Jacques Brel

Et la guerre arriva, et nous voilà ce soir. And the war arrived, and here we are tonight.

I love the music of Jacques Brel. This Belgian who died in 1978 crafted many songs, usually with several depths of meaning.

I never understood the significance of this last line in his song, Mon Enfance, until I was in France.

The song portrays an ideal childhood full of imagination and adventure and abruptly ends with this line. Why the sudden fast-forward at the end?

It was a few decades ago and I was sitting in a room with a few people who had lived through World War II.

I am fascinated by how people react to the history that is paraded through their lives, so I started asking questions. I also love a good story, and I was sure that these people in a small village in France would be able to entertain me for hours. I looked forward to hearing the real stories of how it was during the war.

One of the gentlemen started to give me a reply.

Another hissed, “Fermez ta gueule!” Shut your trap! His anger rose in every inch of his body.

The understanding of the last line of the song hit me as fast as this insult had been hurled.

All of these people had lived through the war, but it was not to be remembered. It had to be erased from everyone’s past. For many, it had not been a pleasant experience.

I suspected that another reason was that the feelings for the German soldiers varied. Some French women had German boyfriends, complete with being able to obtain certain luxury items. At the end of the war, many of these women had their heads shaved and were paraded around their towns naked. On the opposite end of the spectrum, others had family killed by their invaders.

These feelings run deep. Perhaps it was better to completely obliterate the memory of the war than drudge up feelings that would cause old wounds to bleed again. Live in the present and don’t allow old hurts to affect it.

Note: If you want to explore some of the music of Jacques Brel, look for some of my favourite songs: Quand On A Que L’Amour, Ne Me Quitte Pas, La Chanson de Vieux Amants, La Ville S’Endormait, Le Plat Pays, and, of course, Mon Enfance.