Jeanne (Georges Brassens song)

"Jeanne" is a song by French singer-songwriter Georges Brassens, released in December 1962 on his album Les Trompettes de la renommée. Brassens recorded the song on October 12, 1962, at Studio Blanqui in Paris.

The song is a tribute to Jeanne Planche (née Le Bonniec), who, together with her husband Marcel Planche, sheltered Brassens at their home in the 14th arrondissement during and after the German occupation of France. Brassens had been requisitioned for the Service du travail obligatoire (STO) and, after receiving leave from the German labor camp at Basdorf, chose not to return to Germany. In 1944 he took refuge with the Planche family at 9, impasse Florimont.

Background

Brassens lived at the Planche household for more than twenty years. The house at the impasse Florimont was extremely modest, lacking gas, electricity and a sewer connection, and the courtyard was home to a large collection of animals, including dogs, cats, canaries, turtles and a duck. The duck later became the subject of another Brassens song, La cane de Jeanne.

Brassens remained attached to the Planche household, also after he became a famous singer. In 1955, he purchased the house at impasse Florimont as well as the adjoining property and improved the modest dwelling. The relationship between Brassens and Jeanne is also reflected in Chanson pour l'Auvergnat, released in 1954. That song was inspired by Marcel Planche, Jeanne's husband, who was nicknamed "l'Auvergnat". Jeanne can consequently be regarded as a complementary tribute to the couple who had provided Brassens with shelter and support. Brassens continued to live at the impasse Florimont until 1966. Marcel Planche died in 1965, and in May 1966 Jeanne remarried, at the age of 75, to Georges Sanjak, a man 37 years younger than her. Brassens disapproved of the marriage and subsequently left the house at the impasse Florimont.

Theme

Jeanne portrays Jeanne's home as an open refuge for people without a home or social standing. The "inn" in the song is presented as a place where anyone can enter without having to justify themselves and where strangers are accepted as members of the family.

The generosity attributed to Jeanne is expressed through a deliberate contrast between material poverty and emotional richness. Her table may be poorly supplied, but what she gives is transformed by the manner in which she gives it. The song therefore celebrates hospitality, generosity and unconditional acceptance rather than material wealth. Jeanne has no biological children, but Brassens presents her as a mother to everyone: her generosity extends beyond conventional family relationships to encompass "all the children" of the earth, sea and sky.

Poetic structure

The song occupies an unusual position in Brassens's body of work. According to the detailed poetic analysis of the song by Analyse Brassens, it has been described as the song in Brassens's repertoire that comes closest to free verse. The beginnings of the stanzas follow a comparatively regular structure, including two alexandrine lines followed by an octosyllabic line, while the remainder of the stanzas becomes much less regular.

The rhyme scheme is similarly irregular. The song makes use of rhyme, association and assonance, while some lines do not rhyme at all. The resulting freedom of rhythm distinguishes Jeanne from many of Brassens's more conventionally structured songs. This unusual poetic structure also complements the subject of the song: the language is placed within a recognizable musical and stanzaic framework while retaining a considerable degree of freedom.

Recording and release

Jeanne was recorded on October 12, 1962, at Studio Blanqui in Paris. The recording features Brassens on vocals and rhythm guitar, Barthélémy Rosso on second/lead guitar and Pierre Nicolas on double bass.

The song appeared as the second track on the album Les Trompettes de la renommée, released in December 1962. The original 25cm Philips album was recorded in mono and was subsequently reissued in various formats.

Jeanne was also issued separately by Philips. In 1962 it appeared on a Philips "Succès" single (B 373.073 F), with La Marguerite on the other side. A further Philips EP, catalogue number 432.902 BE, was released in May 1963 and contained Les Trompettes de la renommée, Jeanne and L'Assassinat.

Cover versions

In 2012, the Ousanousava group recorded Jeanne for the tribute album Ces artistes qui nous lient : de Brassens à Nougaro, which brought together reinterpretations of songs by Georges Brassens and Claude Nougaro alongside songs by other French-language artists.

The song has also been documented in cover-song databases, including SecondHandSongs, which lists Jeanne as a composition written by Georges Brassens.

See also

• Chanson pour l'Auvergnat