Jacques Brel is read about 2,000 times a day, in 69 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 15 October 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 390 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?He wrote songs that felt like one-act plays - heartbreak, cynicism, longing delivered at full tilt - and turned the chanson into something rawer than Paris had heard. Brel's catalogue crossed the Channel in translation and lodged in the repertoires of Bowie, Sinatra, Nina Simone, a list that keeps going.
A life in dates
Les MarquisesAlbum1972
Ne me quitte pasAlbum1968“If we only have love Then tomorrow will dawn And the days of our years Will rise on that morn.”In their words"If We Only Have Love" as translated in the closing scene in the 1968 musical Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (1975 film
J'arriveAlbum, 19681967
67Album1966
Ces gens‐làAlbum1964MathildeAlbum1963Les BigotesAlbum1962
Les BourgeoisAlbumN°6 : Les BourgeoisAlbum, 19621961“Adieu, Francoise, my trusted wife; Without you I'd have had a lonely life. You cheated lots of times but then, I forgave you in the end Though your lover was my friend.”In their wordsSeasons in the Sun" (1961), as translated by Rod McKuen from Brel's song "Le Moribond" · McKuen performance · Beach Boys performanceN°5 : MariekeAlbum, 19611959N°4 : La Valse à mille tempsAlbum1958N°3 : Au printempsAlbum1957“If we only have love We can reach those in pain We can heal all our wounds We can use our own names.”In their wordsTranslation of Quand on n'a que l'amour“If we only have love We can melt all the guns And then give the new world To our daughters and sons.”In their wordsTranslation of Quand on n'a que l'amour“If we only have love We will never bow down We'll be tall as the pines Neither heroes nor clowns.”In their wordsTranslation of Quand on n'a que l'amourN°2 : Quand on n'a que l'amourAlbum, 19571954N°1 : Jacques Brel et ses ChansonsAlbum1929Born8 April 1929Also in Deutsch
Photos 8
.jpg?width=1200)
_-_53Fi2370.jpg?width=1200)
_-_53Fi2371.jpg?width=1200)
_-_53Fi2372.jpg?width=1200)
.jpg?width=1200)
In their own words 5
, If we only have love Then tomorrow will dawn And the days of our years Will rise on that morn.
Adieu, Francoise, my trusted wife; Without you I'd have had a lonely life. You cheated lots of times but then, I forgave you in the end Though your lover was my friend.
If we only have love We can reach those in pain We can heal all our wounds We can use our own names.
Listen
SpotifyOn YouTube
46.8K subscribersAlbums 15
LMLes Marquises
NPNe me quitte pas
JAJ'arrive
67
CLCes gens‐là
LBLes BonbonsMAMathildeLBLes Bigotes
LBLes BourgeoisNBN°6 : Les BourgeoisNMN°5 : MariekeNTN°4 : La Valse à mille tempsNPN°3 : Au printempsNAN°2 : Quand on n'a que l'amourNCN°1 : Jacques Brel et ses ChansonsFamily
Is this everyone?
Only relatives with a profile here are drawn, so a family can be larger than this. A line here can also be wrong.
Correct this familyAbout this person
Jacques Romain Georges Brel was born 8 April 1929 in Belgium and began performing theatrical songs that built him a devoted base first at home, then in France, then beyond. He recorded mostly in French, occasionally in Dutch, and became recognized as a master of the modern chanson - his intensity and narrative shape influencing a generation of English-speaking artists who covered his work in translation. He appeared in ten films as an actor and directed two, including Le Far West, which earned a Palme d'Or nomination at Cannes in 1973. Brel married Thérèse Michielsen in 1950; they had three children. From 1972 until his death he was with actress Maddly Bamy. He died 9 October 1978, having sold over 25 million records worldwide.
Fame.am measures public visibility signals. It does not measure human value, talent, morality, or credibility.