self-righteous because of their ignorance, are the very ones who have not comprehended the complex nuances of human nature.
The use of repetition in the lyrics of Les gens emphasises the themes in the song, namely, the cultural and social norms being hypocritical. People who proclaim to have a good conscience and remain morally superior are the ones who often fail to acknowledge their flaws. The song suggests that such people are pervasive, even those walking in the streets at nightfall. Brel implies that these people use their morality to hide their immoral and unethical traits. The song highlights the universal characteristics of society that are recurrent in different ages and cultures.
Line by Line Meaning
Belle Jeannette a fauté, je n'en dis pas davantage
Jeannette has sinned, I won't say any more because it can happen to any girl her age
Mais lorsque sa mère apprit qu'elle allait être grand-mère
When her mother found out she was going to be a grandmother
Retentirent tous les cris d'une majuscule colère
All the screams of a capital anger resounded
Vous parlez, ma bonne dame, de vice, d'immoralité
You talk, ma'am, about vice, immorality
Mais faites-vous donc un drame des amants que vous avez?
But do you make a drama out of the lovers you have?
Les gens qui ont bonne conscience
People who have a clear conscience
Dans les rues, le soir
In the streets, at night
Ont souvent mauvaise mémoire
Often have bad memory
Et ceux qui se disent beaux parce qu'ils sont des idiots
And those who call themselves handsome because they are idiots
Et ceux qui se disent malins parce qu'ils ne sont que laids
And those who call themselves clever because they are just ugly
Et ceux qui se disent heureux parce qu'ils sont des bigots
And those who call themselves happy because they are bigots
Et ceux qui se disent bons parce qu'ils sont des niais
And those who call themselves good because they are fools
Tous ceux qui ont la tête haute parce qu'ils ont tout appris
All those who hold their head high because they have learned everything
Et qui ont l'âme sereine parce qu'ils n'ont rien compris
And who have a calm soul because they haven't understood anything
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Jacques Brel
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@charlybreton536
J'ai 17 ans, je suis tombé sur ce chef d'oeuvre, 6 minutes de bonheur, ses mimiques, sa voix, tout est là, un artiste comme j'en ai rarement vu, malheureusement plus possible de le voir sur scène, ça aurait été un honneur, merci Monsieur Brel pour cette chanson !
@sachadally6478
C’est cool de voir des gens de la même tranche d’âge / génération que moi apprécier ce genre d’œuvres d’arts, la musique de nos jours c’est quelque chose de vraiment spécial 😅
@lesinsseparables6585
Le plus grand de tous ....
@jean-yvesdepeix4856
Bravo,cher Charly , qu'elle maturité ! je dis cela sans me moquer évidemment, tu pourrais croire le contraire, moi j'en ai 72 et était à l'époque plutôt Stones et Moody Blues ,mais je le répète ce commentaire est tout à ton honneur !
@yannickgueroult1550
Belle découverte
Continue de t’impliquer dans tes recherches, tu verras ils y en y’a d’autres à découvrir
@renelegrand9103
vous m avez mis sur les fesses pour ne pas etre vulguere lol
@mahesh5090
Permettez-moi de vous dire mon cher Monsieur Jacques Brel, qu'une pauvre âme sri lankaise qui est perdue dans la banlieue parisienne, qui souffre d'une insomnie mélancolique et qui essaie de mémoriser vos paroles sublimes, écoute ce magnifique chef-d'oeuvre tous les soirs.
@annederivery785
Je connais ça courage
@davidy3x395
Tkt ça va aller
@domgauze730
il doit être tellement honoré.