So, according to wikipedia :) Brel said in an interview that this song was not about heartbreak but was about the cowardice of men. Wikipedia is not always true but I can easily understand why Brel would say this. Men always cling to women and to love and feelings even when it's over. That's very coward. It means that men don't accept reality and fight lost battles instead of trying to fall in love with another person who would be, at last, the "good one"...
So, maybe he is half serious and half ironic. It's a kind of self-derision and mockery of all men who once tried to reconquer a lover who was gone. (damn, I'm in! ;)
He talks about "Ne me quitte pas" in a song called "le cheval" where he basically says that he regretted to have written it.
So, according to wikipedia :) Brel said in an interview that this song was not about heartbreak but was about the cowardice of men. Wikipedia is not always true but I can easily understand why Brel would say this. Men always cling to women and to love and feelings even when it's over. That's very coward. It means that men don't accept reality and fight lost battles instead of trying to fall in love with another person who would be, at last, the "good one"... So, maybe he is half serious and half ironic. It's a kind of self-derision and mockery of all men who once tried to reconquer a lover who was gone. (damn, I'm in! ;) He talks about "Ne me quitte pas" in a song called "le cheval" where he basically says that he regretted to have written it.