I wish I'd learnt French. Not necessarily in a fully rounded way: I wouldn't mind if I couldn't speak it, and, being vegetarian, I wouldn't benefit much from knowing my way round their menus. But I'd love to be able to read their novels, watch their films and listen to their songs — and those of the Belgian M. Brel — without going through translation.
A few days ago my friend Ben shared this video on Facebook. As he said, "Horrid video. But I do like having a good running translation. My rough-and-ready French got in the way of properly absorbing the meaning."
Actually for a few seconds at the beginning, the video comes on like an homage to La Jetée… but then it rapidly heads for the ridiculous. I agreed with Ben. I hadn't even clocked that it was a song about two lovers! And the gratuitous jibe at Gilbert Bécaud completely passed me by.
Then Mark replied that you don't really need to know French to enjoy his songs, "when I used to listen to him, alone, on wet afternoons in Lancaster I would create my own stories to match how he sang." Brel's remarkably expressive body language in the video Mark shared almost proves the point.
Almost. In my pathetic Anglophone state, listening to Brel serves mainly to help get a firmer fix on those who've drawn on him, like Scott Walker, Marc Almond and Philip Jeays. Mr Jeays cites Brel as the original inspiration for "having a go" himself. The video above shows just how deeply he's drunk in the gestures, attitudes and delivery of the famous Belgian.
MusicBrainz entry for this album
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