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.
Elle Fréquentait La Rue Pigalle
Édith Piaf Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Elle sentait l'vice à bon marché
Elle était toute noire de péchés
Avec un pauvre visage tout pâle
Pourtant y avait dans l'fond d'ses yeux
Comme quequ'chose de miraculeux
Qui semblait mettre un peu d'ciel bleu
Dans celui tout sale de Pigalle
Il lui avait dit "vous êtes belle"
Et d'habitude dans c'quartier là
On dit jamais les choses comme çà
Aux filles qui font l'même métier qu'elle
Et comme elle voulait s'confesser
Il la couvrait toute de baisers
En lui disant "laisse ton passé
Moi j'vois qu'une chose, c'est qu'tu es belle"
Y a des images qui vous tracassent
Et quand elle sortait avec lui
Depuis Barbés jusqu'à Clichy
Son passé lui f'sait la grimace
Et sur les trottoirs pleins d'souvenirs
Elle voyait son amour s'flétrir
Alors elle lui d'manda d'partir
Et il l'emmena vers Montparnasse
Elle croyait r'commencer sa vie
Mais c'est lui qui s'mit à changer
Il la r'gardait tout étonné
Disant "j'te croyais plus jolie
Ici le jour t'éclaire de trop
On voit tes vices à fleur de peau
Vaudrait p't'être mieux qu'tu r'tourne là-hautEt qu'on reprenne chacun sa vie
Elle est r'tourné' dans son Pigalle
Y a plus personne pour la repêcher
Elle a r'trouvé tous ses péchés
Ses coins d'ombre et ses trottoirs sales
Mais quand elle voit des amoureux
Qui r'montent la rue d'un air joyeux
Y a des larmes dans ses grands yeux bleus
Qui coulent le long d'ses joues toutes pâles
Par ici mesdames et messieurs, venez passer une bonne soirée au Royale
Seule maison où l'on s'amuse
The song "Elle Fréquentait La Rue Pigalle" tells a story of a woman who frequents the Pigalle district of Paris, which is known for prostitution and other vices. Despite her sins, there is something miraculous hidden in her eyes, something that brings a little bit of blue sky to the dirty streets of Pigalle.
One day, a man tells her that she is beautiful, a statement that she has never heard from someone in her profession. He covers her with kisses, and because she wants to confess her sins, she opens up to him. He tells her to leave her past behind and that she is beautiful. They start a relationship, but her past starts to haunt her, and she realizes that he is ashamed of being seen with her during the day. He tells her to go back to Pigalle, and she returns to the life she had before.
The song talks about how love can give us hope and make us believe that anything is possible. Still, it also acknowledges that societal prejudices can prevent us from fully embracing that love. The song reminds us that the streets of Pigalle are not just filled with sin and despair but also with love and the possibility of a better life.
Line by Line Meaning
Elle fréquentait la rue Pigalle
She used to visit Pigalle street
Elle sentait l'vice à bon marché
She smelled of cheap vices
Elle était toute noire de péchés
She was blackened with sins
Avec un pauvre visage tout pâle
With a poor, pale face
Pourtant y avait dans l'fond d'ses yeux
Yet there was something miraculous in the depths of her eyes
Comme quequ'chose de miraculeux
Like something miraculous
Qui semblait mettre un peu d'ciel bleu
That seemed to bring a little blue sky
Dans celui tout sale de Pigalle
Into that dirty Pigalle street
Il lui avait dit "vous êtes belle"
He had told her "you are beautiful"
Et d'habitude dans c'quartier là
And usually in that neighborhood
On dit jamais les choses comme çà
People never say that kind of thing
Aux filles qui font l'même métier qu'elle
To girls who work in the same business as her
Et comme elle voulait s'confesser
And since she wanted to confess
Il la couvrait toute de baisers
He covered her in kisses
En lui disant "laisse ton passé
Telling her to leave her past behind
Moi j'vois qu'une chose, c'est qu'tu es belle"
I see only one thing, that you are beautiful"
Y a des images qui vous tracassent
There are images that bother you
Et quand elle sortait avec lui
And when she went out with him
Depuis Barbés jusqu'à Clichy
From Barbés to Clichy
Son passé lui f'sait la grimace
Her past made her grimace
Et sur les trottoirs pleins d'souvenirs
And on the sidewalks full of memories
Elle voyait son amour s'flétrir
She saw her love wither away
Alors elle lui d'manda d'partir
So she asked him to leave
Et il l'emmena vers Montparnasse
And he took her to Montparnasse
Elle croyait r'commencer sa vie
She thought she could start her life again
Mais c'est lui qui s'mit à changer
But it was him who began to change
Il la r'gardait tout étonné
He looked at her in surprise
Disant "j'te croyais plus jolie"
Saying "I thought you were more beautiful"
Ici le jour t'éclaire de trop
Here the day shines too brightly on you
On voit tes vices à fleur de peau
Your vices are visible on the surface
Vaudrait p't'être mieux qu'tu r'tourne là-haut
Maybe it would be better that you go back up there
Et qu'on reprenne chacun sa vie
And that we each resume our lives
Elle est r'tourné' dans son Pigalle
She returned to her Pigalle
Y a plus personne pour la repêcher
There is no one left to save her
Elle a r'trouvé tous ses péchés
She found all her sins again
Ses coins d'ombre et ses trottoirs sales
Her shadowy corners and dirty sidewalks
Mais quand elle voit des amoureux
But when she sees lovers
Qui r'montent la rue d'un air joyeux
Going up the street happily
Y a des larmes dans ses grands yeux bleus
There are tears in her big blue eyes
Qui coulent le long d'ses joues toutes pâles
Streaming down her pale cheeks
Par ici mesdames et messieurs, venez passer une bonne soirée au Royale
Come here ladies and gentlemen, and have a good time at Royale
Seule maison où l'on s'amuse
The only house where you can have fun
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BEUSCHER ARPEGE
Written by: Raymond Asso, Louis Maitrier
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jean-philippegouet5373
Nous aussi on a les larmes aux yeux le long de nos joues toutes sales...
@elenarudillapuig6484
¡¡que foto tan intresant!!!!!!
@didou1563
belle vidéo, mais la première photo est magnifique!!!
@betinalavinski6882
Les paroles... 😢
@Тобиас-й4ц
Lundi 5-2-24🌹🧸🐕Un sujet douloureux.Temoignage de la réalité vécue.Comme c'est vrai.A mon ami Philippe Cr.🌟🦮🌼
@Marc-y9k
😢
@istanbullular_dernegi
ISTANBUL
(03.06.2024)
@delfekrum
😢