Jacques Brel: Quand On N'a Que L' Amour
Jacques Brel recorded "Quand On n'a que l'Amour" in 1956. It was the title song of his second album and it launched Brel’s breakout after singing for 3 years on the French cabaret and touring circuits. It reached number 3 on French charts.
Brel was dismissive about poetry. He once said: "I don't write poetry. I am no poet. I write songs." Despite Brel’s disavowals, this song has a highly articulated poetic structure. There are 11 stanzas, each with 4 lines. Each stanza except the last begins with the same anaphora (repetitive line)--“Quand on n’a que l’amour.” That repetition embeds a hypothetical new reality (i.e. having only love) in the mind of the listener. The first 10 stanzas have an ABBA rhyme scheme while the last one switches to ABAB and also drops the anaphora. Each stanza with the ABBA scheme has A-lines that end with an “our” sound ("amour," "jour," "toujour," "faubourgs," etc) while the B-line rhymes vary in each stanza.
Translators are accustomed to dealing with pressing issues like the number of angels dancing on the head of a pin. The title of this song is a fecund example of the number of permutations one can squeeze out of a handful of words. The French word "quand" means "when" in English, but some people prefer "if." "Quand" is more definitive, while "if" introduces a hypothetical that encourages speculation. "On" in French generally means "one," but it is not unusual to use "we" or "you." Then, there is the question whether the word "only" should precede or follow "have." In French, "ne...que" means "only" and wraps around a verb as in "n'avoir que" and can be followed either by a noun or a verb. In English, when "only" precedes a verb it typically qualifies that verb rather than a following noun, but sometimes there can be confusion. For example, saying "I can only hear music" might mean that you can't "see" music or that music is the only thing you can hear. Sometimes it's best to just stick with the original language.
Brel was dismissive about poetry. He once said: "I don't write poetry. I am no poet. I write songs." Despite Brel’s disavowals, this song has a highly articulated poetic structure. There are 11 stanzas, each with 4 lines. Each stanza except the last begins with the same anaphora (repetitive line)--“Quand on n’a que l’amour.” That repetition embeds a hypothetical new reality (i.e. having only love) in the mind of the listener. The first 10 stanzas have an ABBA rhyme scheme while the last one switches to ABAB and also drops the anaphora. Each stanza with the ABBA scheme has A-lines that end with an “our” sound ("amour," "jour," "toujour," "faubourgs," etc) while the B-line rhymes vary in each stanza.
Translators are accustomed to dealing with pressing issues like the number of angels dancing on the head of a pin. The title of this song is a fecund example of the number of permutations one can squeeze out of a handful of words. The French word "quand" means "when" in English, but some people prefer "if." "Quand" is more definitive, while "if" introduces a hypothetical that encourages speculation. "On" in French generally means "one," but it is not unusual to use "we" or "you." Then, there is the question whether the word "only" should precede or follow "have." In French, "ne...que" means "only" and wraps around a verb as in "n'avoir que" and can be followed either by a noun or a verb. In English, when "only" precedes a verb it typically qualifies that verb rather than a following noun, but sometimes there can be confusion. For example, saying "I can only hear music" might mean that you can't "see" music or that music is the only thing you can hear. Sometimes it's best to just stick with the original language.
In this video, Brel accompanies himself with the guitar. In later years, he abandoned the guitar because he preferred using his hands as part of his presentation. His manual gesticulations became a key part of his performance persona.
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Quand on n’a que l’amour à s’offrir en partage au jour du grand voyage qu’est notre grand amour. Quand on n’a que l’amour, mon amour, toi et moi, pour qu’éclatent de joie chaque heure et chaque jour. Quand on n’a que l’amour pour vivre nos promesses sans nulle autre richesse que d’y croire toujours. Quand on n’a que l’amour pour meubler de merveilles, et couvrir de soleil la laideur des faubourgs. Quand on n’a que l’amour pour unique raison, pour unique chanson et unique secours. Quand on n’a que l’amour pour habiller matin pauvres et malandrins de manteaux de velours. Quand on n’a que l’amour à offrir en prière pour les maux de la terre en simple troubadour. Quand on n’a que l’amour à offrir à ceux-là dont l’unique combat est de chercher le jour. Quand on n'a que l'amour pour tracer un chemin et forcer le destin à chaque carrefour Quand on n’a que l’amour pour parler aux canons et rien qu’une chanson pour convaincre un tambour. Alors, sans avoir rien que la force d’aimer, nous aurons dans nos mains-- ma mie, le monde entier. |
When we only have love to offer to share on the day of the grand journey that is our great love. When we only have love, my love, you and I, to erupt in joy every hour and every day. When we only have love to live our promises With no other reward than believe them forever. When we only have love to furnish with wonders, and cover with sun the ugliness of slums. When we only have love as only reason, as only song and only support. When we only have love to dress in the morning the poor and rogues in velvet coats. When we only have love to offer in prayer for the evils of earth like a simple troubadour. When we only have love to offer to those whose only struggle is to get through the day. When we only have love to chart a path and challenge fate at each crossroad When we only have love t to converse with canons and nothing but song to convince a drum. Then, with nothing more than the power of love, we will have in our hands-- my dear, the entire world. |
NB:
- “Quand on n’a que:” literally, “n’avoir que” means “to not have but” = “to only have.” The title is variously translated as: “When Love is All We Have,” “When We Only Have Love.”
- “malandrins” is an archaic usage (meaning rogues, miscreants, bandits) that Brel rescued from oblivion
Adaptations
Carl Sigman
American lyricist Carl Sigman (1909-2000) adapted Brel’s song in 1960 under the title “I Belong to Your Heart.” That same year, Sam Cooke (1931-64), “The King of Soul,” released a recording of it on the B side of another song “You Understand Me.” Both Sigman and Cooke were storied artists in their own spheres. Sigman began as a melodist, but with the encouragement of his friend Johnny Mercer he became one of Tin Pan Alley’s most successful lyricists and accumulated nearly a thousand songs on his roster. Cooke was a legendary songwriter and vocalist who wrote most of his own songs many of which became huge hits, like “You Send Me,” “Cupid,” “Chain Gang,” “Wonderful World,” “Bring It On Home to Me,” “A Change is Gonna Come,” and “Twistin’ the Night Away.”
“I Belong to Your Heart,” however, was for Cooke a song at 3 levels of separation—a melody conceived and written by Jacques Brel, adapted into English by Carl Sigman, and performed by Sam Cooke. Sigman’s lyrics, moreover, told a completely different story than Brel’s. Brel’s song postulated a hypothetical counterfactual situation (having only love) and unraveled the implications, envisioning a happier future. It was something of an intellectual exercise combining both logic and imagination. Sigman, on the other hand, in “I Belong to Your Heart,” portrayed a love-smitten situation of abject devotion and submission to another party. There is little documentation concerning the sales or popularity of this version of the song. Four years later, Sam Cooke was shot and killed under peculiar circumstances at a Los Angeles motel when only 33 years of age.
During the mid-1960s, Eric Blau and Mort Shuman fell into a close relationship with Brel and they concocted an Off-Broadway musical revue named “Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris.” They adapted Brel’s song “Quand on n’a que l’amour” into English with the name “If We Only have Love.” That show opened in 1968 at The Village Gate in Greenwich Village. The song was the final track in a 26-song lineup of Brel songs on the original cast recording. This placement on the menu helped it become an emblem of the entire show.
It was a quirky production, with 4 performers and no plot. John Wilson of the New York Times called it "the first librettoless musical." It was a musical revue of songs written by a relatively unknown Belgian guy who few people had ever seen but who smoked a lot and looked funny. Nevertheless, after a stumbling start the show successfully ran Off-Broadway for 4 years as well as in London’s West End and other international venues. In 1975 it was made into a film and in 2006 returned to Off-Broadway. All of these productions provided a booster rocket to Brel’s public image. He was indeed “alive and well” (if only for 10 more years) but living mostly on the Côte d'Azur.
It was a quirky production, with 4 performers and no plot. John Wilson of the New York Times called it "the first librettoless musical." It was a musical revue of songs written by a relatively unknown Belgian guy who few people had ever seen but who smoked a lot and looked funny. Nevertheless, after a stumbling start the show successfully ran Off-Broadway for 4 years as well as in London’s West End and other international venues. In 1975 it was made into a film and in 2006 returned to Off-Broadway. All of these productions provided a booster rocket to Brel’s public image. He was indeed “alive and well” (if only for 10 more years) but living mostly on the Côte d'Azur.
Blau and Shuman apparently wanted songs for their show that were closer to Brel’s original formula than Sigman's adaptation. In composing an English title for the song, they chose to translate the French word "Quand" ("when") with the hypothetical “If” to begin and placed “only” ("ne...que") before “have.” Although their lyrics are completely different from Brel’s, they hew mostly to his path of meaning and even replicate his anaphora beginning each stanza. A side-by-side comparison of the Brel lyrics, my translation, Sigman's adaptation and the Blau/Shuman lyrics is here.
Strategists often use “what if” questions to explore the hypothetical consequences of future situations. Eric Blau and Mort Shuman concluded the playlist of their musical revue with their adaptation of Brel’s climactic song: “If We Only Have Love.” Departees therefore exited the theater with their heads full of songs and hope in their hearts as fuel for arriving at their own conclusions.
The large number of English language vocal “covers” of "If We Only Have Love" provide a wide range of choice and interpretations: Dionne Warwick, Johnny Matthis, Olivia Newton-John, Dion, Shirley Bassey, Barry Manilow, and more. While they all use Blau and Shuman’s adaptation, some swap out certain stanzas or adjust their placement. Without any strong preference, Dionne Warwick's version follows below.
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