{"id":824,"date":"2010-06-05T01:50:31","date_gmt":"2010-06-05T01:50:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=824"},"modified":"2017-10-18T15:49:21","modified_gmt":"2017-10-18T13:49:21","slug":"dans-le-port-damsterdam-brel-vs-bowie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/dans-le-port-damsterdam-brel-vs-bowie\/","title":{"rendered":"Dans le Port d’Amsterdam (Brel vs. Bowie)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today we discover\u00a0a song by a special\u00a0*Belgian*<\/strong>\u00a0artist. Most people, till today, tend to mistake him for a French.\u00a0That, if anything,\u00a0reflects how\u00a0profound of an impact he left on la chanson fran\u00e7aise<\/em><\/em>.<\/p>\n

His name is Jacques Brel<\/strong>, and contrary to many other singers and musicians, he\u00a0is one whose artistic\u00a0life “se passe de tout de commentaire” <\/em>(does not need any comment), for he is famous to have said once: “In our lives, there are two important dates\u00a0:\u00a0Our birth and\u00a0our death. Everything we do in between is not very important…<\/em>”<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

\u00c9coutons la chanson <\/em>(let’s listen to the song)<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=r8lWkNnhJB0<\/a><\/p>\n

* DANS LE PONT D’AMSTERDAM (les paroles):
\n<\/em><\/strong>
\nDans le port d’Amsterdam
\nY a des marins qui chantent
\nLes r\u00eaves qui les hantent
\nAu large d’Amsterdam
\nDans le port d’Amsterdam
\nY a des marins qui dorment
\nComme des oriflammes
\nLe long des berges mornes
\nDans le port d’Amsterdam
\nY a des marins qui meurent
\nPleins de bi\u00e8re et de drames
\nAux premi\u00e8res lueurs
\nMais dans le port d’Amsterdam
\nY a des marins qui naissent
\nDans la chaleur \u00e9paisse
\nDes langueurs oc\u00e9anes<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Dans le port d’Amsterdam
\nY a des marins qui mangent
\nSur des nappes trop blanches
\nDes poissons ruisselants
\nIls vous montrent des dents
\nA croquer la fortune
\nA d\u00e9croisser la lune
\nA bouffer des haubans
\nEt \u00e7a sent la morue
\nJusque dans le coeur des frites
\nQue leurs grosses mains invitent
\nA revenir en plus
\nPuis se l\u00e8vent en riant
\nDans un bruit de temp\u00eate
\nReferment leur braguette
\nEt sortent en rotant<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dans le port d’Amsterdam
\nY a des marins qui dansent
\nEn se frottant la panse
\nSur la panse des femmes
\nEt ils tournent et ils dansent
\nComme des soleils crach\u00e9s
\nDans le son d\u00e9chir\u00e9
\nD’un accord\u00e9on rance
\nIls se tordent le cou
\nPour mieux s’entendre rire
\nJusqu’\u00e0 ce que tout \u00e0 coup
\nL’accord\u00e9on expire
\nAlors le geste grave
\nAlors le regard fier
\nIls ram\u00e8nent leur batave
\nJusqu’en pleine lumi\u00e8re<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dans le port d’Amsterdam
\nY a des marins qui boivent
\nEt qui boivent et reboivent
\nEt qui reboivent encore
\nIls boivent \u00e0 la sant\u00e9
\nDes putains d’Amsterdam
\nDe Hambourg ou d’ailleurs
\nEnfin ils boivent aux dames
\nQui leur donnent leur joli corps
\nQui leur donnent leur vertu
\nPour une pi\u00e8ce en or
\nEt quand ils ont bien bu
\nSe plantent le nez au ciel
\nSe mouchent dans les \u00e9toiles
\nEt ils pissent comme je pleure
\nSur les femmes infid\u00e8les
\nDans le port d’Amsterdam
\nDans le port d’Amsterdam.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now compare it to David Bowie’s cover, of the same song of course, simply translated as “In the Port of Amsterdam<\/strong>“:<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ejQS9kQDXmk<\/a><\/p>\n

* IN THE PORT OF AMSTERDAM (lyrics):
\n<\/strong>
\nIn the port of Amsterdam there’s a sailor who sings
\nOf the dreams that he brings from the wide open sea
\nIn the port of Amsterdam there’s a sailor who sleeps
\nWhile the river bank weeps to the old willow tree<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the port of Amsterdam there’s a sailor who dies
\nFull of beer, full of cries in a drunken town fight
\nIn the port of Amsterdam there’s a sailor who’s born
\nOn a hot muggy morn by the dawn’s early light<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the port of Amsterdam where the sailors all meet
\nThere’s a sailor who eats only fish heads and tails
\nAnd he’ll show you his teeth that have rotted too soon
\nThat can haul up the sails that can swallow the moon<\/strong><\/p>\n

And he yells to the cook with his arms open wide
\n“Hey, bring me more fish, throw it down by my side”
\nAnd he wants so to belch but he’s too full to try
\nSo he stands up and laughs and he zips up his fly<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the port of Amsterdam you can see sailors dance
\nPaunches bursting their pants grinding women to porch
\nThey’ve forgotten the tune that their whiskey voice croaked
\nSplitting the night with the roar of their jokes<\/strong><\/p>\n

And they turn and they dance and they laugh and they lust
\nTill the rancid sound of the accordion bursts
\nAnd then out of the night with their pride in their pants
\nAnd the sluts that they tow underneath the street lamps<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the port of Amsterdam there’s a sailor who drinks
\nAnd he drinks and he drinks and he drinks once again
\nHe’ll drink to the health of the whores of Amsterdam
\nWho’ve given their bodies to a thousand other men<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, they’ve bargained their virtue, their goodness all gone
\nFor a few dirty coins, well, he just can’t go on
\nThrows his nose to the sky and he aims it up above
\nAnd he pisses like I cry on the unfaithful love<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the port of Amsterdam
\nIn the port of Amsterdam<\/strong><\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

Maybe it’s\u00a0somewhat of a\u00a0rhetorical question to some, but laquelle des deux\u00a0preferez-vous ? <\/em>(which one of the two\u00a0do you prefer?)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today we discover\u00a0a song by a special\u00a0*Belgian*\u00a0artist. Most people, till today, tend to mistake him for a French.\u00a0That, if anything,\u00a0reflects how\u00a0profound of an impact he left on la chanson fran\u00e7aise. His name is Jacques Brel, and contrary to many other singers and musicians, he\u00a0is one whose artistic\u00a0life “se passe de tout de commentaire” (does not…<\/p>\n

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