Georges Brassens
La mauvaise réputation

THE REVIEW

"La mauvaise réputation" ("The Bad Reputation") is a collection of songs published in previous years, dating back to 1953. Even in these early songs (he composed about 170) there is already a revelation of the unsurpassable melodic invention and unparalleled literary skill and wit that characterize the entire work of the poet-musician; despite their essential instrumentation (voice, two guitars and a double bass), these songs show us how Brassens can be considered the first singer-songwriter with a complete sense, aware of his poetic and musical activity, to such an extent that one can say that, even if he is not the best among the past and future, there is and will be no one better than him. I also want to emphasize that, contrary to appearances, Brassens held music in higher regard than the text, and if a first judgment can make us say: - but there is no music! -, a careful listen reveals that the music is made by the voice, by the extraordinary melodies it produces, treated like any other instrument.

The songs that make up the collection are:

1- "La mauvaise réputation"
2- "Le fossoyeur" (The Gravedigger)
3- "Le gorille" (The Gorilla, of which de André made a translation)
4- "Le petit cheval" (The Little Horse, text by Paul Fort)
5- "Ballade des dames du temps jadis" (Ballad of the Ladies of Times Past, text by François Villon)
6- "Hécatombe" (Massacre)
7- "La chasse aux papillons" (The Butterfly Hunt)
8- "Le parapluie" (The Umbrella)
9- "La marine" (The Navy, text by Paul Fort)
10- "Corn d'aurochs" (I am not precisely sure of the meaning of this idiomatic expression, aurochs is the wild ox, a prehistoric animal)
11- "Il suffit de passer le pont"
12- "Comme hier" (Like Yesterday, text by Paul Fort)

I do not think it is appropriate to discuss Paul Fort and François Villon here; anyone who knows nothing about them can find them in any literary encyclopedia.