English paraphrase, with thanks to spondres The old don't talk any more except sometimes with the tips of their eyes. Though they may be rich, they are poor, they have no more illusions and they share one heart between two. Their homes smell of thyme, cleanliness, lavender and the language of yesteryear. Even living in Paris, you always live in the provinces when you live too long. Is it from having laughed too much that their voices crack when speaking of yesterday? Is it from having cried too much, that tears still form beads on their eyelashes? And if they tremble a little, is it from seeing that silver clock in the living room ticking, saying “yes...”, saying “no...”, saying “I'm waiting for you.” The old don't dream any more, their books are sleeping, their pianos are shut. The little cat is dead, Sunday's muscatel no longer makes them sing. The old don't move any more, their movements have too many wrinkles, their world is too small. From bed to window, then from bed to armchair, then from bed to bed. And if they still go out arm in arm all stiffly dressed, it's to follow in the sun the burial of an older man, an uglier woman. And for the duration of a tear, to forget for an hour the silver clock, that ticks in the hall, that says “yes” that says “no”, that waits for them. The old don't die, they just fall asleep one day and sleep too long. They hold onto each other's hand, scared of losing one another, but they lose one another nevertheless. And the other remains, the better or the worse, the hard or the soft...it doesn't matter, the one who is left finds himself or herself in Hell. You'll see him perhaps, you'll see her sometimes, in the rain and in grief. Passing through the present apologising already for not having already gone And fleeing in front of you for a last time the silver clock which ticks away in the hall, which says “yes”, which says “no”, which says “I'm waiting for you”. And then it waits for us.
Les vieux Absolutely beautiful, heart-rending song. It seems to be generally agreed Brel had his parents in mind, who would both pass away the following year. The chiming musical pattern that runs throughout it, evoking clockwork workings, is so simple yet effective. I lack the words to express how great the lyrics are. No complaints about the singing here, Brel is back at his best. 5/5
Les vieux 5/5. Great lyrics, but also such a pretty and melancholy song, the backing track reminds me of the ticking and chiming of a clock, very powerful.
Regarding Montherlant: Brel is known to have had his "La ville dont le prince est un enfant" and "Les Célibataires" in his library. My feeling is he just wanted to namecheck an author he liked.
General thread guide First two albums and associated tracks (1953-57) Third and fourth albums and associated tracks (1957-59) Brel associates and Brel "bingo cards" Les bigotes EP: Les bigotes Quand maman reviendra Les filles et les chiens La parlote Les toros EP: Les toros Les vieux Selected index of some of the more famous songs (newly alphabetised, ignoring definite or indefinite articles): Au printemps Les biches Les bigotes Les bourgeois (The Middle Class) La bourrée du célibataire (Bachelor's Dance) Bruxelles (Brussels) Les Flamandes (Marathon) Une île Je ne sais pas Madeleine Marieke Le moribond (Seasons in the Sun) La mort (My Death) Ne me quitte pas (If You Go Away) On n’oublie rien Les paumés du petit matin Le plat pays Les prénoms de Paris Le prochain amour Quand on n'a que l'amour (If We Only Have Love) Rosa La statue Les toros (The Bulls) La valse à mille temps (Carousel) Les vieux (Old Folks) Ongoing spotify playlist of highest-rated songs
Interesting that the real-life Adrienne du Mont-à-Leux was mutated into la grosse Adrienne de Montalant for Les bourgeois.
Les vieux A moving and brilliantly atmospheric song - and the ondes is back, right at the end! One of the best songs I've heard about ageing and the passage of time, right up there with Peter Gabriel's 'Playing for Time'. The phrase 'le verbe d'antant' and how you can 'smell' it is a tricky one. I did find a forum discussion about it here: le verbe d`antan 5/5
Les vieux Not an issue with the song per se, but the vocal on the recording sounds like it's coming from the loo. I can hear the aspects to the song that would make it a popular one, but it leaves me unmoved until the thicker instrumentation arrives later on to smooth out some of the annoying music that powers the front half of the track. At that later point, the song becomes quite lovely, but it takes too long to get there. 3/5
That sounds much better! The song itself doesn't really kick in for me until around 2:30, when the tick-tocking musical effect is replaced with a subtle orchestration. At the point, the song becomes pretty magical, but it can't completely rescue the first two-thirds of the track.
Yes, our French chart only mentions Les Vieux and none of the other titles on the EP. And despite the rather depressing subject matter, this was in fact Brel's biggest hit so far. Not only did it get to the high position of number 4, but it was on the charts for the longest period - 20 weeks from Sept 1963 to the end of January 1964. His previous best had been 18 weeks with Le Plat Pays.
Les vieux An amazing song, probably the best I know about old age. Everything in the house seems to be ageing along with the occupants. So everything is still alive for the moment but will die when the occupants die. Hence the books are drowsy and slowly falling into a long sleep. The clock purrs like a cat but it too will die. The little cat is already dead and the clock will follow. And at the very end the clock has become a companion that no longer says "vous" but "tu". You'll see him perhaps, you'll see her sometimes, come rain come grief. Passing through the present, apologising already for not having already gone And fleeing in front of you for one last time the silver clock That purrs in the living room, That says “yes”, that says “no”, that says to them “I'm waiting for you, my friend.” That says “yes”, that says “no” and then that waits for us. 5/5 Brel uses synaesthesia maybe to suggest how old peoples' senses can become confused. He can smell the old-fashioned language and he can see the clock purring. And he takes some daring shortcuts to get his message across. These old people move slowly and have wrinkles, so their movements are wrinkled. They are stiff when they walk and when they dress, so they go out all dressed in stiffness. If Brel tells you that he isn't a poet, don't believe him.
I interpreted that as meaning there was only one of the couple left in the final verse. Vous plural, tu singular.
Our average score for "Les vieux" was 4.6 Today's song is La Fanette (Fanette) Words and music by Jacques Brel Arranged by François Rauber Recorded on the 3rd April 1963 at the Barclay-Hoche studios, Paris with François Rauber and his orchestra It appeared on the "Les toros" EP It also appeared on the 1963 untitled 10" album ("Les bigotes") and on the 1966 untitled 12" collection ("Les bonbons") It also appeared as a single.
Lyrics/paroles Nous étions deux amis et Fanette m’aimait La plage était déserte et dormait sous juillet Si elles s’en souviennent les vagues vous diront Combien pour la Fanette j’ai chanté de chansons Faut dire Faut dire qu’elle était belle Comme une perle d’eau Faut dire qu’elle était belle Et je ne suis pas beau Faut dire Faut dire qu’elle était brune Tant la dune était blonde Et tenant l’autre et l’une Moi je tenais le monde Faut dire Faut dire que j’étais fou De croire à tout cela Je le croyais à nous Je la croyais à moi Faut dire Qu’on ne nous apprend pas À se méfier de tout Nous étions deux amis et Fanette m’aimait La plage était déserte et mentait sous juillet Si elles s’en souviennent les vagues vous diront Comment pour la Fanette s’arrêta la chanson Faut dire Faut dire qu’en sortant D’une vague mourante Je les vis s’en allant Comme amant et amante Faut dire Faut dire qu’ils ont ri Quand ils m’ont vu pleurer Faut dire qu’ils ont chanté Quand je les ai maudits Faut dire Que c’est bien ce jour-là Qu’ils ont nagé si loin Qu’ils ont nagé si bien Qu’on ne les revit pas Faut dire Qu’on ne nous apprend pas Mais parlons d’autre chose Nous étions deux amis et Fanette l’aimait La plage est déserte et pleure sous juillet Et le soir quelquefois Quand les vagues s’arrêtent J’entends comme une voix J’entends C’est la Fanette
English paraphrase, with thanks to spondres We were two friends and Fanette loved me The beach was deserted and slept beneath July If they could remember it, the waves would tell you How many songs I sang for Fanette It must be said That she was beautiful Like a raindrop It must be said That she was beautiful And I am not It must be said That she was as brown as the dune was blonde And holding both of them, I held the world. It must be said That I was mad To believe in all that I believed it was ours I believed she was mine It must be said That no one teaches us To beware of everything We were two friends and Fanette loved me The beach was deserted and lied beneath July If they could remember it, the waves would tell you How the song ended for Fanette It must be said That emerging from A dying wave I saw them going off As two lovers. It must be said That they laughed When they saw me cry It must be said That they sang When I cursed them It must be said That it was that very day That they swam so far That they swam so well That they were never seen again It must be said That no one teaches us... But let's talk about something else. We were two friends and Fanette loved him The beach was deserted and cried beneath July And sometimes at night When the waves stop I hear, like a voice I hear...Fanette
La Fanette Where to begin? This is another song like "Je ne sais pas" where I get confused as to where the "on beat" is as Brel always starts singing when I don't expect it (in the live versions, anyway) I've mentioned before how I think the line "s’en allant comme amant et amante" is a masterpiece of assonance. It's those ondes again! The lyrics are sad...and macabre. Did the narrator drown the other two thirds of the love triangle? ("How the song ended for Fanette") And is now haunted by his lover's ghost? However you interpret it, the economy and cleverness of the lyric is genius. And the music, as usual now with Brel's ballads, is gorgeous (and all his own on this occasion, it would seem). 5/5
Another gorgeous song. I know what you mean about the "one beat": I've always found this song a bit odd in this respect, though In ever really articulated it. It is pure melody. I guess I interpret the song as being metaphorical; he loved her, she left him for another, leaving only her memory. The darker interpretation you offer is interesting. 4.6/5
Just one more thing: is that a variation on "Over the Waves" again at the end? (See "La valse à mille temps") It's funny, I was just about to come back and say, having just checked, that I no longer find it odd. I wondered if I was thinking of another song (or yet another live version, as yet unposted) but more likely I've just got used to it. I can't claim credit for the macabre interpretation, by the way, I read it in a YouTube comment years ago.
Yes, that's another possibility. So to reflect that in the translation you could put : "I'm waiting for you alone" or words to that effect.
