Want to Learn French? Listen to Françoise Hardy and Jacques Brel

I learned French in a lot of ways. I sat in a classroom, read the language, wrote in the language, spoke the language, and listened to everything I could find in the language. I was fond of podcasts, news and even TV shows (I strongly suggest Spiral, a French series similar to Law & Order). When it came to music, I first got into popular contemporary artists like Cœur de pirate and Stromae, adored by French speakers in both sides of the Atlantic. Their music was catchy and their music videos didn’t differ much from those American artists made.

Contemporary French in music, however, might have some features that make it harder to understand for novices. Try listening to Stromae’s breakout hit « Alors on dance » and you will find some slang, for example (learning slang is fun, but I’d reserve that to more advanced learners). To diversify your music taste and present you with French that contains less modern colloquialism, I suggest you the music of Françoise Hardy and Jacques Brel.

Hardy was a yé-yé girl from the 1960s, and her music may remind you of a mix of Lesley Gore and Joni Mitchell. Her songs lean more towards the acoustic side and deal with topics like love and loneliness. She recorded plenty of albums, so you’ll never be short of Françoise Hardy material to listen to with the excuse of practicing French. I find her music delightful for calm autumn days when all I want to do is bake some cookies and write in my journal.

Brel achieved popularity a decade before Hardy. A native of Brussels, his music deals with eclectic subjects like love, social class, Belgian national identity and humor. Brel is more of a poet rather than a top 40 singer, so expect his music to resemble passionate speeches at times. Other than a few lines in his native Dutch in a few songs, Brel’s music is all in an impeccable French that’s easy to follow. Like Hardy, Brel recorded lots of albums.

No francophile can omit these two legends of French music, so give them a chance and I’ll assure you your French listening skills will improve and you will have learned of two wonderful artists that are part of the collective memory of French people.