Tag Archives: jacques brel amsterdam

Mon Pere Disait By Jacques Brel: English Translation

Below is my poetic translation of ‘Mon Pere Disait’ by Jacques Brel. Particular attention has been paid to keeping the rhyme and flow of the piece while retaining the poetic origins of the French lyric. My father said: It’s the north wind that makes the sea walls creak At Scheveningen, at Scheveningen, petit, It’s soContinue reading “Mon Pere Disait By Jacques Brel: English Translation”

5 Times David Bowie Covered Jacques Brel’s “My Death”

David Bowie’s fascination with the songs of Jacques Brel led him to cover a number of Brel songs, as well as influenced his musical and performance choices. 

Collecting Brel (Vol. 2) – The Album

Here’s Volume Two in my series of English language Jacques Brel covers!

Litanies Pour Un Retour By Jacques Brel: English Translation

Below is my poetic translation of ‘Litanies Pour Un Retour’ by Jacques Brel. Particular attention has been paid to keeping the rhyme and flow of the piece while retaining the poetic origins of the French lyric.

Jacques Brel – No. 5 (Marieke)

Two years after Brel’s fourth album, which was a striking collection of juxtaposed pieces including the hits ‘Ne Me Quitte Pas’ and ‘La Valse A Mille Temps’, Brel released No. 5.

Jacques Brel – No. 4 (La Valse A Mille Temps)

Brel’s fourth ‘album’, often referred to as “La Valse A Mille Temps”, was released in 1959. It was Brel’s first album to be released after a legendary performance at the Olympia in Paris which brought Brel much critical acclaim.

Brel’s Albums Ranked Worst To Best

Here are my highly subjective thoughts about Brel’s best (and worst) albums! To rank the albums, each track was scored out of 5, and then the total score was divided by the amount of tracks on the album, and a point was taken or added depending on the album’s overall consistency.

Jacques Brel – No. 1

In Brel’s first releases, we see a pattern emerging – and the songs on this EP form the blueprints of many themes that emerge throughout Brel’s career, in particular “Grand Jacques” and “Le Diable (Ca Va)”.