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.
My Childhood
Jacques Brel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
De grisailles en silences
De fausses révérences
En manque de batailles
L'hiver j'étais au ventre
De la grande maison
Qui avait jeté l'ancre
Au nord parmi les joncs
Mais tout à fait modeste
Je devenais indien
Pourtant déjà certain
Que mes oncles repus
M'avaient volé le Far West
Mon enfance passa
Les femmes aux cuisines
Où je rêvais de Chine
Vieillissaient en repas
Les hommes au fromage
S'enveloppaient de tabac
Flamands taiseux et sages
Et ne me savaient pas
Moi qui toutes les nuits
Agenouillé pour rien
Arpégeais mon chagrin
Au pied du trop grand lit
Je voulais prendre un train
Que je n'ai jamais pris
Mon enfance passa
De servante en servante
Je m'étonnais déjà
Qu'elles ne fussent point plantes
Je m'étonnais encore
De ces ronds de famille
Flânant de mort en mort
Et que le deuil habille
Je m'étonnais surtout
D'être de ce troupeau
Qui m'apprenait à pleurer
Que je connaissais trop
J'avais L'œil du berger
Mais le cœur de l'agneau
Mon enfance éclata
Ce fut l'adolescence
Et le mur du silence
Un matin se brisa
Ce fut la première fleur
Et la première fille
La première gentille
Et la première peur
Je volais je le jure
Je jure que je volais
Mon cœur ouvrait les bras
Je n'étais plus barbare
Et la guerre arriva
Et nous voilà ce soir.
In Jacques Brel's song "My Childhood," he reflects upon his childhood experiences and the emotions that came with growing up. The song begins by depicting a dull, colorless childhood filled with silence, false politeness, and lack of adventure. In the winter, he was shut up inside the large house anchored in the north, while in the summer, he roamed around half-naked but completely modest, playing games of cowboys and Indians. However, he feels that his uncles already stole his chance to be a hero in the Wild West.
Throughout his childhood, the females in his life were in the kitchen, where Jacques dreamed of China, while the men wrapped themselves in tobacco and talked quietly. Meanwhile, he knelt beside the too-big bed in the darkness, feeling helpless and alone. He was a curious child who pondered about his identity and the people around him, particularly their family rituals and attitudes towards mourning. Brel felt that he was too soft to be part of a culture that valued crying as a way of dealing with problems. He had the eye of a shepherd, but the heart of a lamb.
As the song progresses, Brel's adolescence intervenes, confessing about his first infatuations and the fear that came with it. He feels like he's flying and opens his heart, breaking the silence of his childhood. But then the war comes, and he stops in his tracks, mirroring the abrupt end to his childhood.
Overall, Jacques Brel's "My Childhood" is about reflecting upon his childhood and his experiences in a gray and emotionless world. He felt like he was never able to unleash his full potential and that his environment did not foster the growth of creativity and adventure.
Line by Line Meaning
Mon enfance passa
My childhood passed by
De grisailles en silences
From gloominess to silence
De fausses révérences
From false respectfulness
En manque de batailles
In need of battles
L'hiver j'étais au ventre
In winter, I was inside the belly
De la grande maison
Of the big house
Qui avait jeté l'ancre
That had anchored itself
Au nord parmi les joncs
In the north among the rushes
L'été à moitié nu
In summer, half-naked
Mais tout à fait modeste
But quite modest
Je devenais indien
I became an Indian
Pourtant déjà certain
Yet already certain
Que mes oncles repus
That my satiated uncles
M'avaient volé le Far West
Had stolen the Far West from me
Les femmes aux cuisines
The women in the kitchens
Où je rêvais de Chine
Where I dreamed of China
Vieillissaient en repas
Aged in meals
Les hommes au fromage
The men with cheese
S'enveloppaient de tabac
Wrapped themselves in tobacco
Flamands taiseux et sages
Silent and wise Flemings
Et ne me savaient pas
And did not know me
Moi qui toutes les nuits
Me who every night
Agenouillé pour rien
Kneeling for nothing
Arpégeais mon chagrin
Strummed my sorrow
Au pied du trop grand lit
At the foot of the too big bed
Je voulais prendre un train
I wanted to take a train
Que je n'ai jamais pris
That I never took
De servante en servante
From maid to maid
Je m'étonnais déjà
I was already surprised
Qu'elles ne fussent point plantes
That they were not plants
Je m'étonnais encore
I was still amazed
De ces ronds de famille
About these family gatherings
Flânant de mort en mort
Wandering from death to death
Et que le deuil habille
And dressed in mourning
Je m'étonnais surtout
What surprised me the most
D'être de ce troupeau
Was being part of this herd
Qui m'apprenait à pleurer
That taught me how to cry
Que je connaissais trop
That I knew too well
J'avais L'œil du berger
I had the eye of the shepherd
Mais le cœur de l'agneau
But the heart of a lamb
Mon enfance éclata
My childhood burst
Ce fut l'adolescence
It was adolescence
Et le mur du silence
And the wall of silence
Un matin se brisa
One morning broke
Ce fut la première fleur
It was the first flower
Et la première fille
And the first girl
La première gentille
The first kind one
Et la première peur
And the first fear
Je volais je le jure
I flew, I swear it
Je jure que je volais
I swear that I flew
Mon cœur ouvrait les bras
My heart opened its arms
Je n'étais plus barbare
I was no longer barbaric
Et la guerre arriva
And then the war came
Et nous voilà ce soir.
And here we are tonight.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mary M. Brandes
on La Valse à Mille Temps
I love Jacques Brel songs.