Mon doux, mon tendre, mon merveilleux amour...
...c'est nul d'autre que Jacques Brel!
I don't know what it is with me. When I fall in love with musicians, unless they're automatically drop-dead gorgeous like David Bowie, I usually don't find them physically attractive at first, yet the more I'm infatuated with their music, the easier on the eyes they get to me. I found Brel a little horsey-faced when I first saw what he looked like, but now, beyond my usual eccentric tastes in men, I think he was definitely legitimately handsome.
He was SUCH an amazing talent, too. Unfortunately his best-known song in the Anglophone world is probably Terry Jacks' insipid "Seasons In The Sun," a really unfaithful English translation of his "Le moribond." If you want a taste of what Brel was really like, look no further than what was my introduction to him:
Stunning. He was only 49 when he died of lung cancer, which is very sad since I think he would've continued to produce great work as he aged. In particular, if he'd lived into the 90s he SO should've sung this, the French version of "Hellfire" from Hunchback of Notre Dame-the guy who does sing it is pretty good, but nowhere near Brel-caliber. (I think my liking this song at the age of six may have been the root of my current penchant for hyper-dramatic French chanson!)
I don't know what it is with me. When I fall in love with musicians, unless they're automatically drop-dead gorgeous like David Bowie, I usually don't find them physically attractive at first, yet the more I'm infatuated with their music, the easier on the eyes they get to me. I found Brel a little horsey-faced when I first saw what he looked like, but now, beyond my usual eccentric tastes in men, I think he was definitely legitimately handsome.
He was SUCH an amazing talent, too. Unfortunately his best-known song in the Anglophone world is probably Terry Jacks' insipid "Seasons In The Sun," a really unfaithful English translation of his "Le moribond." If you want a taste of what Brel was really like, look no further than what was my introduction to him:
Click to viewStunning. He was only 49 when he died of lung cancer, which is very sad since I think he would've continued to produce great work as he aged. In particular, if he'd lived into the 90s he SO should've sung this, the French version of "Hellfire" from Hunchback of Notre Dame-the guy who does sing it is pretty good, but nowhere near Brel-caliber. (I think my liking this song at the age of six may have been the root of my current penchant for hyper-dramatic French chanson!)