Tag Archives: music

Jacques Brel – Fernand

Overview The “Fernand” EP, released in 1965, showcases Jacques Brel’s extraordinary range as a songwriter, blending deeply emotional ballads with biting social commentary. Featuring the haunting “Les Désespérés” (“The Desperate Ones”), the comedic “Grand-mère” (“Grandmother”), and the somber, elegiac “Fernand”, the EP presents a rich tapestry of human experience, from despair and disillusionment to the absurdity of bourgeois life. MusicallyContinue reading “Jacques Brel – Fernand”

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”

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. 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.

Les Singes by Jacques Brel: English Translation

Here’s my poetic translation of the song ‘Les Singes’ from 1961… Before the hairless asses there was liberty, Even the flower and the bird were free. But now they’ve arrived all the plants have been put in pots And the birds are all in cages if they’re not already shot. Because they invented prison andContinue reading “Les Singes by Jacques Brel: English Translation”