In the late '60s and early '70s, Baez came into her songwriting own, penning many songs (most notably "Diamonds & Rust," a nostalgic piece about her ill-fated romance with Bob Dylan, and "Sweet Sir Galahad," a song about sister Mimi Fariña's ( of Richard & Mimi Fariña fame) second marriage, and continued to meld her songcraft with topical issues. She was outspoken in her disapproval of the Vietnam war and later the CIA-backed coups in many Latin American countries.
She was also instrumental in the Civil Rights movement, marching with Dr. Martin Luther King on many occassions and being jailed for her beliefs. In 1963, her performance of "We Shall Overcome" at the Lincoln Memorial just prior to Dr. King's famous "I Have A Dream..." speech helped confirm the song as the Civil Rights anthem.
In December 1972, she traveled to Hanoi, North Vietnam, and was caught in that country's "Christmas Campaign," in which the U.S. bombed the city more times than any other during the entire war. While pregnant with her only son, Gabriel, she performed a handful of songs in the middle of the night on day one of the 1969 Woodstock festival. She is considered the "Queen of Folk" for being at the forefront of the 1960s folk revival and inspiring generations of female folksingers that followed. Over fifty years after she first began singing publicly in 1958, Joan Baez continues to tour, demonstrate in favor of human rights and nonviolence, and release albums for a world of devoted fans.
1959
La colombe
Joan Baez Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
These squads of young men drill
To kill and to be killed
Stood waiting by the train
Why the orders loud and hoarse
Why the engine's groaning cough
As it strains to drag us all
Why crowds who sing and cry
And shout and fling us flowers
And trade their rights for ours
To murder and to die
[Chorus]
The dove has torn her wing(s)
So no more songs of love
We are not here to sing
We're here to kill the dove
Why must this moment come
When childhood has to die
When hope shrinks to a sigh
And speech into a drum
Why are they pale and still
Young boys trained over night
Conscripts payed to kill
And dressed in gray to fight
These rainclouds massing tight
This train load battle bound
This moving burial ground
Goes thundering to the night
[Chorus]
Why statues towering grave
Above the last defeat
Old words and lies repeat
Across a new made grave
And why the same still birds
That victory always brought
These hours of glory bought
By men with mounds of earth
Dead ash without a spark
Where cities used to be
Where guns probe every spark
And crush it into dust
[Chorus]
And while your face undone
With jagged lines of tears
That gave in those first years
All the peace I'd ever want
Your body in the gloom
The platform fading back
Your shadow on the track
A flower upon a tomb
And why these days ahead
When I must let you cry
And live prepared to die
And to
[Chorus]
Joan Baez's song "La Colombe" is a poignant commentary on the futility of war, the senselessness of violence, and the loss of innocence that it brings. The lyrics are marked by a sense of despair and heartbreak, and they ask a series of rhetorical questions that highlight the absurdity of militarism and the devastating impact it has on human lives. Throughout the song, Baez contrasts the beauty and purity of a dove, a symbol of peace and love, with the brutality and ugliness of war.
In the first verse, Baez asks why young men must be trained to kill, why they are sent off to war with bugles blaring and orders shouted. The second verse references the crowds who cheer them on, trading their rights for the right to murder and die. The chorus, with the sad refrain "we're here to kill the dove," underscores the sense of tragedy and loss that permeates the song. The final verse describes the aftermath of war, with its graves, scars, and destruction, as Baez reflects on the personal toll it takes on those left behind.
Overall, "La Colombe" is a haunting and powerful song that captures the sense of sorrow and grief that accompanies war. It speaks to the enduring humanity of those affected by it, and serves as a reminder of the need for peace and understanding in a world too often consumed by violence and conflict.
Line by Line Meaning
Why all these bugles cry
Why are we using bugles to signal death and destruction?
These squads of young men drill
Why are we training young men to fight and kill?
To kill and to be killed
Their purpose is to fight and potentially die.
Stood waiting by the train
Waiting to be transported to their deadly fate.
Why the orders loud and hoarse
Why are they given brutal commands?
Why the engine's groaning cough
Why is the engine sound foreboding and unsettling?
As it strains to drag us all
It’s like we’re all being dragged to our own graves.
Into the holocaust
Into the mass murder and destruction.
Why crowds who sing and cry
Why do people celebrate war?
And shout and fling us flowers
Why do they throw flowers at killers?
And trade their rights for ours
Why do they give up their freedoms for ours?
To murder and to die
For the sake of war and death.
The dove has torn her wing(s)
The symbol of peace has been damaged.
So no more songs of love
The sentimentality of love songs no longer applies.
We are not here to sing
Our purpose is not to create art or beauty.
We're here to kill the dove
We’re here to wage war and destroy peace.
Why must this moment come
Why must we fight and face death?
When childhood has to die
Why do children have to be exposed to war and death?
When hope shrinks to a sigh
Why do we lose our hope for a peaceful future?
And speech into a drum
Why do we turn our words into instruments of war?
Why are they pale and still
Why are young soldiers lifeless and robotic?
Young boys trained over night
Why are young boys being trained for war so quickly?
Conscripts payed to kill
Why are they being paid to kill?
And dressed in gray to fight
Why dress them in gray, the color of sadness and mourning?
These rainclouds massing tight
The gathering of ominous clouds symbolizes the coming of war.
This train load battle bound
The train carries soldiers towards the battlefront.
This moving burial ground
The train represents death on the move.
Goes thundering to the night
The train roars towards its destination, where war awaits.
Why statues towering grave
Why erect monuments to glorify the dead and war?
Above the last defeat
Over the graves of the dead from previous wars.
Old words and lies repeat
The same falsehoods are recycled to encourage more war.
Across a new made grave
Another tomb is added to the already-rich soil.
And why the same still birds
Why are birds, traditionally symbols of peace, so quiet in times of war?
That victory always brought
Why do we celebrate war and violence as victories?
These hours of glory bought
They come at the cost of countless lives and futures.
By men with mounds of earth
The spoils of war come at the price of build civilizations.
Dead ash without a spark
The destruction caused by war is empty and lifeless.
Where cities used to be
Where people and humanity once lived.
Where guns probe every spark
Guns and weapons seek to destroy the tiniest of sparks.
And crush it into dust
Violence literally destroys what was once full of life and vibrance.
And while your face undone
As people grieve and weep over war and death.
With jagged lines of tears
Tears of sadness and loss.
That gave in those first years
The hopes and dreams of youth dashed by war and death.
All the peace I'd ever want
The peace of happiness and contentment we all desire.
Your body in the gloom
The darkness that war and death brings.
The platform fading back
The end of peaceful life and world fades away.
Your shadow on the track
The lasting memory of war and destruction.
A flower upon a tomb
The only source of beauty in war is seen in the midst of death.
And why these days ahead
Why must we continue to face war and destruction in the future?
When I must let you cry
The agony of helping a loved one cope with the loss of war and death.
And live prepared to die
The sense of inevitability surrounding death in war.
And to
The unfinished sentence captures the endless cycle of violence, death and destruction.
The dove has torn her wing(s)
The symbol of peace has been damaged.
So no more songs of love
The sentimentality of love songs no longer applies.
We are not here to sing
Our purpose is not to create art or beauty.
We're here to kill the dove
We’re here to wage war and destroy peace.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: ALASDAIR CLAYRE, JACQUES BREL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Eliza Gull
Thank you for this, Jacques Brel should have got a Nobel Prize for song lyrics for this one song alone, and Joan's always been my kind of hero
David Yiken
Thank you for posting this Gary Larson. I only found out about this Joan Baez song a matter of moments ago so was glad to trace it so quickly. I like your introduction, but can I point out that although Jacquel Brel wrote the majority of his songs in French, with some others in the Dutch tongue, he was actually Belgian.
Jim Mckelvie
Jaques Brell was amazing.
Emeline Lévêque
The original lyrics of Jacques Brel are much more powerful , more subtle than the english translation. The accompanying orchestra sounds like circus music;it would have been better just with Joan's voice and guitar.
Emeline Lévêque
Hi Gary.
It is certainly very difficult to translate a poem or a song that says more than just "love is blind". The author/singer Jacques Brel is known for the richness of his texts and probably they have not been often or easily translated in english.
It is not just the words but also the images, and the sound of letters.For exemple "ventru" means a belly that is full because of overeating (not just packed) and "ronronne' means "to purr" (like a kitten).The train full of soldiers is like a cat which is enjoying its aftermeal and the soldiers are like mice who have been devoured by this cat .This train is Rolling (as you can hear from the several R in tRain ventRu qui RonrRonne et soupiRe), leading the soldiers not to death (as in the english translation) but to misunderstanding (as you correctly tranlated).That's why I say it is more subtle;why does Brel use this word misunderstanding ? Probably to convey the idea that the soldiers have wrong reasons to justify the war ... or that they will meet death instead of glory. I think this world "misunderstanding" is very unexpected, you have to try to guess what Brel means.If he had simply said that the train was bringing the soldiers to the holocaust (as in the english text), it would have been too simple and obvious.
"Connerie" is such a strong word ..There is no really english equivalent for connerie.It is like stupidity (but much stronger).Since you would not expect to find it in a poem, it sounds like a very definite condemnation of the martial ideals,they are just bullshit. The soldiers have "earned the right to die" ( a paradox) in the name of (or because of) the stupidity of the crowds who seem to rejoice and approve the the war. Those crowds are cheering and bringing flowers to celebrate the poor guys who will soon die because the crowds are stupid enough to believe in war.(as I understand, Brel is criticising not just the government,or the military, but the People themselves ,as they have a responsabiliy but are blind) .Again I say it is subtle because generally you blame only the governement, not the People.
Your translation is very good."Nous n'irons plus au bois" however does not mean "we will not go to make love" but "we will not go to the wood anymore " (probably meaning: we won't go anymore for a gentle walk in the wood where the l dove lives, instead we are going to kill this symbol of peace).
In the original french text, orders are not "loud and hoarse", there is no "thundering train".On the contrary the violence is only suggested .As the train rolls in the rain, the horror gradually increases :train de pluie train de guerre,train de cimetiere ,train de nuit! (train of rain, train of war , train of graveyard, train of night/doom). It would probably not make sense to translate word for word.We have the same problems with Dylan's texts.Many french singers have tried to tranlate them, but in french they just don't sound right. Too bad Joan has not recorded Brel's original words for the french speaking audience.She sings perfectly in french and once recorded a a fantastic version of another antiwar song ("à tous les enfants" by Boris Vian).
I am not saying the english translation is bad, just that it seems to miss the power of the original.
Didier (Emeline 's father who usurpated her identity).
Gary Larson
Hi Didier. Your words are very informative and interesting. You've made me come around to your view. In making a video for this song, both the limit of one picture per verse (and always time constraints) likely made it easier to go with the simpler ideas of the English translation. But the shades of meaning you write about make me see a much more powerful song. I did know the literal translations of "ronronne" and "Nous n'irons plus au bois" but I can see from what you said why my attempt to change them (to how I thought they might better fit the song) were imperfect. Thanks for all of this.
Tony Peach
Jacques Brel was Belgian
Farid Khabbab
La colombe blessee est un remake du grand BREL contre la guerre d Algerie et non contre les allemand revoir votre copie svp et ne pas tromper l histoire et les ignorants tels que vous et des innocents fans de la grande Joan Baez respect salem
Gary Larson
The second line of my description for the song indicates that Jacques Brel had the French war in Algeria in mind. It may be that I wanted to do some justice to a great song and did not have images of that war available. It also could be said that great art usually transcends some specific reference and can be related to other (perhaps many) situations.