Comments on: Jacques Brel – Why Always in English?

By: L. Hodford

L. Hodford — Sat, 21 May 2011 13:42:54 +0000

I am a lifelong devotee of Brel and have seen so many performers interpet his songs. I have also had the pleasure of seeing Mr Johnson’s translations in his shows. While I have a great deal of respect for his efforts, his translations are not poetic enough. And to be quite honest, Miche Brel is hardly in a position to judge who translates her husband’s work best as she does not speak sufficient English to make that judgement! (She is an opportunist and a very greedy lady. No wonder JB spent so little of his life with her.)
“If you go away” may not be much of a translation (Arnie’s is closer) but in its own right is superior. Proof of that is its success, there are hundreds of recordings of it and it has been performed by thousands.

Anyway, anyone who attempts to sing Brel with sincerity and passion will earn my admiration — whatever their efforts turn out to be. Some of the contributors here are quite snobbish — the blogger himself!! suffers a little bit from this — and sometimes this simply shows ignorance.

Bienvenue. (Pretentious, moi???)

By: Elizabeth Scott Andrews

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 20:29:50 +0000

Terrific post. Sorry I’m coming late to this discussion. I’ve been a fan of Jacques Brel since my sister first brought back a vinyl record of his from France in the 60s, and although I saw and enjoyed “Jacques Brel is Alive and Well,” both in its original form at the Village Gate and in a couple of revivals, at the Gate and the Zipper (much more recently), I found the Blau/Schumann translations disappointing, to say the least. A few years back I had the good fortune Prof. Johnston at a translators’ conference, and he was kind enough later to send me a copy of the “I’m Here” CD. Well, it’s an English professor singing, accompanied by a music professor on the piano – this is a demo, not a commercial release. But the translations are breathtaking: as a translator myself I’d not have thought it possible. The English songs perfectly capture the meaning of the originals; they scan, they rhyme, and the lyrics are eminently singable. Amazing. Last time I was in touch with Prof. Johnston he was preparing a revue of his translations – I must catch up with him and see how that is progressing. It’s heartening to see that there are people who remember and love Brel and his work!

By: Kate

Kate — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 09:20:20 +0000

I haven’t seen Arnie Johnson’s translations of Brel. I only know him in French. But as an American living in Brel’s native Belgium, I can only say that it’s probably worth learning French just to hear and understand his work with all its sharp wit and nuanced subtleness. It warms the cockles of my hippie heart.

I’m going to see if I can get my hands on Johnson’s translations, though. I’d love to see if someone can capture the the power and passion of Brel’s “Mathilde”. Or the biting satire of “Les Bourgeois” or “Les Flamandes”.

I almost hate to hope…

By: Willim

Willim — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 08:56:55 +0000

Last time I checked France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Norway Brazil, etc… All considered Western Culture. I think you meant American culture. Great post otherwise. I love these songs.

By: W W

W W — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:02:58 +0000

I look at it as if…

It it had not been for Rod McKuen and “Alive and Well…” I might never had known Jacques…

I am pretty sure that, in another hundred or two hundred years… Brel will be very well known as a great poet who expressed the spirit of the age..

There may very well be others whose language none of us understand. Who knows… it might be me…

By: Matthew

Matthew — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:12:09 +0000

Hello gents. I have to calm Arnie down a little here – my comments weren’t intended as slights on his skills one way or another, merely pointing out that a talent for translation of literature and a talent for music are rather unrelated and the fact that his translations are among the best in no way implies that the recordings are going to be any good. Of course it doesn’t imply the reverse either, but I wasn’t specifically trying have a go at anyone.

I actually ended up not replying to his nice email, more out of disorganisation and bad manners than intent. I fully intend to order a copy of one of those albums of his and genuinely look forward to hearing it.

I had no idea Momus had something of a track record in this area either, so I’ll definitely check those out. Thanks for popping by and saying hello, and I hope the production goes well. It definitely seems to be, so far.

By: Eric Martin

Eric Martin — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:03:32 +0000

Ha ha, Hi Arnie! This is what I get for googling, too! Anyway, I’m currently IN the original chicago production of Lonesome Losers.. And purely from an actor’s point of view I gotta say, i can’t imagine a better translator than Arnie. I think there are plenty of translators that have translated Brel just fine, but Arnie is the ONLY one I’ve encountered that actually preserves the nuance, subtlety, and multi-dimensional tones of each piece. His translations are so accurately and richly wrapped that going into our 4th month of shows I STILL am discovering new meanings hidden within the text. Sometimes they are so profound and small and specific that I marvel at how they were brought across an entire language in tact.

Anyway, I’m not a professional translator, I’m an actor. I rely purely on text to give me a framework from which to work, and I gotta say that Arnie has provided me with such a rich framework that it almost makes my job easy .

I do believe, though, that Arnold Johnston is the only English translator endorsed by the Brel Estate. And not just for the heck of it, too. Keep your eyes out for the published libretto of Lonesome Losers! Or come to Chicago, see the show and let’s chat! -EM

By: Alan McNaboe

Alan McNaboe — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 12:35:08 +0000

Marc Almond recorded an album of Jacque Brel in English which I used to have on tape. He didn’t use any of the Blau/Shuman or McKuen versions. The translations seemed to be very literal, sometimes at the expense of listening pleasure (“I’m Coming”, his version of “J’Arrive”, was hard work) but it was a brave and worthwhile experiment. Momus has done a couple of others besides “Ne Me Quitte Pas”.

By: Arnie Johnston

Arnie Johnston — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 14:20:39 +0000

Here’s my comment on the whole Brel translation question. Rather than making remarks–evidently based on nothing more than prejudice–about Arnold Johnston’s possible professorial fubsiness, I’d suggest Googling my latest revue, “Jacques Brel’s Lonesome Losers of the Night,” now playing to rave reviews and sold-out houses at Chicago’s No Exit Cafe. The run has been extended several times, and other productions are in the works. My CD, “Jacques Brel: I’m Here!”, can be obtained most readily by getting in touch with me at arnie.johnston@wmich.edu.

By: Avi Roi

Avi Roi — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:15:05 +0000

That would be great and appreciated. just corrected misspelling of my email address.