Amsterdam (Jacques Brel song)

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"Amsterdam"
Jacques Brel-Amsterdam (1966 single cover).jpg
Song by Jacques Brel
LanguageFrench
Released1964
Songwriter(s) Jacques Brel

"Amsterdam" is a song by Jacques Brel. It combines a powerful melancholic crescendo with a rich poetic account of the exploits of sailors on shore leave in Amsterdam. Musically, it takes its base melody line from the melody of the English folk song Greensleeves.

Contents

Brel never recorded this for a studio album, and his only version was released on the live album Olympia 1964 . Despite this, it has been one of his most enduringly popular works. [1] It was one of the songs Mort Shuman translated into English for the musical Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris .

Brel worked on the song at his house overlooking the Mediterranean at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, the house he shared with Sylvie Rivet, a publicist for Philips; a place she had introduced him to in 1960. "It was the ideal place for him to create, and to indulge his passion for boats and planes. One morning at six o'clock he read the words of Amsterdam to Fernand, a restaurateur who was about to set off fishing for scorpion fish and conger eels for the bouillabaisse. Overcome, Fernand broke out in sobs and cut open some sea urchins to help control his emotion." [2]

Originally the song was situated in Zeebrugge, but moved to Amsterdam as "it sounded better to the ear". [3]

Cover versions

David Bowie version

Scott Walker recorded several of these translated Brel songs in the late 1960s. This inspired David Bowie to record his own versions of "Amsterdam" in the early 1970s. Bowie's studio version was released as the B-side to his single "Sorrow", released in September 1973. [4] (This recording may have been made in the summer of 1973 [5] or in late 1971. [6] ) Brel refused to meet Bowie when he visited Paris, saying he did not wish to meet a "pédé" ("faggot"), but the latter nevertheless still admired him. [7]

Bowie's version is also found on several other releases:

Other English covers

Scott Walker recorded a version on his 1967, debut solo album, Scott .

Dave Van Ronk recorded a version on his 1971 album, Van Ronk .

Fred Holstein recorded a version for his 1977 album "Chicago and Other Ports."

The Dresden Dolls often play a cover of the song live with English lyrics. More recently, Amanda Palmer has performed the original French version in her live solo show with Jason Webley playing accordion.

The Bolshoi recorded a version for their debut single Sob Story in 1984.

Goodbye Mr Mackenzie recorded a version for their debut album Good Deeds and Dirty Rags .

Irish cabaret singer Camille O'Sullivan performs a cover of the song as part of her show with the Spiegeltent. Irish singer-songwriter Jack L has also recorded a version of the song.

John Denver released a version of this song on his album, Take Me To Tomorrow (1970). He released a live version on Live In London (1976). The song was also included as a bonus track on the 2001 reissued CD set of the 1975 live album, An Evening With John Denver. The bonus track performance was taken from John's concert on August 14, 1973, at the Red Rocks Park Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado.

Bellowhead have recorded Amsterdam on their 2010 album Hedonism .

Rod McKuen made his own translation of "Amsterdam" and included it on his album Rod McKuen Sings Jacques Brel.

In 2007 Marc Almond recorded a version for the EP "Brel Extras" released 2008 (http://www.discogs.com/Marc-Almond-Brel-Extras/release/1481753)

Dutch covers

Both Dutch band De Dijk and Dutch artists Acda en De Munnik recorded Dutch language versions of the song, called "Amsterdam" and "De stad Amsterdam" (The city Amsterdam) respectively. Other Dutch versions can be found by Liesbeth List (Liesbeth List zingt Jacques Brel), Jan Mesdag (Jan Mesdag zingt Brel) and Jeroen Willems (Jeroen Willems zingt Jacques Brel).

Other languages

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References

  1. "Jacques Brel". Last.fm. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  2. Paris Match no 2992 September 2006
  3. "Une soirée avec la fille de Jacques Brel". 9 October 2018.
  4. Discogs - Sorrow / Amsterdam - 1973-Sept vinyl-7", RCA Victor (RCA 2424) UK
  5. Kevin Cann (2010). Any Day Now - David Bowie: The London Years: 1947-1974: p.311
  6. Chris O'Leary (2015). Rebel Rebel: p.496
  7. Jérôme Soligny - David Bowie - 10/18 (2002) - Enivrez-Vous
  8. "Klaus Hoffmann's version of Amsterdam". WhoSampled. Retrieved 2015-03-31.
  9. "Lyrics of the Klaus Hoffmann version". Edition Montana. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-31.
  10. 1 2 3 "Οι διασκευες του Dans Le Port D'Amsterdam..." Savoir Ville (in Greek). 2015-02-26. Retrieved 2022-01-14.