Emma, to my mind even that translation is a bit "cute" compared with Brel's acid-tongued original. For example, there's a world of difference between:

Car vu que tu etais son amant
Je sais que tu prendras soin de ma femme
(Literally: "Since you were her lover, I know you'll take care of my wife")

and:
Your deceit cut like a knife
But please take care of my wife

One is sharp and ironic (in the original sense), and the other is wimpy and sniveling. But that's just my opinion. It certainly is a damn sight better than "Seasons in the Sun"!

Frog: I would disagree with your statement that "some Yank took the tunes and wrote banal lyrics to them." Rod McKuen definitely did that to "Le Moribond". But the person who translated the greatest number of Brel's songs into English was Mort Shuman. While I don't think he hit a home run every time, many of his translations come close to the sense of the original and are anything but banal. Listen to "My Death" ("La Mort"), "Jef", and "Alone" ("Seul") -- especially as sung by Elly Stone.

It also may not be the wisest choice to insult someone you don't know...he might turn out to be an outstanding musician, jazz historian, and teacher. That being said, welcome to the Mudcat.

Aloha,
Mark