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Sings Jacques Brel (in English)

by An Amerikan Automobile Company

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1.
In the port of Amsterdam there are sailors that sing Of the dreams that haunt them from the coasts of Amsterdam In the Port of Amsterdam there are sailors that sleep Like the banners that drape along the city's dull banks In the port of Amsterdam there are sailors that die Full of beer and cries at the first morning light But in the port of Amsterdam there are sailors that are born In the tiring heat of a still ocean In the port of Amsterdam there are sailors that eat Glistening fish, their tablecloths bleached. They'll show you their teeth that have chewed up fortune And hauled up the sails and swallowed the moon. And it smells just like cunt through the heart of French fries, That they scoop up in portions increasing in size. Then, with a belch like a tempest they rise Start laughing, turn away and they zip up their flies. In the port of Amsterdam where the sailors all dance They rub their guts on the bodies of women. They turn and they dance like chewed up stars To the rancid sound of an accordion waltz. And they turn and they dance and they laugh and they lust, 'till all of a sudden the accordion bursts Then, with sullen faces and pride in their eyes They bring their whore to face the port light. In the port of Amsterdam there are sailors that drink And they drink and thy drink and they drink once again. They'll drink to the health of the whores of Amsterdam, Hamburg, and anywhere, in fact they'll drink to the women Who've given their bodies and have given their virtue For a piece of gold, and when the sailors have drunk well They'll point their noses to the sky and blow them among the stars And they'll piss like I cry for unfaithful loves.
2.
From chrysanthemums, to chrysanthemums, All of my friends are now departing. From chrysanthemums, to chrysanthemums, Death's just a footnote my Dulcinea. From chrysanthemums, to chrysanthemums, Other flowers may try in vain. From chrysanthemums, to chrysanthemums, Men can cry but women rain. I'm here! I came! But really would have liked just one more time Just to drag my bones towards the sunlight To tomorrow, to spring. I'm here, I arrived! But really would have liked just one more time Just to see if the river's still flowing And the port's just a port, To see myself once more. I'm here, I came, But why my, why now, why today? Why am I still alive? I'm here, and of course I've arrived; I never seem to be able to do anything But arrive. From chrysanthemums, to chrysanthemums, Each time even more alone. From chrysanthemums, to chrysanthemums, Every time the numbers grow. But I'm here! I came! But what I really would have liked Was some more time to take a lover Like you take your train To be alone, to be anywhere, to be content. I'm here, I arrived, But I guess I really would have liked Just one more time to fill a body With starlight and trembles, falling like ashes, Burned from love, I'm here. I came, I arrived, And don't you think that you're so great; You're not ahead of me - I guess I'm the one who's just late I'm here, I arrived, I never seem to be able to do anything in my life, But arrive.
3.
Before the hairless asses there was liberty, Even the flower and the bird were free. But now they've arrived all the plants have been put in pots And the birds are all in cages if they're not already shot. Because they invented prison and the condemned, Criminal records and innocent men. They cut their own tongues to protect the nobility Even though they claim to act with civility, The apes, the apes, the apes of our society. Oh, before them there were no problems: Bananas could be eaten any time, including Lent. But the they arrived with their intolerance And the God-given will to stop other people's intolerance. For they're the ones that started the Templar crusades, The hunt for infidels and the purchasing of slaves. And then those who don't want to hunt are treated with hostility. Because that's what they call civilised society, The apes, the apes, the apes of our society. Before them man was a prince, Woman was a princess and love was a province But since they've arrived the province is in drought, The prince is a tramp and the princess sells herself. They invented love which is a sin. Love which is a business, the business of virgins Where a man's worth is valued by his virility And then they claim to act with civility! The apes, the apes, the apes of our society. Before them there was peace on Earth For every ten elephants there was only one soldier But then they arrived and the elephants have all been beaten And the reason of the state chased away the real reasons. They invented all the instruments of torture, The electric chair, the Nazi gas chambers, Bombs full of napalm and all other atrocities And that's since they've had that 'civility'! The apes, the apes, the apes of our society.
4.
It's too easy to enter the churches And beg for your salvation, Face the priest who sits in the grey light And forgives you for all that you've done. But keep quiet, great Jacques, What do you know of the Lord? A hymn and maybe an icon, You know that's nothing at all. It's too easy when wars are over To go out shouting that it was out last, Bourgeois friend, I envy you When you look straight through our graveyards. But keep quiet, great Jacques, What do you know about war? Let them all weep with joy; You were never a soldier before. It's too easy for love to die away, Especially when it's stretched too far. It's too easy to weep like all men weep, As if love were forever. But keep quiet, great Jacques, What do you know about love? Some blue eyes, some blonde hair, You don't know what you're speaking of. But keep quiet, great Jacques, Tell yourself at the day's end; It's too easy to just pretend.
5.
My death waits like a maid at night, At the swinging of the scythe, To gather up the time that passes. My death waits just like a princess At the funeral of my youthfulness, To remind me that time passes. My death waits like Maleficent, On the day that we wed, To laugh at us as time passes. But whatever lies behind death's door, There's nothing I can do. Angel or demon, I don't care Because in front of that door there is you. Death waits for me under my bed And stops me rising once I'm dead He counts the clock until the time passes. Death waits for me and for my friends Who come to see me before life ends Who tell me about the time that passes. Death awaits in your cold hands That close my eyes in the circumstance That I'm lost to the time that passes. But whatever lies behind death's door, There's nothing I can do. Angel or demon, I don't care Because in front of that door there is you. Death awaits in the last leaves Of the coffins that were once trees Now nailed together by the time that passes. Death awaits me in the lilies That you lay on top of me That beautify the time that passes. Death awaits me in my bed The sheets of oblivion over my head That shield me from the time that passes. But whatever lies behind death's door, There's nothing I can do. Angel or demon, I don't care Because in front of that door there is you.
6.
Here's where I hide whenever the wind starts to rise And blows that old sun through the skies, I cover my eyes. Here's where I hide from every new love that tells me they love me Just like the last one and the one before that. Here's where I hide, here in the darkness Where my shadow's not so big. It's the shadow of the kisses I planted on you in my twenties. Tell me: is it possible to live life to the full? Here's where I kneel, I've already dropped From the weight of this cross that I can't seem to shake off. Here's where I kneel, surrounded by the shiver And the shards of glass from that old broken mirror. Here's where I kneel, all my hopes and my dreams Have been turned into prayers And all my prayers have gone unanswered Because there's nobody up there. Tell me: is it possible to live life to the full? Here's where I lay; here in the arms of a young love That I offered a flower and promised forever. Here's where I lay; here's where I'll lose my mind Being so bored by this reflection of time. Here's where I'll lay; and my desires won't last 'till the end of the day In this heat that the Devil's prepared because he knows I'm defeated Tell me: is it possible to live life to the full?
7.
When Isabel dreams, the whole world stops moving When Isabel dreams in her cradle of joy She's so mischievous and scheming, She's the oasis of the Sahara, She's the golden fish of China, And the gardens of the Alhambra. When Isabel dreams the whole world stops moving When Isabel dreams in her cradle of joy. She steals the flowers and the works of art In her subconscious games Just to put them in her heart when she dreams. When Isabel laughs, the whole world stops moving When Isabel laughs in her cradle of joy, You know that she's a little thief And she hides out in the wilderness That the old King he tries to keep Under the rule of the noblesse. When Isabel laughs the whole world stops moving When Isabel laughs in her cradle of joy, She steals the windows of time And she puts them inside her heart And opens them to paradise Every time that she laughs. When Isabel sings the whole world stops moving When Isabel sings in her cradle of joy You know she's stealing the songs That she's heard lovers sing The kisses that catch the heart Like umbrellas taking wind When Isabel sings the whole world stops moving When Isabel sings in her cradle of joy She steals the velvet and silk The singer offers to the princess Just to put them in her voice, Isabel When she sings.
8.
My heart, my love, my soul, My sky, my fire, my gold, My snow, my rain, my hail, my honey, my spring, My grail. My wheat, my land, my home, My flame, my earth, my stone, My night, my thirst, my bread, my dawn, my twilight, My bed. My sail, my wave, my guide and my self, My blood, my strength, my fever, my health, My song, my laugh, my wine, my joy, My dawn, my life, my faith and my cry. My heart, my love, my soul, My sky, my fire, my gold, My body, my flesh, my plea, Here they are now you've come back to me.
9.
You come of age at 20 years When you think you're gonna starve But when your one and only fear Is that you'll never clean your heart. When you bite off more than you can chew And think you're getting a head start But you're only just a fool Whose greed is bigger than his heart. But the sweet smell of Lucerne On your body clings to you It's the smell of lovers spurned For the beds of little virtue. But when you drink you tell the truth, You've still got your youth. You come of age at 30 years When your stomach starts to grow When your belly starts to show As it nibbles at your fears. When your eyes grow heavier And your wrinkles start to frown Since they know that 30 years Is the start of the great countdown. So you send the old ones to the cave And put a dunce's cap on God But it's in the evenings that you crave a little A little fire to warm your heart. But when you drink you tell the truth, You regret your youth. You come of age at 60 years When your belly rolls around When your belly bloats around Since it's eaten all your fears. When your eyes begin to fail When your eyes are out of tears When your sight is growing dim Because you've burned up all your years. All of the pains of love will show With every woman that you see As they fall away like snow And you realise love's not free. But when you drink you tell the truth, You miss your youth. The golden age is when you're dead And when they put you in the ground And when they all huddle around The stone they've placed above your head. When your hands protect your chest And you're laying, facing the clouds And you're finally put to rest Just to appease the crying crowd. The age of gold comes after hell It comes after the age of wealth When your bones are turning to dirt In the belly of the earth. The golden age is just the truth, You've lost your youth.
10.
Dear Jacques 03:24
Dear Jacques, What has the world become since you've been gone? Can you tell me, is it any different To the days you made the Paris Olympia burn? Your name, your face, you tore up that place Making soldiers out of troubadours, Dear Jacques, encore. Dear Jacques, Oh how you dreamed of all the innocence we've lost All of the days of youthful mystery And lustful wondering about childhood. Your words, your son, you could do no wrong But you've left me wanting more. Dear Jacques, encore. Dear Jacques, Oh what a mess we've made without your guiding voice Can't you see we've turned all of our poetry into noise? It's such a funny time to be alive. But when I close my eyes, I can hear your voice And you never left me at all, Dear Jacques, you'll sing once more. You're in the wind that blows through Bruges You're in the sky that surrounds you, You're everything under this Earth, You're the Republic and the Flemish dirt, The minds of Kings who cannot sleep, And the eyes of the shepherd, But the heart of the sheep...
11.
My father said: It's the north wind that makes the sea walls creak At Scheveningen, at Scheveningen, petit, It's so strong we no longer know who sails the sea, the North Sea. It's the north wind that blows through eyes of Norsemen Young and old, young and old, And makes the tears (from the north) Start to rise, start to rise in their eyes. My father said: It's the north wind that spins the earth around Bruges, Around Bruges kiddo. It's the north wind that spins the earth around the towers Of Bruges and Gand It gave our girls the peaceful look of old towns, of old towns, It gave our girls the fragile hair that lays like lace On their nightgowns, on their nightgowns. My father said: It's the north wind that shakes the earth At Zeebrugge, at Zebrugge, little one. It's the north wind that shakes the earth Between Zeebrugge and England. And London, before the flood, Was the tip of Bruges teasing the sea. And now London's a part of Bruges Lost at sea, lost at sea, lost at sea. My father said: It's the north wind that'll bury my body, facing the sea. It's the north wind that'll make a captain out of me. And the whales and the tides, I'll tame them all; Just wait and see. It will make me captain of those I love and the waves.

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New, poetic translations (in English).

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released October 9, 2015

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An Amerikan Automobile Company Bath, UK

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