Totally agree with you. And it's kind of frustrating that when most of the song is about the words, that a translation cannot give faithfully all the richness of the text.
As an exemple we have " the large duck pond " ( in French : "La grand-mare des canards" ) which is the name, in south of France, of the " étang de Thau", a kind of lagoon or big pond between the land and the mediteranean sea, close to Sète ( birthplace of G.Brassens ).
Oui, et puis voir dans la mini vidéo la traduction " only Mary ou Holy mary" pour " leur seule litanie", ça fait bizarre ^^ je ne suis pas assez calée en anglais pour juger de la pertinence du bidule, mais ça me parait un poil bizarre :D
@@arnaudb1762 Quoi!!! la grande mare des canards: l'étang de thau, ça n'a jamais été son surnom, c'est, je pense, une simple référence à la société et au fait que les copains sont ensemble dans le même bateau, les autres sont des canard, c'est à dire des gens sans importance, qui font leur vie. Mais c'est vrai que brassens est originaire de sete à coté de l'etang de thau et que celui ci l'a peut etre inspiré, on y produit d'excellentes huitres, d'ailleur,, à déguster entre copains.
Derek, I agree with plenty of comments below. I'm french Guy, and I want to say to you, You're a great good and nice guy. You tried to understand this french artist (and others) with a large open Mind and big humility. Tk for that. It's very difficult to understand this song and other lyric by this writer. Many french young people can't understand that because there are a lot of 'reference' and old french slang in this lyrics. Big hug Derek.
Brassens is a monument in France. He is the last poet. He deals with subjects like love, death, freedom of thought, non-conformism ... Some of his songs have been covered in Jazz "Giant of jazz play Brassens". It's really good.
Honestly, it's hard to get Brassens without knowing really well French, because he masters the language and the references. He is my favorite singer, and he was such a fantastic poet. He was anarchist, anticlericalist and antimilitarist. Today he's still a monument in France, though he died in 1981, and he is considered both a very good musician and poet, one of the best of French culture.
It's very difficult to understand the beauty of the texts, because je was a master of the french sense words. Anarchist, the Brassens lyrics were very polemics because very humoristic about power, and also very sensitive with songs like "il n'y a pas d'amour heureux " a text of Aragon, or "Les passantes" about women. Antimilitarist he works actively for pacifism, with his songs. He says of himself he was a artisan of song. A very humble man, with timidity, but all the fire in lyrics. Happy to see you Dereck. You were in holiday with Madonna 😁😄
Welcome back Dereck! This song is such a classic it should be mandatory when learning French: Everything is the subtilities of the lyrics! George Brassens was a very shy and very humble man, and thought he was not enough a good singer to sing his own songs, but then realised he had no other option and then had great success!
Brassens passe de l'argot au langage soutenu, utilise des jeux de mots, des locutions latines, des références culturelles/religieuses/militaires, des expressions. Il me semble même qu'il emploie des mots de patois dans certaines chansons. Si on file ça à des étudiants les pauvres vont s'arracher les cheveux. Les français eux même passent à côté de plein de choses.
@@skunker52 C'est pas faux mais je parlais de cette chanson particulière qui, bien qu'utilisant un langage assez soutenu, reste un classique dont les mots peuvent être utiles !
@@paulchapoy992 "Non ce n'était pas le radeau de la méduse ce bateau" -> référence au tableau de Géricault "Il naviguait en père peinard" -> père peinard c'était un journal anarchiste du 19e siècle "la grand-mare des canards" -> l'Atlantique "Fluctuat nec mergitur" -> battu par les flots mais ne sombre pas, la devise de Paris "des amis franco de port" -> sans frais de port, métaphore postale + jeu de mots + double sens Et j'ai pas été très loin dans le texte comme vous voyez. C'est vraiment un niveau de français très avancé. Pour appréhender Brassens ce n'est pas seulement la langue qu'il faut maîtriser mais le pays en lui même qu'il faut connaître. Même en fac de langues je ne suis pas certain que les gens aient le niveau. C'est velu. ^^
@@skunker52 Cette chanson peut être l'occasion d'évoquer certains aspects de la culture française comme par exemple de découvrir la devise de Paris qui n'est ni plus ni moins que la capitale du pays ! On n'est pas obligé de chercher à tout retenir d'un texte et je n'ai personnellement pas forcément tout retenu de tous mes cours en langues, mais l'essentiel est que mes professeurs m'aient donné suffisamment goût à la culture du pays et à ses subtilités pour avoir envie d'en savoir plus! Ça m'a permis de persévérer par la suite et de pratiquer aujourd'hui un métier en rapport avec les langues ! De plus, l'essentiel est de découvrir ce qu'on peut retenir d'un texte et pas forcément de chercher à tout retenir de ce texte ni d'en maîtriser forcément jusqu'aux moindres subtilités ! Enfin, on n'est pas obligé d'être d'accord sur tout, ce qui est mon opinion que je partage ! Je sais qu'étudier une chanson comme Les copains d'abord m'intéresserait personnellement beaucoup plus que d'étudier une autre comme par exemple Partenaire particulier, quand bien même ce serait une solution de facilité! ... Mais combien peuvent-ils se targuer d'avoir une correspondance épistolaire avec Dieu en personne ?
The point with this song is that the melody stays in your head like… forever:-) It was written for a movie (Les copains by Yves Robert) and its title includes a pun: Les copains d’abord / Les copains de bord, “bord” referring to being on a boat (or a plane, very close to English “on board”). Les copains d’abord is both the motto of this group of friends and the name of the boat. Brassens, who was from Sète, a city next to Montpellier, on the Mediterranean coast, was widely inspired by his own bunch of friends, with whom he frequently sailed. By the way, although the melody might seem a bit simplistic, it is actually pretty difficult to play on a guitar (like most of Brassens song).
I have Slovak friend and a Argentinian friend who both (separatly) spend months mocking Brassens and our love for him. Then as they started to speak and understand the language better they fell in love with him. His lyrics were everything.
I knew that some day you would tackle Brassens, and I knew you would not get it. And no one could whithout a real knowledge of french or a top notch translation. Because Brassens is all about lyrics (even though his music is very respected amongst jazz players). His lyrics are so great that, to me, the simplicity of his music is perfect. More would belittle the words. Brassens is a poet first and only then a singer, songwriter. And he is considered one of the best french poets of all times. He is to be compared to the likes of Keats or Milton. While I love Renaud Goldman or Gainsbourg, their lyrics really pale in comparison. Anyways, I wholeheartedly thank you for your vids especially on french songs, you really do an excellent job at reprensenting our culture, but I am affraid that Brassens is out of reach.
Nice to see you back. I am not too surprised that you don't enjoy that much Brassens. It is lots of play words and rhymes; I don't think a direct a translation could convey what us Frenches understand. It would probably need a deeper translation with English equivalents of those play words. Like some English songs that us Frenches cannot understand like you would :).
Brassens was a model for Brel - it says everything about this monument. There is no better moment than taking a guitar and sing Brassens around a fireplace.
As others mentioned here, Brassens is all about lyrics, just as Jacques Brel, but in his own way (he's not as passionate on stage). Many puns and literary references: "Fluctuat nec mergitur" ("It rocks but does not sink"), motto of Paris city; Montaigne and La Boétie, both great French authors, the former of whom writing about their mutual friendship in the 16th century ("because he was he, because I was I"); Castor&Pollux the legendary Gemini... The song makes a point of praising some simpler kind of friendship, that of a gang of long time buddies, and takes the ship (boat) in "friendship" as a practical symbol. You can listen to an English cover by Graeme Allwright: th-cam.com/video/HbTYsdfuIyw/w-d-xo.html
Hi dereck, georges brassens was very good french singer, he sings another great songs "la chanson de l'auvergnat", "les sabots d'hélène", "les bancs publics", its very interesting songs, try another french singer of this years, Charles Aznavour, it was a great songs too.
These songs are great but they won't pass the translation barrier. "Gare au gorille" or "Le pornographe du phonographe" might be more easy to Dereck, and more fun too...
Yes ! Brassens ! Please listen to "l'Auvergnat" and "le gorille" and read the whole lyrics! It's one of the best french lyrics writer. Really cool that you reacted to this old french artist
Haha yes Brassens!! My father always used to say if someone wants to learn french he should definitely listen to GB. Musically the arrangements are always the same (guitar solo or accompanied with bass. Edit: here there was orcherstra for the live performance, in his studio discs there is no drums/trumpet, etc), there is no specific singing performance, but all the power of his songs is in the lyrics, definitely wrote like poems. Also this specific song doesn't have so particular item to develop as it was made just for a movie, but some other are very deep or very analytic about life, often with a lot of sarcasm, or as some Goldman's songs make a portrait of some people, etc.
When I first moved to Paris with my French husband, we lived in a horrible little flat. The walls were paper thin and we happened to live next to a big fan of Brassens. He must have played so many Brassens' records which have a certain "boom, boom, boom" guitar sound. I couldn't stand it. Since then, I learn't that Brassens has so many magnificent songs - all in the text !!!!
Everyone in France knows this song, and many others from Brassens. He's considered as one of the greatest french song writer and poet. This son is very consensual, but he could be very critical also, as he was an anarchist. Try "Mourir pour des idées", "Le Gorille", "La Messe au pendu" or 'La Mauvaise Réputation". He wrote hundreds songs and inspired many french artists.
And don't forget "L'orage" , "Les funérailles d'antan", "La femme d'Hector", "Au près de mon arbre", "Le vent" (one of my better best favourite), "La fille à cent sous"...
@@messhugah8273 Vénus Callipyge, Le Testament, la Supplique, le Blason... Et ses mises en musique de Paul Fort, Antoine Pol, Victor Hugo, Lamartine, Corneille et Tristan Bernard, qui montrent combien Brassens était aussi un merveilleux compositeur et mélodiste.
What I think about Georges Brassens ? He's simply my favorite "text song singer"... His texts were fantastics... With fun, emotions, love and poetry. Ones of my favorite from him: "Les oiseaux de passage", "Les sabots d'Helene", "Aupres de mon arbre" (a Charles Trenet's favorite from Brassens), "La complainte des filles de joies", "Mon vieux Leon"... Too many...
To English people this can sound so uninteresting. You have to be speaking French to appreciate how Brassens knows how to play with the sounds of the words and how great a poet he was. His songs follow me since 50 years. No bass, it's the cello played by Pierre Nicolas. Brassens is sweating because he was uncomfortable on scene. At the start of his carreer he wrote and wanted others to sing his song. This video is unusual, Brassens never had an orchestra with, that's exceptionnal.
The most beautiful songs created by Brassens were translated in Spanish by his friend Paco Ibañez. Derek should check out Pobre Martin, La Mala Reputacion, Cancion para un Maño.
Dereck reations He will remain a legend. The French artistic heritage by creating a unique style sculpted around simple melodies and texts as many poetic masterpieces. He was a man of immense discretion His friends were Leo FERRE, Jacques Brel.. and the poets Boris Vian, Jacques Prevert then Audiard in the cinema. He was a man with a lot of Humility
Lyrics meaning: This song is an ode to friendship, comparison with a boat. No it wasn't the raft From the Medusa, this boat Means: The Raft of the Medusa is a famous painting by Gericault which describes a shipwreck, a boat of adventures and big waters/ Let it be said at the bottom of the ports Say at the bottom of the ports It sailed like a cushy father On the big duck pond And was called the Friends first Friends first Means: it was a quiet boat of friends that was made more for hanging out than taking off Its fluctuat nec mergitur It wasn't literature Means: it is the old motto of the city of Paris which is in Latin and means "She floats but does not sink", It means the guys sticking together in the tough times of their lives. Displease to the spellcasters, His captain and his sailors Were not children of salauds But port-paid friends (fair, réglo) Friends first They weren't luxury friends, Small Castor and Pollux, People of Sodom and Gomorrah, Sodom and Gomorrah, They weren't chosen friends By Montaigne and La Boétie On the stomach they hit hard Friends first Means: they were neither friends by money, nor by culture, nor by worldliness, they were popular friends, he specifies neither homosexual (Sodom and Gomorrah) They weren't angels either, The Gospel, they had not read it, But they loved each other, all sails out All sails out Jean, Pierre, Paul and company It was their only litany, Their creed, their confiteor To friends first At the slightest blow from Trafalgar (serious problem which come by surprise, like in Trafalgar battle) It was friendship that took the quarter It was it which showed them the north, Showed them the north (friendship like a compass) And when they were in distress That their arms threw out S.O.S. It looked like the semaphores Friends first At the Meeting of good friends There weren't often stood up When one of them was missing on board Is that he was dead Yes, but never, big never, Her hole in the water never closed A hundred years later, rascal of fate It was still missing Boats I took a lot But the only one that held up Who has never tacked, Sailed like a cushy father On the big duck pond And was called the Friends first, Friends first
hi dereck first of all know that i missed your videos. and second thing is that even for the french (in general) you have to wait to get old a little before appreciating georges brassens. (I may be contradicted). one thing is certain is that he is a great poet. his songs always have a meaning. he can sin because of the "simplicity" of his music (I am summarizing) but he remains essential in france just like edith piaf for example even if these 2 artists are radically different
Georges had always stated that on his recordings he would not need bass, drums or orchestra. Many French singers had listened to hin & were influenced by him (Francis Cabrel, etc.)
We can to see raymond devos who applause and smiling at the end of the song !!!! we miss you !! u humor and u joke on the french language !!!! if u looking for raymond this guy with big glassies :) 4:48
Actually Brassens wanted people to pay attention to the lyrics more than to the melody. He said that he had to sound like he was almost not capable of singing (it often feels like he's not a good singer, rather racitating the verses, when he was a fine tuned musician). He wanted the melody to sound like it was easy (when it's not) so people would focus on the meaning of the words, not the rythm. He was very proud when his texts were published as if they were poems (and well... they are). He always wanted to be considered as a poet in the 1st place. There are some very funny ones in his catalogue, the guy had a great sense of humour (and some strong opinions on a lot of things). Brassens was faithful to a group of close friends who gave him back the same solid friendship. This is what this one is about.
They were not choosen by Montaigne and la Boétie. Those are classic authors and friends of french litterature and philospher, La Boétie most famous text is called "Discourse on Voluntary Servitude". So basically I think it means just that they were common people, but it doesn't matter, they were good friends... This song is a classic of french folk culture, nothing impressive and exciting but it's a of great importance in french folk culture. So a big touchy to do a reaction to this one
He was only an humble man who told that hé had'nt thé talent to be a poet but had the one to put words on a melody. French academy and public thought hé was both poet and lyrics writer. His music is sophisticated but people don'ear music.
@@GeoTales_7 Je suis né le 18 mars 1961. En 1966 et jusqu'en 1970 mes parents ont tenus une petite épicerie de quartier au 4 de la rue Henri Barbusse à Sète, à côté de l'ancien hôpital et à quelques pas du cœur de la ville. Monsieur et Madame Brassens habitaient plus haut dans la même rue et venaient, l'un ou l'autre, plusieurs fois par semaine pour faire leurs petites courses à l'épicerie de mes parents où je les vu plus d'une fois...
finally you listen to my forever beloved good old georges :) he is THE greatest poet amongst french singers, above any. and a good ol' anarchist like only old days could bring us :p i can't make up my mind about which one i would recommend you to listen next... a pretty start in his subversive songs could be "beware the gorilla". but the one i would mostly recommend, for it is sooooo universal, is "dying for ideas" but there are so much faces of brassens to discover... his modesty ("horns of fame", "the testimony", "supply for being burried under sete's beach"'), his humanity("song for the auvergne guy"), his open mind ("the three graduates"), his charity ("poor martin"), his strange phallocratic feminism ("a lovely flower in a cow suit", "the repented bad guy", "i made myself small in front of a doll" [who closes her eyes when she lies, and calls for mummy when you touch her], "the not-asking for wedding", "" ...), the mastering way he composed for french great poems to be made into songs ("there is no happy love", "the prayer", "passing by birds", "the passing by ladies", ...) i see you are recently discovering brel. georges brassens, léo ferre and jacques brel were the three great singers a lyricists of those old times. there is a very renowned set of pictures of the three of them gathered for an exclusive interview. they are quite mythical. but i must say i am quite fond of 50-60's french music, which very was based on poetry. there are a large area of french artists of these times you still miss, as for what i've seen. montand, moustaki, le forestier, allwright, reggiani, barbara, clerc, the poppys, ... though, if you seek for nowadays, or 80-90's good ol ones, i have plenty of those you still don't know too orelsan, bigflo et oli (i recommend "get home", or "i am"), well, thinking of it... iam (best rap band of the 90's) ^^.. what else ?... stupeflip, oldelaf, yann tiersen, thomas fersen, camille, hubert felix thiephaine, jacques higelin, .... too many ones coming into my mind ^^ what is sure is that you have been badly guided, until now :p the singers you heard were.... popular ones, but not necessarly great ones, apart for a few of them. ;)
France = country of singing poets! Georges Brassens, Jacques Brel, Serge Reggiani, Charles Aznavour, Léo Ferré etc etc ... Know that at the beginning, the majority of them did not really wish to become singers but rather to write texts for the others ..... finally it is the public which preferred that they express their own poems. luckily finally ...
In the 1950-1970's, there were two kinds of singers in the French-speaking world. There was the "pop singers" singing rock'n'roll and "yé-yé" and there was that second group which in Québec we call "les chansonniers". I don't know if the word exists in France, but they are mainly poets who were singing their poems. Lyrics were more important than the music. In France (and Belgium) they had Charles Trenet, Jacques Brel, Georges Brassens while in Québec we had Félix Leclerc, Gilles Vigneault, Jean-Pierre Ferland (first period). Chansonniers were more folksy or jazzy. Since poetry is so important in these songs and that poetry can rarely be well translated, these singers may not be the best to react to for an English speaker (or Spanish speaker).
In France the word "chansonniers" was more used for stage humorists and storytellers (even if singers like Ouvrard were also considered as chansonniers, more precisely "comique troupier") like the old term "chanson de gestes" was used about stage poets and pre-theatre artists in the high middle age. Brassens, Brel, Bécaud and others were simply called "chanteurs" (or "auteur compositeur interprète") to differentiate them from "chanteurs de variété".
As an american guy, you won't understand all the lyrics and all the referencees; like "Montaigne" and "La Boetie". But, You're right, it is a song about friendship!
Hi, I really like your reactions. Your should try to react to barbara ("Nantes", or "Dis, quand reviendras-tu ?"). She was an amazing french singer, one of the greatest. Thanks for your job
I think it would be difficult to like Brassens without understand the words. His music was nothing special (nice, but only there in the service of the lyrics). His delivery was also very simple, straighforward (not like Brel, who "acted" his song with great passion). The lyrics is why you listen to Brassens. His texts are exquisite. But that would be lost on you. Probably not a good idea to go down that path unless you take up French! :-)
I totally agree with you, I like Brassens a lot but in my opinion he was more a poet than a singer. It is of no interest to Dereck unless he improves his French (maybe sooner than we expect, who knows?)
The translation makes no sense in English, so not speaking French I really have very little idea what he is singing about. The instrumentation is actually based on Dixieland Jazz.
Michel Fugain - Une belle histoire Jacques Dutronc - Les cactus Brigitte Bardot - Harley Davidson Charles Aznavour - Hier encore ELEGANCE - Vacances j'oublie tout Fatal Bazooka - Fous Ta Cagoule Helmut Fritz - ça m'énerve Jakie Quartz - Mise au point Joe Dassin - L'été Indien Jacques Brel - La chanson des vieux amants Larusso - Je Survivrai LE CLUB - Un fait divers et rien de plus Yianna katsoulos - Les Autres Sont Jaloux Luna Parker - Tes états d'âme Eric Mistinguett - Mon Homme ( 2014 version ) Nâdiya - Roc Nâdiya - Parle-moi Niagara - J'Ai Vu Niagara - Un Million D'Années Nolwenn Leroy - La Jument De Michao ( you will fall in love with his eyes ) Pascal Obispo - Lucie Richard Gotainer - Le Youki (clip version ) Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot - Bonnie And Clyde Sylvie Vartan - La plus belle pour aller danser Véronique Samson - Le paradis blanc
You should listen "les passantes", "le bistrot", "maman, papa", "supplique pour être enterré à la plage de Sete", "mourir pour des idées", "la mauvaise réputation", "l'orage", "les amoureux des bancs publics".
Nice to see you back. IMO, with some french songs ( old ones with historical or mythological references ) you can't just limit yourself to youtube translator. You must go deeper. I mean, who can understand poetry with youtube translator ? Like your channel, keep going.
Some people here told that Brassens is all about lyrics, but this is not true either. Brassens was also a very good musician. His melodies seems very simple, but guitar players know they are very sophisticated. His arrangements were stripped to the bone, but that's their strength. This is a video that explain that: th-cam.com/video/nX7Wi0cO2rA/w-d-xo.html
Very hard to tackle. The lyrics are the most important but I am not agreeing about the "simplicity" ... I mean yes it's repetitive however it terms of change of chords, rythme and harmonies à lot of his songs are interesting to play. If you dont believe me try finding jazz cover of its song. I'm sorry but most of time you'll almost have no arrangement to obtain it. There are really beautiful melodies to like. But indeed, if you dont understand the lyrics... you miss the biggest part.
As a french who heard Brassens for lullabies, his voice his diction and his guitar always make me smile. It's like to be in family. ❤ As non-french speaker, you should try "Le vent" (short and rhythmic -> th-cam.com/video/iWjtota81Xo/w-d-xo.html) or "Je me suis fait tout petit" (a sweet love ballade with a beautiful melody -> th-cam.com/video/J2KwXjXQTcw/w-d-xo.html)
Hi yes i understand why you would have a hard time connecting with this. The power of the song and most brassens song actually is the lyrics and the translation doesn't really do the play on words he uses justice it's very cleverly written and there are a lot of references life medusa's raft a famous painting or fluctuat nec mergitur the latin motto of paris that means battered by the seas but never sinking.
Beaucoup beaucoup trop difficile à comprendre sans être parfaitement francophone. Il y a des double-sens sur certains mots ou expressions comme "d'abord" qui signifie en même temps "d'abordage" et "avant tout". Tu as du courage ! ^^
Hey great to see you again, you have to react to Felix Irwan singing « when we were young » cover. Woaaaw what a performance, from far the best I ever seen. Your will just be speechless 🤭 keep doing great react video 🙏
Brassens is French monument. He is a poet before being a singer. Too much difficult to quickly appreciate his songs if you don't speak French because the entire message is in the lyrics but in the music. Maxime Leforestier is more accessible in my mind.
C'est pas pour toi Dereck, avec tout le respect que je te dois. Brassens, c'est le summum de la poésie en chanson française. C'est même compliqué pour un français de niveau moyen de comprendre le génie de ces mots ! Il faudrait que tu étudies le français pendant 10000 ans pour comprendre Georges Brassens... 😅😊
Unfortunately you'll never realize how rich and deep the lyrics/rhymes are if you are not a native french speaker. (and even some french can't)
Totally agree with you. And it's kind of frustrating that when most of the song is about the words, that a translation cannot give faithfully all the richness of the text.
As an exemple we have " the large duck pond " ( in French : "La grand-mare des canards" ) which is the name, in south of France, of the " étang de Thau", a kind of lagoon or big pond between the land and the mediteranean sea, close to Sète ( birthplace of G.Brassens ).
Oui, et puis voir dans la mini vidéo la traduction " only Mary ou Holy mary" pour " leur seule litanie", ça fait bizarre ^^ je ne suis pas assez calée en anglais pour juger de la pertinence du bidule, mais ça me parait un poil bizarre :D
@@arnaudb1762 Quoi!!! la grande mare des canards: l'étang de thau, ça n'a jamais été son surnom, c'est, je pense, une simple référence à la société et au fait que les copains sont ensemble dans le même bateau, les autres sont des canard, c'est à dire des gens sans importance, qui font leur vie. Mais c'est vrai que brassens est originaire de sete à coté de l'etang de thau et que celui ci l'a peut etre inspiré, on y produit d'excellentes huitres, d'ailleur,, à déguster entre copains.
Derek, I agree with plenty of comments below. I'm french Guy, and I want to say to you, You're a great good and nice guy. You tried to understand this french artist (and others) with a large open Mind and big humility. Tk for that.
It's very difficult to understand this song and other lyric by this writer. Many french young people can't understand that because there are a lot of 'reference' and old french slang in this lyrics.
Big hug Derek.
Brassens is a monument in France. He is the last poet. He deals with subjects like love, death, freedom of thought, non-conformism ... Some of his songs have been covered in Jazz "Giant of jazz play Brassens". It's really good.
Last poet ? What about Jean Ferrat?
Jean Ferrat chantait des poètes et ses propres textes étaient souvent plein de poésies. Après, c'est une question de penchant personnel.
Honestly, it's hard to get Brassens without knowing really well French, because he masters the language and the references. He is my favorite singer, and he was such a fantastic poet. He was anarchist, anticlericalist and antimilitarist. Today he's still a monument in France, though he died in 1981, and he is considered both a very good musician and poet, one of the best of French culture.
It's very difficult to understand the beauty of the texts, because je was a master of the french sense words. Anarchist, the Brassens lyrics were very polemics because very humoristic about power, and also very sensitive with songs like "il n'y a pas d'amour heureux " a text of Aragon, or "Les passantes" about women. Antimilitarist he works actively for pacifism, with his songs. He says of himself he was a artisan of song. A very humble man, with timidity, but all the fire in lyrics. Happy to see you Dereck. You were in holiday with Madonna 😁😄
Very good comment. Brassens had his own style, signature and poetry. He was a giant.
It is the international anthem of friendship.
Welcome back Dereck!
This song is such a classic it should be mandatory when learning French:
Everything is the subtilities of the lyrics!
George Brassens was a very shy and very humble man, and thought he was not enough a good singer to sing his own songs, but then realised he had no other option and then had great success!
Brassens passe de l'argot au langage soutenu, utilise des jeux de mots, des locutions latines, des références culturelles/religieuses/militaires, des expressions. Il me semble même qu'il emploie des mots de patois dans certaines chansons.
Si on file ça à des étudiants les pauvres vont s'arracher les cheveux. Les français eux même passent à côté de plein de choses.
@@skunker52
C'est pas faux mais je parlais de cette chanson particulière qui, bien qu'utilisant un langage assez soutenu, reste un classique dont les mots peuvent être utiles !
@@paulchapoy992
"Non ce n'était pas le radeau de la méduse ce bateau" -> référence au tableau de Géricault
"Il naviguait en père peinard" -> père peinard c'était un journal anarchiste du 19e siècle
"la grand-mare des canards" -> l'Atlantique
"Fluctuat nec mergitur" -> battu par les flots mais ne sombre pas, la devise de Paris
"des amis franco de port" -> sans frais de port, métaphore postale + jeu de mots + double sens
Et j'ai pas été très loin dans le texte comme vous voyez.
C'est vraiment un niveau de français très avancé. Pour appréhender Brassens ce n'est pas seulement la langue qu'il faut maîtriser mais le pays en lui même qu'il faut connaître. Même en fac de langues je ne suis pas certain que les gens aient le niveau. C'est velu. ^^
@@skunker52
Cette chanson peut être l'occasion d'évoquer certains aspects de la culture française comme par exemple de découvrir la devise de Paris qui n'est ni plus ni moins que la capitale du pays !
On n'est pas obligé de chercher à tout retenir d'un texte et je n'ai personnellement pas forcément tout retenu de tous mes cours en langues, mais l'essentiel est que mes professeurs m'aient donné suffisamment goût à la culture du pays et à ses subtilités pour avoir envie d'en savoir plus! Ça m'a permis de persévérer par la suite et de pratiquer aujourd'hui un métier en rapport avec les langues !
De plus, l'essentiel est de découvrir ce qu'on peut retenir d'un texte et pas forcément de chercher à tout retenir de ce texte ni d'en maîtriser forcément jusqu'aux moindres subtilités !
Enfin, on n'est pas obligé d'être d'accord sur tout, ce qui est mon opinion que je partage !
Je sais qu'étudier une chanson comme Les copains d'abord m'intéresserait personnellement beaucoup plus que d'étudier une autre comme par exemple Partenaire particulier, quand bien même ce serait une solution de facilité!
... Mais combien peuvent-ils se targuer d'avoir une correspondance épistolaire avec Dieu en personne ?
Recently it was his 100th birthday !! Spend the time but Brassens is immortal !!!
The point with this song is that the melody stays in your head like… forever:-) It was written for a movie (Les copains by Yves Robert) and its title includes a pun: Les copains d’abord / Les copains de bord, “bord” referring to being on a boat (or a plane, very close to English “on board”). Les copains d’abord is both the motto of this group of friends and the name of the boat. Brassens, who was from Sète, a city next to Montpellier, on the Mediterranean coast, was widely inspired by his own bunch of friends, with whom he frequently sailed.
By the way, although the melody might seem a bit simplistic, it is actually pretty difficult to play on a guitar (like most of Brassens song).
I have Slovak friend and a Argentinian friend who both (separatly) spend months mocking Brassens and our love for him.
Then as they started to speak and understand the language better they fell in love with him. His lyrics were everything.
I knew that some day you would tackle Brassens, and I knew you would not get it. And no one could whithout a real knowledge of french or a top notch translation.
Because Brassens is all about lyrics (even though his music is very respected amongst jazz players). His lyrics are so great that, to me, the simplicity of his music is perfect. More would belittle the words. Brassens is a poet first and only then a singer, songwriter. And he is considered one of the best french poets of all times. He is to be compared to the likes of Keats or Milton.
While I love Renaud Goldman or Gainsbourg, their lyrics really pale in comparison.
Anyways, I wholeheartedly thank you for your vids especially on french songs, you really do an excellent job at reprensenting our culture, but I am affraid that Brassens is out of reach.
Nice to see you back.
I am not too surprised that you don't enjoy that much Brassens. It is lots of play words and rhymes; I don't think a direct a translation could convey what us Frenches understand. It would probably need a deeper translation with English equivalents of those play words. Like some English songs that us Frenches cannot understand like you would :).
Brassens was a model for Brel - it says everything about this monument. There is no better moment than taking a guitar and sing Brassens around a fireplace.
Et Trenet le modèle de Brassens.
As others mentioned here, Brassens is all about lyrics, just as Jacques Brel, but in his own way (he's not as passionate on stage). Many puns and literary references: "Fluctuat nec mergitur" ("It rocks but does not sink"), motto of Paris city; Montaigne and La Boétie, both great French authors, the former of whom writing about their mutual friendship in the 16th century ("because he was he, because I was I"); Castor&Pollux the legendary Gemini... The song makes a point of praising some simpler kind of friendship, that of a gang of long time buddies, and takes the ship (boat) in "friendship" as a practical symbol.
You can listen to an English cover by Graeme Allwright: th-cam.com/video/HbTYsdfuIyw/w-d-xo.html
Oh wow, that is indeed a good cover!
I didn't realized how I love your content until you took this break ! missed you soooo much!!
Hi dereck, georges brassens was very good french singer, he sings another great songs "la chanson de l'auvergnat", "les sabots d'hélène", "les bancs publics", its very interesting songs, try another french singer of this years, Charles Aznavour, it was a great songs too.
These songs are great but they won't pass the translation barrier. "Gare au gorille" or "Le pornographe du phonographe" might be more easy to Dereck, and more fun too...
Yes ! Brassens ! Please listen to "l'Auvergnat" and "le gorille" and read the whole lyrics! It's one of the best french lyrics writer.
Really cool that you reacted to this old french artist
Haha yes Brassens!! My father always used to say if someone wants to learn french he should definitely listen to GB.
Musically the arrangements are always the same (guitar solo or accompanied with bass. Edit: here there was orcherstra for the live performance, in his studio discs there is no drums/trumpet, etc), there is no specific singing performance, but all the power of his songs is in the lyrics, definitely wrote like poems.
Also this specific song doesn't have so particular item to develop as it was made just for a movie, but some other are very deep or very analytic about life, often with a lot of sarcasm, or as some Goldman's songs make a portrait of some people, etc.
Thank You.. Georges Brassens is an immense artist
So there, with Brassens, we enter the great classic of french song. I knew you always had surprises in store for us. Welcome back.
Tu as juste découvert le plus grand parolier français de tout les temps Dereck. Merci continue j'adore tes analyses.
an anecdote that says a lot about this great man,
Brassens changed his car every year, and the old one, he gave it !
Welcome back Dereck ! So glad to see you !
George Brassens, the first french rapper.
;) ^^
When I first moved to Paris with my French husband, we lived in a horrible little flat. The walls were paper thin and we happened to live next to a big fan of Brassens. He must have played so many Brassens' records which have a certain "boom, boom, boom" guitar sound. I couldn't stand it. Since then, I learn't that Brassens has so many magnificent songs - all in the text !!!!
Everyone in France knows this song, and many others from Brassens. He's considered as one of the greatest french song writer and poet. This son is very consensual, but he could be very critical also, as he was an anarchist. Try "Mourir pour des idées", "Le Gorille", "La Messe au pendu" or 'La Mauvaise Réputation". He wrote hundreds songs and inspired many french artists.
And don't forget "L'orage" , "Les funérailles d'antan", "La femme d'Hector", "Au près de mon arbre", "Le vent" (one of my better best favourite), "La fille à cent sous"...
@@messhugah8273 Vénus Callipyge, Le Testament, la Supplique, le Blason...
Et ses mises en musique de Paul Fort, Antoine Pol, Victor Hugo, Lamartine, Corneille et Tristan Bernard, qui montrent combien Brassens était aussi un merveilleux compositeur et mélodiste.
What I think about Georges Brassens ? He's simply my favorite "text song singer"... His texts were fantastics... With fun, emotions, love and poetry.
Ones of my favorite from him: "Les oiseaux de passage", "Les sabots d'Helene", "Aupres de mon arbre" (a Charles Trenet's favorite from Brassens), "La complainte des filles de joies", "Mon vieux Leon"... Too many...
To English people this can sound so uninteresting. You have to be speaking French to appreciate how Brassens knows how to play with the sounds of the words and how great a poet he was. His songs follow me since 50 years. No bass, it's the cello played by Pierre Nicolas. Brassens is sweating because he was uncomfortable on scene. At the start of his carreer he wrote and wanted others to sing his song. This video is unusual, Brassens never had an orchestra with, that's exceptionnal.
Everything is in the text. That s normal to not "LOVE" it with just the rythme and the voice.
He is really a text singer.
The most beautiful songs created by Brassens were translated in Spanish by his friend Paco Ibañez.
Derek should check out Pobre Martin, La Mala Reputacion, Cancion para un Maño.
Dereck reations He will remain a legend.
The French artistic heritage by creating a unique style sculpted around simple melodies and texts as many poetic masterpieces.
He was a man of immense discretion
His friends were Leo FERRE, Jacques Brel.. and the poets Boris Vian, Jacques Prevert then Audiard in the cinema.
He was a man with a lot of Humility
Welcome back Dereck !!!! Nice choice 👍🏻
happy to have you back. I was worried as you hadn't posted anything for the last few days.
Haaaaaaaaa enfin ! Tu m'as manqué Dereck ! ;-)
Un des plus grands poètes français... Georges Brassens une légende.
Lyrics meaning:
This song is an ode to friendship, comparison with a boat.
No it wasn't the raft From the Medusa, this boat Means: The Raft of the Medusa is a famous painting by Gericault which describes a shipwreck, a boat of adventures and big waters/
Let it be said at the bottom of the ports Say at the bottom of the ports
It sailed like a cushy father On the big duck pond And was called the Friends first Friends first
Means: it was a quiet boat of friends that was made more for hanging out than taking off
Its fluctuat nec mergitur It wasn't literature Means: it is the old motto of the city of Paris which is in Latin and means "She floats but does not sink", It means the guys sticking together in the tough times of their lives.
Displease to the spellcasters, His captain and his sailors Were not children of salauds But port-paid friends (fair, réglo) Friends first
They weren't luxury friends, Small Castor and Pollux, People of Sodom and Gomorrah, Sodom and Gomorrah, They weren't chosen friends By Montaigne and La Boétie On the stomach they hit hard Friends first
Means: they were neither friends by money, nor by culture, nor by worldliness, they were popular friends, he specifies neither homosexual (Sodom and Gomorrah)
They weren't angels either, The Gospel, they had not read it, But they loved each other, all sails out All sails out
Jean, Pierre, Paul and company It was their only litany, Their creed, their confiteor To friends first
At the slightest blow from Trafalgar (serious problem which come by surprise, like in Trafalgar battle) It was friendship that took the quarter It was it which showed them the north, Showed them the north (friendship like a compass)
And when they were in distress That their arms threw out S.O.S. It looked like the semaphores Friends first
At the Meeting of good friends There weren't often stood up When one of them was missing on board Is that he was dead
Yes, but never, big never, Her hole in the water never closed A hundred years later, rascal of fate It was still missing
Boats I took a lot But the only one that held up Who has never tacked, Sailed like a cushy father On the big duck pond And was called the Friends first, Friends first
hi dereck first of all know that i missed your videos. and second thing is that even for the french (in general) you have to wait to get old a little before appreciating georges brassens. (I may be contradicted). one thing is certain is that he is a great poet. his songs always have a meaning. he can sin because of the "simplicity" of his music (I am summarizing) but he remains essential in france just like edith piaf for example even if these 2 artists are radically different
Hello Dereck,i missed you very much on your channel.So good to see you again!😄💝
Another piece that he made and was very good-If ever you want to react to it, it's called "L'auvergnat".
Georges had always stated that on his recordings he would not need bass, drums or orchestra. Many French singers had listened to hin & were influenced by him (Francis Cabrel, etc.)
Francis Cabrel has indeed never hidden he was totally admirative of Georges Brassens and competely influenced by him!
It’s his 100th birthday ! Btw it’s more a writer than a singer or compositor but I hope that you will try to look at other songs from him !
For Christmas : Petit papa Noël (Tino Rossi, 1946)
We can to see raymond devos who applause and smiling at the end of the song !!!! we miss you !! u humor and u joke on the french language !!!! if u looking for raymond this guy with big glassies :) 4:48
One of the greats with the like of Leo Ferre, Charles Aznavour abnd Jean Gabin
Actually Brassens wanted people to pay attention to the lyrics more than to the melody. He said that he had to sound like he was almost not capable of singing (it often feels like he's not a good singer, rather racitating the verses, when he was a fine tuned musician).
He wanted the melody to sound like it was easy (when it's not) so people would focus on the meaning of the words, not the rythm.
He was very proud when his texts were published as if they were poems (and well... they are). He always wanted to be considered as a poet in the 1st place.
There are some very funny ones in his catalogue, the guy had a great sense of humour (and some strong opinions on a lot of things).
Brassens was faithful to a group of close friends who gave him back the same solid friendship. This is what this one is about.
Il faut bien connaître la langue française pour apprécier Georges Brassens. Car c’est le texte qui prime dans ses chansons 😍
Brassens is a retro chill music with a very wise use of french language ! Try "le gorille", the gorilla, a very very naughty song but really clever !
They were not choosen by Montaigne and la Boétie. Those are classic authors and friends of french litterature and philospher, La Boétie most famous text is called "Discourse on Voluntary Servitude". So basically I think it means just that they were common people, but it doesn't matter, they were good friends... This song is a classic of french folk culture, nothing impressive and exciting but it's a of great importance in french folk culture. So a big touchy to do a reaction to this one
He was only an humble man who told that hé had'nt thé talent to be a poet but had the one to put words on a melody. French academy and public thought hé was both poet and lyrics writer. His music is sophisticated but people don'ear music.
For something really different--L'Argent, sung by Ginette Reno, who usually does pop ballads.
Pour les français présent dans la salle, si je vous disais que j'ai bien connu les parents de Tonton Georges, me croiriez-vous?
Et pourquoi pas ? Moi je te crois !
Raconte !
@@GeoTales_7 Je suis né le 18 mars 1961. En 1966 et jusqu'en 1970 mes parents ont tenus une petite épicerie de quartier au 4 de la rue Henri Barbusse à Sète, à côté de l'ancien hôpital et à quelques pas du cœur de la ville. Monsieur et Madame Brassens habitaient plus haut dans la même rue et venaient, l'un ou l'autre, plusieurs fois par semaine pour faire leurs petites courses à l'épicerie de mes parents où je les vu plus d'une fois...
Love that you react to Brassens. Could you please react to "95 fois sur 100" this song is a masterpeace
thank you Dereck,It was a good try, though.👍👍👍👍
It' s one o his more popular songs, but far from his best. You would like La complainte des filles de joie, a song in support of sex workers.
Definitely missed you!
You really qhould listen to On dirait le Sud from Ferrer and San Francisco from Leforestier !
You should hear the country version "Friendship First"
4:48 Raymond Devos ?
Il y a des chances, oui!
finally you listen to my forever beloved good old georges :) he is THE greatest poet amongst french singers, above any. and a good ol' anarchist like only old days could bring us :p i can't make up my mind about which one i would recommend you to listen next... a pretty start in his subversive songs could be "beware the gorilla". but the one i would mostly recommend, for it is sooooo universal, is "dying for ideas"
but there are so much faces of brassens to discover... his modesty ("horns of fame", "the testimony", "supply for being burried under sete's beach"'), his humanity("song for the auvergne guy"), his open mind ("the three graduates"), his charity ("poor martin"), his strange phallocratic feminism ("a lovely flower in a cow suit", "the repented bad guy", "i made myself small in front of a doll" [who closes her eyes when she lies, and calls for mummy when you touch her], "the not-asking for wedding", "" ...), the mastering way he composed for french great poems to be made into songs ("there is no happy love", "the prayer", "passing by birds", "the passing by ladies", ...)
i see you are recently discovering brel. georges brassens, léo ferre and jacques brel were the three great singers a lyricists of those old times. there is a very renowned set of pictures of the three of them gathered for an exclusive interview. they are quite mythical. but i must say i am quite fond of 50-60's french music, which very was based on poetry. there are a large area of french artists of these times you still miss, as for what i've seen.
montand, moustaki, le forestier, allwright, reggiani, barbara, clerc, the poppys, ...
though, if you seek for nowadays, or 80-90's good ol ones, i have plenty of those you still don't know too
orelsan, bigflo et oli (i recommend "get home", or "i am"), well, thinking of it... iam (best rap band of the 90's) ^^.. what else ?... stupeflip, oldelaf, yann tiersen, thomas fersen, camille, hubert felix thiephaine, jacques higelin, .... too many ones coming into my mind ^^
what is sure is that you have been badly guided, until now :p the singers you heard were.... popular ones, but not necessarly great ones, apart for a few of them. ;)
France = country of singing poets! Georges Brassens, Jacques Brel, Serge Reggiani, Charles Aznavour, Léo Ferré etc etc ...
Know that at the beginning, the majority of them did not really wish to become singers but rather to write texts for the others ..... finally it is the public which preferred that they express their own poems. luckily finally ...
1:26 there is a contrabass
In the 1950-1970's, there were two kinds of singers in the French-speaking world. There was the "pop singers" singing rock'n'roll and "yé-yé" and there was that second group which in Québec we call "les chansonniers". I don't know if the word exists in France, but they are mainly poets who were singing their poems. Lyrics were more important than the music. In France (and Belgium) they had Charles Trenet, Jacques Brel, Georges Brassens while in Québec we had Félix Leclerc, Gilles Vigneault, Jean-Pierre Ferland (first period). Chansonniers were more folksy or jazzy. Since poetry is so important in these songs and that poetry can rarely be well translated, these singers may not be the best to react to for an English speaker (or Spanish speaker).
In France the word "chansonniers" was more used for stage humorists and storytellers (even if singers like Ouvrard were also considered as chansonniers, more precisely "comique troupier") like the old term "chanson de gestes" was used about stage poets and pre-theatre artists in the high middle age. Brassens, Brel, Bécaud and others were simply called "chanteurs" (or "auteur compositeur interprète") to differentiate them from "chanteurs de variété".
@@chucku00 Very interesting. Thank you.
@@Xerxes2005 Je vous en prie.
Absolute institution of a French artist. Intricate melodies for genius lyrics. Do check more of him. Really worth it!
ça c'est cool ✌génial 😉🔥
Gare au gorille next, please.
"Fluctuat nec mergitur" is also the motto of the city of Paris, beaten by the waters but doesn't sink.
As an american guy, you won't understand all the lyrics and all the referencees; like "Montaigne" and "La Boetie". But, You're right, it is a song about friendship!
You should give a chance to "la mauvaise réputation" (and also the cover from Sinsemillia)
Brassens is the most important singer in France .
Tonton Georges !
Hi, I really like your reactions. Your should try to react to barbara ("Nantes", or "Dis, quand reviendras-tu ?"). She was an amazing french singer, one of the greatest.
Thanks for your job
I think it would be difficult to like Brassens without understand the words. His music was nothing special (nice, but only there in the service of the lyrics). His delivery was also very simple, straighforward (not like Brel, who "acted" his song with great passion). The lyrics is why you listen to Brassens. His texts are exquisite. But that would be lost on you. Probably not a good idea to go down that path unless you take up French! :-)
I totally agree with you, I like Brassens a lot but in my opinion he was more a poet than a singer. It is of no interest to Dereck unless he improves his French (maybe sooner than we expect, who knows?)
The translation makes no sense in English, so not speaking French I really have very little idea what he is singing about. The instrumentation is actually based on Dixieland Jazz.
Michel Fugain - Une belle histoire
Jacques Dutronc - Les cactus
Brigitte Bardot - Harley Davidson
Charles Aznavour - Hier encore
ELEGANCE - Vacances j'oublie tout
Fatal Bazooka - Fous Ta Cagoule
Helmut Fritz - ça m'énerve
Jakie Quartz - Mise au point
Joe Dassin - L'été Indien
Jacques Brel - La chanson des vieux amants
Larusso - Je Survivrai
LE CLUB - Un fait divers et rien de plus
Yianna katsoulos - Les Autres Sont Jaloux
Luna Parker - Tes états d'âme Eric
Mistinguett - Mon Homme ( 2014 version )
Nâdiya - Roc
Nâdiya - Parle-moi
Niagara - J'Ai Vu
Niagara - Un Million D'Années
Nolwenn Leroy - La Jument De Michao ( you will fall in love with his eyes )
Pascal Obispo - Lucie
Richard Gotainer - Le Youki (clip version )
Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot - Bonnie And Clyde
Sylvie Vartan - La plus belle pour aller danser
Véronique Samson - Le paradis blanc
You should try le gorille or margot by George Brassens
Gare au Gorille !
:-)
You should react to "les amoureux des bancs publics" by Georges Brassens
You should listen "les passantes", "le bistrot", "maman, papa", "supplique pour être enterré à la plage de Sete", "mourir pour des idées", "la mauvaise réputation", "l'orage", "les amoureux des bancs publics".
You need to know french if you want to enjoy Brassens. His lyrics are really well written.
OMG my man ! you just openned pandora's box ! you can listen to ALL Brassens song (yes the S IS pronounced for once :X
Dereck take a look at "enrico macias le mendiant de l'amour " you wont be dissapointed :)
First one in History, the base of french music
Nice to see you back.
IMO, with some french songs ( old ones with historical or mythological references ) you can't just limit yourself to youtube translator. You must go deeper.
I mean, who can understand poetry with youtube translator ?
Like your channel, keep going.
Some people here told that Brassens is all about lyrics, but this is not true either. Brassens was also a very good musician. His melodies seems very simple, but guitar players know they are very sophisticated. His arrangements were stripped to the bone, but that's their strength. This is a video that explain that: th-cam.com/video/nX7Wi0cO2rA/w-d-xo.html
Very hard to tackle. The lyrics are the most important but I am not agreeing about the "simplicity" ... I mean yes it's repetitive however it terms of change of chords, rythme and harmonies à lot of his songs are interesting to play. If you dont believe me try finding jazz cover of its song. I'm sorry but most of time you'll almost have no arrangement to obtain it. There are really beautiful melodies to like. But indeed, if you dont understand the lyrics... you miss the biggest part.
Le plus grand rappeur français !
As a french who heard Brassens for lullabies, his voice his diction and his guitar always make me smile. It's like to be in family. ❤
As non-french speaker, you should try "Le vent" (short and rhythmic -> th-cam.com/video/iWjtota81Xo/w-d-xo.html) or "Je me suis fait tout petit" (a sweet love ballade with a beautiful melody -> th-cam.com/video/J2KwXjXQTcw/w-d-xo.html)
George Brassens' work is all based on the words
Hi yes i understand why you would have a hard time connecting with this. The power of the song and most brassens song actually is the lyrics and the translation doesn't really do the play on words he uses justice it's very cleverly written and there are a lot of references life medusa's raft a famous painting or fluctuat nec mergitur the latin motto of paris that means battered by the seas but never sinking.
Next: "Il n'y a pas d'amour heureux".
Beaucoup beaucoup trop difficile à comprendre sans être parfaitement francophone.
Il y a des double-sens sur certains mots ou expressions comme "d'abord" qui signifie en même temps "d'abordage" et "avant tout".
Tu as du courage ! ^^
@@Macgeekver C'est pas faux ! ^^
I'm the last on the Irish Rover.
Punaise.. Mylène a pris de la moustache. :-/
Richard Cocciante Le coup de soleil, Marguerite.
Fernande ! ^^
We still want other reactions on Brassens :)
Hey great to see you again, you have to react to Felix Irwan singing « when we were young » cover. Woaaaw what a performance, from far the best I ever seen. Your will just be speechless 🤭 keep doing great react video 🙏
Brassens is French monument. He is a poet before being a singer. Too much difficult to quickly appreciate his songs if you don't speak French because the entire message is in the lyrics but in the music. Maxime Leforestier is more accessible in my mind.
Merci à vous Dereck To introduce English speakers to " chansons françaises"
Nice
Maybe try FELICIE AUSSI from Fernandel 🤗
C'est pas pour toi Dereck, avec tout le respect que je te dois.
Brassens, c'est le summum de la poésie en chanson française. C'est même compliqué pour un français de niveau moyen de comprendre le génie de ces mots !
Il faudrait que tu étudies le français pendant 10000 ans pour comprendre Georges Brassens... 😅😊