2:35
Ces gens-là, 1964
Written by Gérard Jouannest and Jacques Brel
Delivered in near-hysterical declamations as the music swirls to a mad crescendo, this song is about the return of the titular Mathilde, an event which apparently fills him with dread. He knows that her presence means he will be lost again, even as he must go to her. "Toi la servante toi la Maria / Va tendre mon grand lit de draps / Mathilde m'est revenue / Amis ne comptez plus sur moi / Je crache au ciel encore une fois." Brel's vocal accurately captures the inner emotional turmoil of the man driven to despair by this kind of love that is akin to madness.