Édith Piaf (born Édith Giovanna Gassion, 19 December, 1915 – 11 October, 1963), was a French singer and cultural icon who became universally regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads. Among her songs are "La Vie en rose" (1946), "Non, je ne regrette rien" (1960), "Hymne à l'amour" (1949), "Milord" (1959), "La Foule" (1957), "l'Accordéoniste" (1955), and "Padam... Padam..." (1951). Read Full BioÉdith Piaf (born Édith Giovanna Gassion, 19 December, 1915 – 11 October, 1963), was a French singer and cultural icon who became universally regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads. Among her songs are "La Vie en rose" (1946), "Non, je ne regrette rien" (1960), "Hymne à l'amour" (1949), "Milord" (1959), "La Foule" (1957), "l'Accordéoniste" (1955), and "Padam... Padam..." (1951).
Despite the numerous biographies, many facts and events of Édith's life are shrouded in mystery. She was born Édith Giovanna Gassion in Belleville, Paris, France, the high-immigration district later described by Daniel Pennac. Legend has it that she was born on the pavement of Rue de Belleville 72 but according to her birth certificate that was at Hôpital Tenon, the Belleville arrondissement hospital. She was named Édith after the executed British nurse Edith Cavell (Piaf —Parisian jargon for "sparrow"— came from a nickname she would receive twenty years later).
Her mother, Annetta Giovanna Maillard (1898 – 1945), was a partly-Italian 17-year-old girl, native of Livorno, working as a café singer under the pseudonym Line Marsa; from her, Édith took the middle name of Giovanna. Her father, Louis-Alphonse Gassion (1881 – 1944), was a street acrobat with a theatrical past. The little Édith was soon abandoned and left for a short time to her maternal grandmother, Mena (probably a Kabyle). Shortly after, Édith's father brought the child to his mother, who ran a brothel in Normandy, and then joined the French Army (1916). Thus Édith was in contact with the prostitutes and the various attenders of the brothel since her early years, a circumstance which must have had a deep impact on her personality and vision of life.
From the age of three to seven she was blind. As part of Piaf's legend, she allegedly recovered her sight after her grandmother's prostitutes went on a pilgrimage to Saint Thérèse de Lisieux. In 1929 she joined her father in his acrobatic street performances. Then took a room at Grand Hôtel de Clermont (18 rue Veron, Paris 18ème) and separated from him, going her own way as a street singer in Pigalle, Ménilmontant and Paris suburbs (cf. the song "Elle fréquentait la Rue Pigalle"). She was about 16 years of age when she fell in love with a delivery-boy, Louis Dupont, and shortly after had a child, a little girl named Marcelle. Sadly, Marcelle died in infancy of meningitis.
In 1935, Édith was discovered in the Pigalle area of Paris by the nightclub owner Louis Leplée, whose club was frequented by the upper and lower classes alike. He persuaded her to sing despite her extreme nervousness, which, combined with her height of only 4' 8" (142 cm) inspired him to give her the nickname that would stay with her for the rest of her life and become her stage name: La Môme Piaf (The Little Sparrow). Her first record was produced in the same year. Shortly afterwards, Leplée was murdered and Piaf was accused of being an accessory; she was acquitted.
In 1940, Jean Cocteau wrote the successful play Le Bel Indifférent for her to star in. She began to make friends with famous people, such as the actor Maurice Chevalier and the poet Jacques Borgeat. She wrote the lyrics of many of her songs, and collaborated with composers on the tunes.
Her signature song, "La vie en rose" (which was voted a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1998) was written in the middle of the German occupation of Paris in World War II. During this time, she was in great demand and very successful. She befriended many high-ranking Germans and sang for them. It is said that she collaborated with the Nazis, too. After the war, she toured Europe, the United States, and South America, becoming an internationally known figure. Her popularity in the U.S. was such that she appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show eight times. She helped to launch the career of Charles Aznavour, taking him on tour with her in France and the United States.
The great love of Piaf's life, the boxer Marcel Cerdan, died in 1949. Piaf was married twice. Her first husband was Jacques Pills, a singer; they married in 1952 and divorced in 1956. Her second husband, Theophanis Lamboukas (also known as Théo Sarapo), was a hairdresser-turned-singer and actor, and was twenty years younger than Piaf; they married in 1962.
In 1951 she was in a car accident, and thereafter had difficulty breaking a serious morphine habit.
The Paris Olympia is the place where Piaf achieved fame and where, just a few months before her death, she gave one of her most memorable concerts while barely able to stand. In early 1963, Piaf recorded her last song, "L'homme de Berlin".
At the early age of 47, Piaf died of cancer in Plascassier, on the French riviera, on October 10, 1963. Her friend Jean Cocteau, very shocked and afflicted by her death, died a few hours later. Her body was returned to Paris where her death was only announced on October 11, the official date of her death. She was buried in Père Lachaise cemetery, Paris. Although she was forbidden a Mass by the Roman Catholic archbishop of Paris (because of her lifestyle), her funeral procession drew hundreds of thousands of mourners onto the streets of Paris and the ceremony at the cemetery was jammed with more than forty thousand fans. Charles Aznavour recalled that Piaf's funeral procession was the only time, since the end of World War II, that Parisian traffic came to a complete stop.
There is a museum dedicated to Piaf, the Musée Édith Piaf at 5, rue Crespin du Gast, 75011, Paris.
Today she is still remembered and revered as one of the greatest singers France has ever produced. Her life was one of sharp contrasts: the range of her fame as opposed to her tragic personal life, and her fragile small figure on stage with the resounding power of her voice.
Despite the numerous biographies, many facts and events of Édith's life are shrouded in mystery. She was born Édith Giovanna Gassion in Belleville, Paris, France, the high-immigration district later described by Daniel Pennac. Legend has it that she was born on the pavement of Rue de Belleville 72 but according to her birth certificate that was at Hôpital Tenon, the Belleville arrondissement hospital. She was named Édith after the executed British nurse Edith Cavell (Piaf —Parisian jargon for "sparrow"— came from a nickname she would receive twenty years later).
Her mother, Annetta Giovanna Maillard (1898 – 1945), was a partly-Italian 17-year-old girl, native of Livorno, working as a café singer under the pseudonym Line Marsa; from her, Édith took the middle name of Giovanna. Her father, Louis-Alphonse Gassion (1881 – 1944), was a street acrobat with a theatrical past. The little Édith was soon abandoned and left for a short time to her maternal grandmother, Mena (probably a Kabyle). Shortly after, Édith's father brought the child to his mother, who ran a brothel in Normandy, and then joined the French Army (1916). Thus Édith was in contact with the prostitutes and the various attenders of the brothel since her early years, a circumstance which must have had a deep impact on her personality and vision of life.
From the age of three to seven she was blind. As part of Piaf's legend, she allegedly recovered her sight after her grandmother's prostitutes went on a pilgrimage to Saint Thérèse de Lisieux. In 1929 she joined her father in his acrobatic street performances. Then took a room at Grand Hôtel de Clermont (18 rue Veron, Paris 18ème) and separated from him, going her own way as a street singer in Pigalle, Ménilmontant and Paris suburbs (cf. the song "Elle fréquentait la Rue Pigalle"). She was about 16 years of age when she fell in love with a delivery-boy, Louis Dupont, and shortly after had a child, a little girl named Marcelle. Sadly, Marcelle died in infancy of meningitis.
In 1935, Édith was discovered in the Pigalle area of Paris by the nightclub owner Louis Leplée, whose club was frequented by the upper and lower classes alike. He persuaded her to sing despite her extreme nervousness, which, combined with her height of only 4' 8" (142 cm) inspired him to give her the nickname that would stay with her for the rest of her life and become her stage name: La Môme Piaf (The Little Sparrow). Her first record was produced in the same year. Shortly afterwards, Leplée was murdered and Piaf was accused of being an accessory; she was acquitted.
In 1940, Jean Cocteau wrote the successful play Le Bel Indifférent for her to star in. She began to make friends with famous people, such as the actor Maurice Chevalier and the poet Jacques Borgeat. She wrote the lyrics of many of her songs, and collaborated with composers on the tunes.
Her signature song, "La vie en rose" (which was voted a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1998) was written in the middle of the German occupation of Paris in World War II. During this time, she was in great demand and very successful. She befriended many high-ranking Germans and sang for them. It is said that she collaborated with the Nazis, too. After the war, she toured Europe, the United States, and South America, becoming an internationally known figure. Her popularity in the U.S. was such that she appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show eight times. She helped to launch the career of Charles Aznavour, taking him on tour with her in France and the United States.
The great love of Piaf's life, the boxer Marcel Cerdan, died in 1949. Piaf was married twice. Her first husband was Jacques Pills, a singer; they married in 1952 and divorced in 1956. Her second husband, Theophanis Lamboukas (also known as Théo Sarapo), was a hairdresser-turned-singer and actor, and was twenty years younger than Piaf; they married in 1962.
In 1951 she was in a car accident, and thereafter had difficulty breaking a serious morphine habit.
The Paris Olympia is the place where Piaf achieved fame and where, just a few months before her death, she gave one of her most memorable concerts while barely able to stand. In early 1963, Piaf recorded her last song, "L'homme de Berlin".
At the early age of 47, Piaf died of cancer in Plascassier, on the French riviera, on October 10, 1963. Her friend Jean Cocteau, very shocked and afflicted by her death, died a few hours later. Her body was returned to Paris where her death was only announced on October 11, the official date of her death. She was buried in Père Lachaise cemetery, Paris. Although she was forbidden a Mass by the Roman Catholic archbishop of Paris (because of her lifestyle), her funeral procession drew hundreds of thousands of mourners onto the streets of Paris and the ceremony at the cemetery was jammed with more than forty thousand fans. Charles Aznavour recalled that Piaf's funeral procession was the only time, since the end of World War II, that Parisian traffic came to a complete stop.
There is a museum dedicated to Piaf, the Musée Édith Piaf at 5, rue Crespin du Gast, 75011, Paris.
Today she is still remembered and revered as one of the greatest singers France has ever produced. Her life was one of sharp contrasts: the range of her fame as opposed to her tragic personal life, and her fragile small figure on stage with the resounding power of her voice.
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Les trois cloches
Édith Piaf Lyrics
Village au fond de la vallée
Comme égaré, presque ignoré
Voici qu'en la nuit étoilée
Un nouveau-né nous est donné
Jean-François Nicot, il se nomme
Il est joufflu, tendre et rosé
À l'église, beau petit homme
Demain tu seras baptisé
Une cloche sonne, sonne
Sa voix, d'écho en écho
Dit au monde qui s'étonne
"C'est pour Jean-François Nicot
C'est pour accueillir une âme
Une fleur qui s'ouvre au jour
À peine, à peine une flamme
Encore faible qui réclame
Protection, tendresse, amour"
Village au fond de la vallée
Loin des chemins, loin des humains
Voici qu'après dix-neuf années
Cœur en émoi, le Jean-François
Prend pour femme la douce Elise
Blanche comme fleur de pommier
Devant Dieu, dans la vieille église
Ce jour, ils se sont mariés
Toutes les cloches sonnent, sonnent
Leurs voix, d'écho en écho
Merveilleusement couronnent
La noce à François Nicot
"Un seul cœur, une seule âme"
Dit le prêtre, "et, pour toujours
Soyez une pure flamme
Qui s'élève et qui proclame
La grandeur de votre amour"
Village au fond de la vallée
Des jours, des nuits, le temps a fui
Voici qu'en la nuit étoilée
Un cœur s'endort, François est mort
Car toute chair est comme l'herbe
Elle est comme la fleur des champs
Épis, fruits mûrs, bouquets et gerbes
Hélas! vont en se desséchant
Une cloche sonne, sonne
Elle chante dans le vent
Obsédante et monotone
Elle redit aux vivants
"Ne tremblez pas, cœurs fidèles
Dieu vous fera signe un jour
Vous trouverez sous son aile
Avec la vie éternelle
L'éternité de l'amour"
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, LES NOUVELLES EDITIONS MERIDIAN
Written by: Jean Villard
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on specific lyrics, highlight them
gerselinde
The Three Bells
Village in the heart of the valley,
As if lost, quite ignored,
And there in the starlighted night,
To us a newborn is given!
Jean-François Nicot is he named,
He is chubby-cheek, tender and pinkish,
In church, handsome little man,
Tomorrow you'll be baptized...
A bell is ringing, ringing
Her voice from echo to echo
Tells to the world that wonder:
"It's for Jean-François Nicot!
To welcome a soul
A flower that comes out to the daylight
Barely, barely a flame
Still weak and requiring
Protection, tenderness, love..."
Village in the heart of the valley,
Far from all paths, far from human beings,
And there after nineteen years,
Heart in a flutter, the Jean-François
Takes for wife sweet Élise
White as apple tree blossom!
Before God, in the old church,
This day they get married...
All the bells are ringing, ringing
Their voices from echo to echo
Marvellously crown
François Nicot's wedding!
"Only one heart, only one soul"
Says the priest, "and for ever
Be a pure flame
Rising and proclaiming
The greatness of your love!"
Village in the heart of the valley,
Many days, many nights, time flew by,
And there in the starlighted night,
A heart falls asleep, François is dead...
Every flesh is like the grass
It is like a wild flower
Ears, ripe fruits, bunches and sheaves,
Alas, everything goes withering...
A bell is tolling, tolling,
She's singing in the wind,
Haunting and monotonous,
She repeats to the livings:
"Do not shiver loyal hearts
God will beckon to you one day!
You shall find under His wing
Together with eternal life -
The eternity of love..."
Neculcea Elisabeth
Village au fond de la vallée,
Comme égaré, presque ignoré,
Voici, dans la nuit étoilée,
Qu'un nouveau-né nous est donné.
Jean-François Nicot il se nomme.
Il est joufflu, tendre et rose.
A l'église, beau petit homme,
Demain, tu seras baptisé.
Une cloche sonne, sonne.
Sa voix, d'échos en échos,
Dit au monde qui s'étonne:
"C'est pour Jean-François Nicot
C'est pour accueillir une âme,
Une fleur qui s'ouvre au jour;
A peine, à peine une flamme
Encor faible, qui réclame
Protection, tendresse, amour
Village au fond de la vallée,
Loin des chemins, loin des humains.
Voici qu'après dix-neuf années,
Coeur en émoi, le Jean-François
Prend pour femme la douce Elise,
Blanche comme fleur de pommier.
Devant Dieu, dans la vieille église,
Ce jour, ils se sont mariés.
Tout's les cloches sonnent sonnent!
Leurs voix, d'échos en échos.
Merveilleusement couronnent
La noce à François Nicot.
"Un seul corps, une seule âme,
Dit le prêtre, et pour toujours
Soyez une pure flamme
Qui s'élève, qui proclame
La grandeur de notre amour!
Village au fond de la vallée,
Des jours, des nuits, le temps a fui.
Voici, dans la nuit étoilée,
Un coeur s'endort, François est mort.
Car toute chair est comme l'herbe
Elle est comme la fleur des champs
Epis, fruits mûrs, bouquets et gerbes,
Hélas! Tout va se déssechant.
Une cloche sonne, sonne,
Elle chante dans le vent.
Obsédante, monotone,
Elle redit aux vivants
"Ne tremblez pas, coeurs fidèles!
Dieu vous fera signe un jour.
Vous trouverez sous son aile,
Avec la vie éternelle,
L'éternité de l'amour!
Emmanuel Goldstein
I'm listening to this song right now on a vinyl record I just purchased at a thrift shop. Haunting. Beautiful. Enchanting.
Hans van Dijk
The most beautiful voice of history. Greetings from the Netherlands 🇳🇱.
yknot000
Edith's voice has a unique beautiful quality to it. Unforgettable 🤩
Wagno Jesus
Magnifico, que voz meu Deus
Krzysztof Gozdek
Genialne wykonanie, genialna Edith !
Português é legal
Cada dia que passa eu fico + apaixonada por ela.❤ madame Edith
Danielle Olivier
Toujours magnifique cette voix divine - MERCI infiniment -
Nicole Pirrera
Éternelle Édith indémodable pour toutes les générations
Erick Jouhannet
Existe-t-il une meilleure version ? La voix de Piaf c'est de l'émotion à l'état brut
wallersayn 79
Et la voix de Fred Mella, une des plus belles de la chanson française !!!