La Valse à Mille Temps

Album: La Valse à Mille Temps
Artist: Jacques Brel
Born: Schaarbeek, Belgium
Released: September 1959
Genre: Baroque
Influenced: Scott Walker, Leonard Cohen, David Bowie, Divine Comedy, Beirut

After seven Americans, next up is a Belgian. Jacques Brel really is the most unlikely of pop stars; his lack of good looks and songs in French tackling difficult adult themes should have been sufficient barriers to success, especially in the English-speaking world, yet his influence on pop music is widespread. Trying to classify his music within a certain genre is almost impossible; singer-songwriter is too vague, "chanson" (French for song) is again too vague, too provincial. Baroque is the best I can think of, in that it points to the clear lineage to Scott Walker and Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon, and best describes the drama, tension and lush orchestration in Brel's songs. As with Edith Piaf, my first introduction to his songs was via listening to my Nan's records, and I remember that sense of being drawn in even though I barely understood a word.

You don't need to be a French-speaker to get the sense that the title track is about being on a carousel moving faster and faster; my reading of the lyrics is that it's a light-hearted song about falling in love in Paris in the spring and the dizzying feeling it brings. The song definitely points to Brel's beginnings in Parisian music halls, where he learned his trade and dramatic performing style, and the speed at which he sings near the end would make a rapper proud. Other songs on the album point to darker themes, especially La Mort (My Death) and Ne Me Quitte Pas (Don't Leave Me), both of which have been covered extensively over the years, perhaps most famously by Bowie:



Like the best poetry in a foreign language, many of Brel's songs are untranslatable, though the final line of La Mort is worth a try:

"Mais qu'y a-t-il derrière la porte et qui m'attend déjà?
Ange ou démon qu'importe, au devant de la porte, il y a toi"

"But who's behind the door already waiting for me?

Angel or devil, who cares, for in front of the door is you"

Ne Me Quitte Pas is often translated as If You Go Away, though I don't think that conveys the urgency with which Brel sings this tortured classic, imploring his lover not to leave him, that he will offer her "perles de pluie" (pearls of rain) from arid countries, in other words the impossible, and if that's not enough then just let him be "l'ombre de ton ombre" (the shadow of your shadow). This song surpasses Hank Williams and Sinatra in exploring the depths of heartbreak and desperation. Brel really was one of the most unique songwriters and performers of all time, and a poet too.