Au Suivant

Album: Jacques Brel (1966)
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Songfacts®:

  • This is a somewhat off-beat song about a virgin soldier whose first encounter with the opposite sex is in the incredibly sordid setting of a mobile brothel during the war, presumably the Second World War. Although such brothels did exist, Brel was obviously not writing from personal experience because he was born in 1929 and therefore too young to enlist. Nevertheless, he captures the atmosphere extremely well, and this was one of his most popular songs.
  • After the war and for the rest of his life, the narrator, a (former) soldier, is haunted by the voice of his commanding officer "Au suivant!" literally "To the following one" but generally translated as "Next." >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2
  • The French artist -M- (Mathieu Chedid) covered this in 2003 on Aux Suivants, a compilation album of songs by Jacques Brel. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Bertrand - Paris, France

Comments: 2

  • Ivan Araque from NycThank you, Gian Luca, that is a great info for a great song!
  • Gian Luca Ferme from Chicago, IllinoisRecently, I was reading Never Come Morning by Nelson Algren and there is a scene in which the protagonist falls for his friends' invitations to get his girlfriend drunk and rape her. When she comes to she goes on repeating, "Next... Next..." and I immediately thought about this song. Algren was fairly popular in France (he had a famous relationship with Simone de Beauvoir, and she even came to Chicago to visit him): I wouldn't be surprised if Brel had read that book (the song is from 1966, Algren's book from 1948).
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