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 jardins du casino
Jacques Brel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Et leurs violons et leurs saxos
Et la polka se met en marche
Dans les jardins du casino
Où glandouillent en papotant
De vieilles vieilles qui ont la galatouille
Et de moins vieilles qui ont la chatouille
Et des messieurs qui ont le temps
Quelques jeunes gens faméliques
Qui sont encore confondant
L'érotisme et la gymnastique
Tout ça dresse une muraille de Chine
Entre le pauvre ami Pierrot
Et sa fugace Colombine
Dans les jardins du casino
Les musiciens frétillent des moustaches
Et du violon et du saxo
Quand la polka guide la démarche
De la beauté du casino
Quelques couples protubérants
Dansent comme des escalopes
Avec des langueurs d'héliotropes
Devant les faiseuses de cancan
Un colonel encivilé présente
À de fausses duchesses
Compliments et civilités
Et baise-main et rond de fesses
Tout ça n'arrange pas on le devine
Les affaires du pauvre Pierrot
Cherchant fugace Colombine
Dans les jardins du casino
Et puis le soir tombe par taches
Les musiciens rangent leurs saxos
Et leurs violons et leurs moustaches
Dans les jardins du casino
Les jeunes filles rentrent aux tanières
Sans ce jeune homme ou sans ce veuf
Qui devait leur offir la litière
Où elles auraient pondu leur œuf
Les vieux messieurs rentrent au bercail
Retrouver le souvenir jauni
De leur madame Bovary
Qu'ils entretiennent vaille que vaille
Il ne demeure que l'opaline
De l'âme du pauvre Pierrot
Pleurant fugace colombine
Dans les jardins du casino
Du casino
The lyrics to Jacques Brel's song Les Jardins du Casino evoke a scene of a lively casino garden. Musicians donning mustaches, violins, and saxophones play a catchy polka music, giving the old ladies and young girls who are gossiping and flirting with men who are there to waste time something to dance to. Alongside them are a few emaciated young men who seem to be confusing athleticism with eroticism. This group of people creates a metaphorical wall of China between two lovers, Pierrot and Colombine, who are unable to be together because of societal class distinctions.
As the night falls, the musicians pack up their instruments and head home, leaving the young couples to retreat to their dens with some sadness. The young girls, who were supposed to be accompanied by either a widower or an unmarried guy to spend the night with, go back disappointed. Meanwhile, the older men return home to their memories of their past lovers, while Pierrot is left alone, missing Colombine. This final scene depicts the loneliness and sadness of not being able to be with the one you love due to societal barriers.
Overall, the song gives us a colorful portrayal of a casino garden full of different people from different backgrounds indulging in their vices and desires. It also shows how societal norms and expectations can hinder love and happiness.
Line by Line Meaning
Les musiciens sortent leurs moustaches
The musicians strut their stuff proudly
Et leurs violons et leurs saxos
With violins and saxophones in tow
Et la polka se met en marche
And the polka starts playing
Dans les jardins du casino
In the gardens of the casino
Où glandouillent en papotant
Where old women idle and chatter
De vieilles vieilles qui ont la galatouille
Old ladies who are unwell
Et de moins vieilles qui ont la chatouille
And younger ones who are ticklish
Et des messieurs qui ont le temps
And men who have time to spare
Passent aussi indifférents
They pass by nonchalantly
Quelques jeunes gens faméliques
A few thin young people
Qui sont encore confondant
Still confusing
L'érotisme et la gymnastique
Eroticism with gymnastics
Tout ça dresse une muraille de Chine
All of this creates an impenetrable wall
Entre le pauvre ami Pierrot
Between poor friend Pierrot
Et sa fugace Colombine
And his fleeting Colombine
Dans les jardins du casino
In the gardens of the casino
Les musiciens frétillent des moustaches
The musicians get giddy and excited
Et du violon et du saxo
With violin and saxophone
Quand la polka guide la démarche
As the polka leads the way
De la beauté du casino
Of the beauty of the casino
Quelques couples protubérants
Some awkward couples
Dansent comme des escalopes
Dancing like cutlets
Avec des langueurs d'héliotropes
With languorous movements
Devant les faiseuses de cancan
In front of the cancan dancers
Un colonel encivilé présente
A civilian-dressed colonel presents
À de fausses duchesses
To fake duchesses
Compliments et civilités
Compliments and courtesies
Et baise-main et rond de fesses
And hand-kissing and butt-groping
Tout ça n'arrange pas on le devine
All of this won't help, as one can imagine
Les affaires du pauvre Pierrot
The situation of poor Pierrot
Cherchant fugace Colombine
Seeking elusive Colombine
Dans les jardins du casino
In the gardens of the casino
Et puis le soir tombe par taches
And then the evening falls in patches
Les musiciens rangent leurs saxos
The musicians put away their saxophones
Et leurs violons et leurs moustaches
And their violins and mustaches
Dans les jardins du casino
In the gardens of the casino
Les jeunes filles rentrent aux tanières
Young girls retreat to their dens
Sans ce jeune homme ou sans ce veuf
Without this young man or this widower
Qui devait leur offir la litière
Who was supposed to attend to their needs
Où elles auraient pondu leur œuf
Where they could have laid their eggs
Les vieux messieurs rentrent au bercail
Old gentlemen return home
Retrouver le souvenir jauni
Retrieving some old memories
De leur madame Bovary
Of Madame Bovary
Qu'ils entretiennent vaille que vaille
That they cherish, come what may
Il ne demeure que l'opaline
Only the opaline remains
De l'âme du pauvre Pierrot
Of the soul of poor Pierrot
Pleurant fugace colombine
Crying over fleeting Colombine
Dans les jardins du casino
In the gardens of the casino
Du casino
Of the casino
Contributed by Michael V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Mary M. Brandes
on La Valse à Mille Temps
I love Jacques Brel songs.