''Mathilde'' is a

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (, ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, l ...

with music by

Gérard Jouannest Gérard Jouannest (2 May 1933 – 16 May 2018) was a French pianist and composer. Early life Jouannest was born on 2 May 1933 in Vanves near Paris. His father was a piano manufacturer. Jouannest graduated from the Conservatoire de Paris in 1954. ...

. It was one of the five tracks appearing on the B-side of his eighth album, '' Ces gens-là'' (Those people), released in 1966 on a 10-inch record (ref. 80 222s) It is what Brel himself called a "monster" (a master song of his album). It was one of his favourite songs of his own repertoire, about which he said "That song's really good. Structurally speaking, it's well-written." The music was composed by Gérard Jouannest. Brel performed it for the first time in public on 23 July 1963 at

Knokke Casino Knokke Casino (also called Knokke-Heist Casino; french: Casino de Knokke; nl, Casino Knokke) is a sea-front casino in the town of Knokke, in the administrative community Knokke-Heist, in the province of West Flanders in Flanders, Belgium. Descrip ...

. The concert was filmed by

Belgian television Television in Belgium was introduced in 1953 and began with one channel each in Dutch and French. The country is heavily cabled, with 93% of households watching television through cable as of 2003. History The three Belgian Communities – Dutc ...

. The song became the one Brel performed as last song in concerts the following years.

Lyrics

Jacques, the narrator, having learnt about the return of Mathilde, a former lover with whom he had a painful relationship, feeling once more inexorably taken over by passion, calls on many of those close to him: his mother ("Mother, now's the time to pray for my soul" and later on "Mother, stop praying, your Jacques's going back to hell"); a maid called Maria who, we might guess, has been an occasional lover ("You the maid, you Maria, you'd better change our bed sheets..."); a bougnat (coalman and barkeeper) ("Bougnat, put away your wine, tonight I'll drink from my sorrow..."); his friends ("My friends, don't leave me, tonight I'm going back to the front..."). He also brings up different parts of his body which symbolise his feelings: his heart ("... My heart, stop racing, remember she tore you apart..."), his hands ("And you my hands, tremble no more, remember when I cried on you..."). His pleas will prove vain. The line between love and hate is tenuous (Jacques goes from "damned Mathilde" to "my beautiful Mathilde"), and he knows from the start that she will come back to him, though he has loved her as much as she has hurt him. Mathilde's return will spark new passions and new torments. Like ''

Marieke Marieke, sometimes written as Marike or Marique (), is a Dutch-language feminine given name, a diminutive of Maria. The Polish, Greek and Japanese equivalent is Marika. The ''-ke'' suffix is characteristic for Flemish, Brabantian and Limburgish d ...

'' and ''Madeleine'', ''Mathilde'' is a song about passionate love for a woman whose name begins with "M".

Covers

* In 1968,

Mort Shuman Mortimer Shuman (12 November 1938 – 2 November 1991) was an American singer, pianist and songwriter, best known as co-writer of many 1960s rock and roll hits, including " Viva Las Vegas". He also wrote and sang many songs in French, such a ...

and Eric Blau translated the lyrics into English for their

musical Musical is the adjective of music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own du ...

Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris ''Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris'' is a musical revue of the songs of Jacques Brel. Brel's songs were translated into English by Eric Blau and Mort Shuman, who also provided the story. The original 1968 Off-Broadway produc ...

'', with Shuman performing the song in the show and on the cast recording. Scott Walker also recorded this English version on his first solo album the previous year. * In

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom K ...

, the song was covered by

Claude Nougaro Claude Nougaro (, oc, Claudi Nogaròu; 9 September 1929 – 4 March 2004) was a French songwriter and singer. Life and career Claude Nougaro was born in Toulouse to a respected French opera singer, Pierre Nougaro, and a piano teacher, Liette ...

, (album ''Récréation'') who replaced "Your Jacques" with "Your Claude" in the line "Your Jacques's going back to hell". * In 2006, it was featured in

Juliette Gréco Juliette Gréco (; 7 February 1927 – 23 September 2020) was a French singer and actress. Her best known songs are "Paris Canaille" (1962, originally sung by Léo Ferré), "La Javanaise" (1963, written by Serge Gainsbourg for Gréco) and "Dés ...

's cover album: ''Le Temps d'une chanson.''

References

{{authority control 1963 songs Jacques Brel songs Claude Nougaro songs French-language songs Songs written by Jacques Brel