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.
Si Tu Revenais
Jacques Brel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Comme revient l'été
Comme ça, simplement
Sans même l'appeler
Mon amie
Mais si tu revenais
Comme revient l'été
Comme ça, simplement
Mon amie
Ne pourrais que chanter les chansons qu'autres fois
Tout ébloui d'amour, nous chantâmes à deux
Ne pourrais que te dire, tous les mots qui parfois
Font d'un couple d'amant un sourire des dieux
Et fou de ce cadeau que serait ton retour
J'embrasserai ma vie en embrassant ton corps
J'embrasserai ma vie et ma vie, à son tour
Embrasserait ta vie pour qu'on l'embrasse encore
Oui, oui si tu revenais
Comme revient l'été
Comme ça, simplement
Sans même l'appeler
Mon amie
Oui, oui si tu revenais
Comme revient l'été
Comme ça, simplement
Sans même l'espérer
Pour la vie
In Jacques Brel's song "Si Tu Revenais," the singer expresses his longing for the return of a lost love. He compares the return of his love to the coming of summer, something that happens simply and naturally without having to be called or hoped for. He reminisces about their past together, recalling how they sang together and exchanged words of love that made them feel as if they were gods. He yearns for her return so that they can love again, embracing each other's bodies and lives, and sharing in the joy of being together once more.
The lyrics are filled with powerful imagery that evokes the emotions of longing and hope. The metaphor of summer returning speaks to the idea that their love, like the changing of the seasons, is cyclical and bound to come back around. The lines "J'embrasserai ma vie et ma vie, à son tour, embrasserait ta vie pour qu'on l'embrasse encore" (I will embrace my life and my life in turn will embrace your life, so that we can embrace it yet again) capture the essence of the singer's desire to rekindle their love and start anew.
Line by Line Meaning
Mais si tu revenais
But if you were to come back
Comme revient l'été
Like the summer returns
Comme ça, simplement
Just like that, simply
Sans même l'appeler
Without even calling you
Mon amie
My friend
Mais si tu revenais
But if you were to come back
Comme revient l'été
Like the summer returns
Comme ça, simplement
Just like that, simply
Sans même l'espérer
Without even hoping for it
Mon amie
My friend
Ne pourrais que chanter les chansons qu'autres fois
I could only sing the songs from times past
Tout ébloui d'amour, nous chantâmes à deux
Dazzled by love, we sang together
Ne pourrais que te dire, tous les mots qui parfois
I could only tell you all the words that sometimes
Font d'un couple d'amant un sourire des dieux
Make a couple of lovers into a smile of the gods
Et fou de ce cadeau que serait ton retour
And crazy for the gift that your return would bring
J'embrasserai ma vie en embrassant ton corps
I would embrace my life while embracing your body
J'embrasserai ma vie et ma vie, à son tour
I would embrace my life, and my life in turn
Embrasserait ta vie pour qu'on l'embrasse encore
Would embrace your life to be able to embrace it again
Oui, oui si tu revenais
Yes, yes if you were to come back
Comme revient l'été
Like the summer returns
Comme ça, simplement
Just like that, simply
Sans même l'appeler
Without even calling you
Mon amie
My friend
Oui, oui si tu revenais
Yes, yes if you were to come back
Comme revient l'été
Like the summer returns
Comme ça, simplement
Just like that, simply
Sans même l'espérer
Without even hoping for it
Pour la vie
For life
Contributed by Gabriel G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Mary M. Brandes
on La Valse à Mille Temps
I love Jacques Brel songs.