"Le Plat Pays" (Translation: 'The Flat Country') is a French-language song by Belgian singer

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (, ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, l ...

about his home country. It also exists in a Dutch-language version as "Mijn vlakke land" ('My Flat Country'), also performed by him. The French lyrics are by Jacques Brel, the Dutch lyrics by

Ernst van Altena Ernst Rudolf van Altena (11 December 1933, Amsterdam – 15 June 1999, Landsmeer) was a Dutch poet, writer and translator. He was best known for his translations of chansons by Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (, ; 8 April 1929 – ...

Concept

Recorded on 6 March 1962, the song describes the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

as the final wasteland of Belgium's borders, then mentions the mist, the winds from all corners and

cathedrals A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

as "the only mountains" his country has. Brel sees the sky as "so low" that "a canal gets lost", and "so gray", that "a canal would hang itself". The low brooding sky brings his people

humility Humility is the quality of being humble. Dictionary definitions accentuate humility as a low self-regard and sense of unworthiness. In a religious context humility can mean a recognition of self in relation to a deity (i.e. God), and subsequent ...

. Yet, despite the grey skies and rain he still declares his country as "his". The flat country referred to in the song is West Flanders, the region in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

from which his family originated. It is a region with many open fields and few trees. Because this landscape is rather typical not only of the

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

, but of large swathes of the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

, the Dutch version of the song is popular in

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

.He also refers to the Flemish seasonal workers who left their farms every winter to work in the textile mills of Northern France from November to May. (Les fils de Novembre qui nous reviennent en May)

In popular culture

The success encountered in Paris by his Swiss mentor friend

Jean Villard Gilles Jean Villard, Pseudonym, known as Gilles (2 June 1895 in Montreux (Switzerland) – 26 March 1982 in Vevey), originating from Daillens, was a French Swiss multi-talented chansonnier, poet, humorist, comedian, actor, and cabaretist. He was ...

' "

La Venoge The Venoge () is a Swiss river located in the canton of Vaud, a tributary of the Rhône, via Lake Geneva. The Swiss poet Jean Villard Gilles wrote a poem about it, '' La Venoge'', in 1954. Geography The Venoge has its source at L'Isle in t ...

", about an unknown little river, inspired and encouraged him to write the song.

Valencian Valencian () or Valencian language () is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community (Spain), and unofficially in the Carche, El Carche comarca in Región de Murcia, Murcia (Spain), to refer to the Romance lan ...

singer

Ovidi Montllor Ovidi Montllor (; 4 February 1942 in Alcoi, Spain – 10 March 1995 in Barcelona, Spain) was a Spanish singer-songwriter and actor. Career A native of Alcoi, at the age of 24 Montllor moved to Barcelona, where he was a member of various independ ...

wrote a largely modified version, "El Meu Poble Alcoi" ("My Hometown

Alcoi Alcoy ( ca-valencia, Alcoi) is an industrial and university city, region and municipality located in the Valencian Community, Spain. The Serpis river crosses the municipal boundary of Alcoy. The local authority reported a population of 61,135 res ...

"), which he dedicated to the city where he was born and grown up. The song was also referenced in the original French-language version of ''

Asterix in Belgium ''Asterix in Belgium'' (french: Astérix chez les Belges, lit=Asterix among the Belgians/Belgae) is the twenty-fourth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (story) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It is noted as the last A ...

,'' where the Belgian leader tells

Asterix ''Asterix'' or ''The Adventures of Asterix'' (french: Astérix or , "Asterix the Gaul") is a ''bande dessinée'' comic book series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight the Roman Republic, wi ...

Obelix Obelix (; french: Obélix) is a cartoon character in the French comic book series ''Asterix''. He works as a menhir sculptor and deliveryman, and is Asterix's best friend. Obelix is noted for his obesity, the menhirs he carries around on his bac ...

and Vitalstatistix that'' "in his flat country

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...

s are the only mountains."'' The Italian singer and author

Herbert Pagani Herbert Avraham Haggiag Pagani (25 April 1944 in Tripoli – 16 August 1988 in Palm Springs, California) was a Jewish-Italian artist and musician. Biography Pagani was born in a Jewish family in Libya, just around the time when the country sto ...

wrote and interpreted a cover titled "La Lombardia".

References

Jacques Brel songs 1959 songs Songs written by Jacques Brel French-language songs Songs about Belgium Belgian patriotic songs {{1950s-pop-song-stub