Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in our Hearts
When I was in Grade 12 at Oakridge Secondary School in 1968, a friend passed on a cassette featuring all the songs of the musical “Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Brel_is_Alive_and_Well_and_Living_in_Paris
At that open and vulnerable age, I was profoundly moved by the themes of love, longing, and mortality that ran through the entire production. The revue’s songs delve into the heights and heartbreaks of romance, the unstoppable passage of time, and the struggle to find meaning amid life’s joys and sorrows. Nostalgia, hope, and despair intermingle in a work that serves as an invitation to reflect on one’s own life and relationships.
For the past 46 years, my wife Anne and I have shared a passion for Jacques Brel, his music, his poetry, and his sad and tumultuous life story.
We have watched countless times the video of his thrilling performance of “Amsterdam” at the Olympia in Paris, 1964.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z0UGGvb4sQ&list=RD-Z0UGGvb4sQ&start_radio=1
And for obvious reasons, my anthem has become Brel’s “Ne me quitte pas”:
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
I’ll offer you
Pearls of rain
From countries
Where it never rains
I’ll dig the earth
Until after my death
To cover your body
With gold and light
I’ll build a kingdom
Where love will reign
Where love will be law
Where you will be queen
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
Ne me quitte pas, Jacques Brel
Your friend,
Robert
https://robertmcbrydeauthor.com/
Here is the entire French song and my English translation:
Ne me quitte pas
Written and performed by Jacques Brel
Ne me quitte pas
Il faut oublier
Tout peut s’oublier
Qui s’enfuit déjà
Oublier le temps
Des malentendus
Et le temps perdu
À savoir comment
Oublier ces heures
Qui tuaient parfois
À coups de pourquoi
Le cœur du bonheur
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Moi, je t’offrirai
Des perles de pluie
Venues de pays
Où il ne pleut pas
Je creuserai la terre
Jusqu’après ma mort
Pour couvrir ton corps
D’or et de lumière
Je ferai un domaine
Où l’amour sera roi
Où l’amour sera loi
Où tu seras reine
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Je t’inventerai
Des mots insensés
Que tu comprendras
Je te parlerai
De ces amants-là
Qui ont vu deux fois
Leurs cœurs s’embraser
Je te raconterai
L’histoire de ce roi
Mort de n’avoir pas
Pu te rencontrer
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
On a vu souvent
Rejaillir le feu
De l’ancien volcan
Qu’on croyait trop vieux
Il est, paraît-il
Des terres brûlées
Donnant plus de blé
Qu’un meilleur avril
Et quand vient le soir
Pour qu’un ciel flamboie
Le rouge et le noir
Ne s’épousent-ils pas?
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Je ne vais plus pleurer
Je ne vais plus parler
Je me cacherai là
À te regarder
Danser et sourire
Et à t’écouter
Chanter et puis rire
Laisse-moi devenir
L’ombre de ton ombre
L’ombre de ta main
L’ombre de ton chien
Mais
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Don’t leave me by Jacques Brel
Don’t leave me
We must forget
Everything can be forgotten
That’s already slipping away
Forget the time
Of misunderstandings
And wasted time
Trying to figure out
How to forget those hours
That sometimes killed
With blows of “why”
The heart of happiness
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
I’ll offer you
Pearls of rain
From countries
Where it never rains
I’ll dig the earth
Until after my death
To cover your body
With gold and light
I’ll build a kingdom
Where love will reign
Where love will be law
Where you will be queen
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
I’ll invent
Meaningless words
That you will understand
I’ll tell you
About those lovers
Who saw twice
Their hearts set ablaze
I’ll tell you
The story of that king
Who died because he
Could not meet you
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
We have often seen
The fire burst forth
From the ancient volcano
That we thought was too old
It seems
That scorched earth
Yields more wheat
Than a better April
And when evening comes
For the sky to blaze
Don’t red and black
Go together?
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
I won’t cry anymore
I won’t talk anymore
I’ll hide there
Watching you
Dance and smile
And listening to you
Sing and then laugh
Let me become
The shadow of your shadow
The shadow of your hand
The shadow of your dog
But
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
Don’t leave me
