Comments on: Jacques Brel – Why Always in English?

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.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:09:54 +0000

I take things down after a while – partly for financial and partly for legal reasons. I’ll email you the mp3.

By: Avi Roi

Avi Roi — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:04:55 +0000

What happened to next by Godwin? Great rendition but not currently available anywhere? Link here is broken, 404 error.

By: Marjolein Heijlen

Marjolein Heijlen — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:33:20 +0000

Hello Paul,

I just read your story about translating brel’s lyrics of “Jojo” and it left me a little curious. I’d love to listen to your English version if you would be so kind to send it to me.

Hoping to hear from you!
Marjolein from Belgium

By: Paul Armfield

Paul Armfield — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:12:34 +0000

Bonjour!
ahem
Really enjoyed the translation and treatment of Au Suivant. And top thread to boot.
I’ve been translating Brel with my wife for a while now, she has the linguistic skills, I- the love of Brel. I’ve long been fully accepting of the Mort Schuman translations primarily because he had proved his worth as a songwriter (Viva Las Vegas, Up On The Roof et al) but also because he’d been given Brel’s blessing, indeed it was Brel who had suggested which songs he tackle. I also have a slightly grudging respect for Rod Mckuen’s efforts because he makes them work so well as English songs in their own right. BTW for a superb translation of Ne Me Quitte Pas, I am of the opinion that Momus’ rendition retains all the integrity and self-effacing beauty of the original.
I’m glad to hear Mr. Godwin is tackling L’Ivrogne, we’ve never got round to finishing that one:
“My friend refill my glass, one more and I’ll be gone, one more and I’m away. No, I’m not about to cry, I’m singing and I’m free but I’m sick of being me”
Who can’t relate to that?
I had a strange experience translating Jojo, the song concerns Jacques visiting the grave of his old friend Jojo and talking to him about their life together and the fact that they’ll be together again soon, at one point Jacques thanks his dead friend for ignoring the fact that his hands are shaking- for ages I struggled to find a suitable equivallent for ‘ Tu vois que mes mains tremblent’, finally on the way to the studio it came to me- ‘Jojo- I know you’ll have seen that I’m all a tremble’, I recorded it- I was happy with the result, but in the back of my mind was a niggle that I’d heard that line somewhere before, several days later it came to me- Rolf Harris’ two little boys. Oh Fuck! thought I, that’s ruined it, but then I remembered the context in which the line appears in Rolf’s song ‘Can you see Joe I’m all a tremble’ as sung by Joe’s brother whose name is…..Jack. Not only do the two songs contain the same line, both are about the lifelong camaraderie of two boys called Jack and Joe? What’s going on here? Were either Jacques and Rolf admirers of each others work?
I’d be happy to send you an MP3 of my recording of Jojo- as yet unreleased.
Salut!