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.

Sans Amour
Jacques Brel Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Les muletiers:
Sans amour, sans amour
(Sans amour, sans amour)
Sans amour à venir
(Sans amour, sans amour)
Sans amour, sans amour
(Sans amour, sans amour)
Qu'est-ce que vivre veut dire?

(Sans amour, sans amour)
J'ai le vide au coeur
(Sans amour, sans amour)
Le vide au corps
(Sans amour, sans amour)
Sans amour, sans amour
A quoi me sert?
Sans amour, sans amour
De vivre encore?
Sans amour, sans amour!

Sur les ramblas
Être fils de roi
Cueillir des filles
S'offrir l'enfer?
Mais suis comme toi
Fils de misère
Et des ramblas
Y en a guère
Dans La Mancha!

Sans amour, sans amour
(Sans amour, sans amour)
Sans amour à venir
(Sans amour, sans amour)
Sans amour, sans amour
(Sans amour, sans amour)
Qu'est-ce que vivre veut dire?
(Sans amour, sans amour)
Je vis sans fleurs
(Sans amour, sans amour)
Je vis sans fleuves
(Sans amour, sans amour)
Sans amour, sans amour
Les hommes pleurent
Sans amour, sans amour
Les femmes pleuvent

Sans amour, sans amour
Sans amour, sans amour!

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Jacques Brel's song Sans amour reflect a sense of emptiness and despair resulting from a lack of love in the singer's life. The repetition of the phrase "sans amour" throughout the song emphasizes this theme and the questions "Qu'est-ce que vivre veut dire?" ("What does it mean to live?") and "A quoi me sert?" ("What is the point?") reveal the singer's existential crisis. The imagery of "le vide au coeur" ("the emptiness in the heart") and "le vide au corps" ("the emptiness in the body") further convey this sense of profound isolation and desolation.

The second stanza of the song contrasts the singer's sense of hopelessness with the hedonistic pleasure-seeking of those on "les ramblas" (likely referring to the famous street in Barcelona). Though the singer imagines a life of luxury and sexual conquest, his reality as a "fils de misère" ("son of misery") renders this fantasy impossible. The final repetition of "sans amour" in the song suggests that the singer's condition is unchanging, with men crying and women weeping alongside him.

Overall, Sans amour is a commentary on the futility and meaninglessness of life without love. Its brooding tone and repetition are characteristic of Jacques Brel's music, which often deals with heavy themes and emotions.

Line by Line Meaning

Sans amour, sans amour
Without love, without love

Sans amour à venir
No love to come

Sans amour, sans amour
Without love, without love

Qu'est-ce que vivre veut dire?
What does it mean to live?

J'ai le vide au coeur
I have emptiness in my heart

Le vide au corps
Emptiness in my body

Sans amour, sans amour
Without love, without love

A quoi me sert?
What is the use of me?

Sans amour, sans amour
Without love, without love

De vivre encore?
To live anymore?

Sans amour, sans amour!
Without love, without love!