Marie-Madeleine Lison, a florist in
Brussels of whom Brel was a client, was convinced she was the inspiration for the song. She was a model when she was younger, and was photographed by celebrity photographer Verhassel made a series of portraits of her, one of which featured her surrounded by lilacs. Brel would have been inspired by this photo, as it hung in her florist shop. A more likely theory is that the song is based on a good friend of Brel's, who he was introduced to through
Georges Brassens. Madeleine Zeffa Biver was the daughter of a communist father and a Jewish mother She "escaped the Nazis in 44 then an abusive husband a few years later. When she was twenty, she often visited the poets, musicians, and artists of
Saint-Germain-des-Prés while she worked as a model for hairdressers in Paris. She once stood up Brel on a date, hence the subject matter of the song: "Ce soir, j'attends Madeleine; j'ai apporté des lilas; j'en apporte toutes les semaines…" ("Tonight, I'm waiting for Madeleine, I brought lilacs, I bring them every week...") == Recordings ==