Jacques Brel Quotes

Jacques Romain Georges Brel was a Belgian singer, songwriter, poet, actor and director who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, later throughout the world. He is considered a master of the modern chanson. Although he recorded most of his songs in French and occasionally in Dutch, he became an influence on English-speaking songwriters and performers, such as Scott Walker, David Bowie, Alex Harvey, Marc Almond and Rod McKuen. English translations of his songs were recorded by many performers, including: Bowie; Walker, Ray Charles; Judy Collins; John Denver; The Kingston Trio; Nina Simone; Frank Sinatra and Andy Williams.Brel was a successful actor, appearing in 10 films. He directed two films, one of which, Le Far West, was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1973. Having sold over 25 million records worldwide, Brel is the third best-selling Belgian recording artist of all time. Brel married Thérèse "Miche" Michielsen in 1950, and the couple had three children. He also had a romantic relationship with actress and dancer Maddly Bamy from 1972 until his death in 1978. Wikipedia  

✵ 8. April 1929 – 9. October 1978
Jacques Brel photo
Jacques Brel: 7 quotes2 likes

Famous Jacques Brel Quotes

“If we only have love
Then we'll only be men
And we'll drink from the Grail
To be born once again;
Then with nothing at all
But the little we are
We'll have conquered all time
All space, the sun, and the stars!”

Jacques Brel

If Only We Have Love (1957)
Context: If we only have love
We will never bow down
We'll be tall as the pines
Neither heroes nor clowns.
If we only have love
Then we'll only be men
And we'll drink from the Grail
To be born once again;
Then with nothing at all
But the little we are
We'll have conquered all time
All space, the sun, and the stars!

“Adieu, Francoise, it's hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky.”

Jacques Brel

Seasons in the Sun&quot; (1961), as translated by Rod McKuen from Brel&#x27;s song &quot;Le Moribond&quot; ·  McKuen performance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY__eaedtOA ·  Beach Boys performance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzjIra9pheU<br>&lt;p&gt;Goodbye, Michelle, my little one;<br> You gave me love and helped me find the sun,<br>And every time that I was down<br>You would always come around<br>And get my feet back on the ground.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Goodbye, Michelle, it&#x27;s hard to die<br>When all the birds are singing in the sky;<br>Now that the spring is in the air,<br>With the flowers everywhere,<br>I wish that we could both be there!&lt;/p&gt;<br>As adapted in the Terry Jacks version (1974) <br class="br">Context: p&gt; Adieu, Francoise, my trusted wife;<br>Without you I&#x27;d have had a lonely life.<br>You cheated lots of times but then,<br>I forgave you in the end<br>Though your lover was my friend.Adieu, Francoise, it&#x27;s hard to die<br>When all the birds are singing in the sky.<br>Now that spring is in the air<br>With your lovers ev&#x27;rywhere,<br>Just be careful; I&#x27;ll be there.&lt;/p

“We can heal all our wounds
We can use our own names.”

Jacques Brel

If Only We Have Love (1957)
Context: If we only have love
We can reach those in pain
We can heal all our wounds
We can use our own names.

“Adieu, Francoise, my trusted wife;
Without you I'd have had a lonely life.
You cheated lots of times but then,
I forgave you in the end
Though your lover was my friend.”

Jacques Brel

Seasons in the Sun&quot; (1961), as translated by Rod McKuen from Brel&#x27;s song &quot;Le Moribond&quot; ·  McKuen performance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY__eaedtOA ·  Beach Boys performance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzjIra9pheU<br>&lt;p&gt;Goodbye, Michelle, my little one;<br> You gave me love and helped me find the sun,<br>And every time that I was down<br>You would always come around<br>And get my feet back on the ground.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Goodbye, Michelle, it&#x27;s hard to die<br>When all the birds are singing in the sky;<br>Now that the spring is in the air,<br>With the flowers everywhere,<br>I wish that we could both be there!&lt;/p&gt;<br>As adapted in the Terry Jacks version (1974) <br class="br">Context: p&gt; Adieu, Francoise, my trusted wife;<br>Without you I&#x27;d have had a lonely life.<br>You cheated lots of times but then,<br>I forgave you in the end<br>Though your lover was my friend.Adieu, Francoise, it&#x27;s hard to die<br>When all the birds are singing in the sky.<br>Now that spring is in the air<br>With your lovers ev&#x27;rywhere,<br>Just be careful; I&#x27;ll be there.&lt;/p

“If we only have love
We will never bow down”

Jacques Brel

If Only We Have Love (1957)
Context: If we only have love
We will never bow down
We'll be tall as the pines
Neither heroes nor clowns.
If we only have love
Then we'll only be men
And we'll drink from the Grail
To be born once again;
Then with nothing at all
But the little we are
We'll have conquered all time
All space, the sun, and the stars!

“If we only have love
We can melt all the guns
And then give the new world
To our daughters and sons.If we only have love
Then Jerusalem stands
And then death has no shadow
There are no foreign lands.”

Jacques Brel

If Only We Have Love (1957)
Context: If we only have love
We can melt all the guns
And then give the new world
To our daughters and sons. If we only have love
Then Jerusalem stands
And then death has no shadow
There are no foreign lands.

“If we only have love
Then tomorrow will dawn
And the days of our years
Will rise on that morn.”

Jacques Brel

&quot;If We Only Have Love&quot; as translated in the closing scene in the 1968 musical Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (1975 film version) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdSXpC8fbNA · Cover versions by Nana Mouskouri http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYeHUhoLNgM · Johnny Mathis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyJF0ISolEw · Olivia Newton John http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RFhzinX7X8 ·  Amanda McBroom http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWkvKMlOYyI <br class="br">If Only We Have Love (1957)

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