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.
Enfin le printemps
Édith Piaf Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cette crapule
Qui nous tombe sur les bras.
Depuis le temps
Qu'on l'attend,
Comme une bombe, le voilà.
Le voilà, le printemps,
Tout fleuri de lilas
En dansant la java.
Le voilà, ce voyou,
Au son d' l'accordéon
Qui court le guilledou
En poussant la chanson.
Entend comme ça chahute
Dans tous les palpitants.
L'hiver se tire des flûtes.
Enfin le printemps...
Ne fais pas la tête.
Tu serais bien bête
De te faire du mouron
Quand sur toute la terre
Flotte un petit air
De révolution.
J'ai sorti pour toi
Ma robe de soie,
Mes colifichets
Pour dormir sur l'herbe
En écoutant tinter les muguets...
Vises, mon Jules,
Cette crapule
Qui nous tombe sur les bras.
Depuis le temps
Qu'on l'attend
Comme une bombe, le voilà.
Le revoilà, le printemps
Tout fleuri de lilas
Qui rapplique en dansant,
En dansant la java.
'y a la foule dans les rues
Qui suit les orphéons,
Des épaules toutes nues
Et du monde au balcon.
C'est la fête aux poètes
Et je t'aime éperduement
Et ça tourne dans ma tête.
Enfin le printemps...
J'ai le vertige dans tes yeux.
Je voltige dans du bleu.
Je vois double et c'est mieux.
Vise mon cœur tout là-haut...
Qui fait du cerf-volant.
Rattrape-le si tu peux,
Mon amour, mon amour
Qui fout le camp...
Enfin le printemps !!!
Enfin Le Printemps is a song by Édith Piaf, released in 1954. The song is about the arrival of spring and the joy it brings. The lyrics describe the excitement and happiness that comes with the change of season, as people celebrate with music, dancing, and laughter. The first verse sets the scene, introducing the idea that spring is like a bomb that has finally exploded, bringing with it the beauty of nature and the contagious atmosphere of joy.
The second verse encourages the listener to let go of their worries and join in the celebrations, as the whole world feels the effects of the season. Piaf's voice is full of enthusiasm and excitement as she describes the sights and sounds of the season, from the lilacs that bloom to the music that fills the air. The chorus is catchy, with a repeated phrase "Enfin le printemps!" (Finally, spring!) that reflects the relief and anticipation that comes with the arrival of the season. The final verse is more personal, as Piaf sings of her love for someone and the dizzying feelings that come with spring.
Line by Line Meaning
Vises, mon Jules,
Look, my Jules,
Cette crapule
This scoundrel
Qui nous tombe sur les bras.
Who falls into our arms.
Depuis le temps
For a long time
Qu'on l'attend,
That we have been waiting for,
Comme une bombe, le voilà.
Like a bomb, here it is.
Le voilà, le printemps,
Here it is, spring,
Tout fleuri de lilas
Full of lilacs
Qui rapplique en dansant,
Arriving dancing
En dansant la java.
Dancing the java.
Le voilà, ce voyou,
Here it is, this rascal,
Au son d' l'accordéon
To the sound of the accordion
Qui court le guilledou
Running around doing the guilledou
En poussant la chanson.
Singing along.
Entend comme ça chahute
Hear the hustle and bustle
Dans tous les palpitants.
In all hearts.
L'hiver se tire des flûtes.
Winter retreats.
Enfin le printemps...
Finally spring...
Ne fais pas la tête.
Don't be upset.
Tu serais bien bête
You'd be foolish
De te faire du mouron
To worry
Quand sur toute la terre
When all over the earth
Flotte un petit air
A small breeze floats
De révolution.
Of revolution.
J'ai sorti pour toi
I've prepared for you
Ma robe de soie,
My silk dress,
Mes colifichets
My trinkets
Pour dormir sur l'herbe
To sleep on the grass
En écoutant tinter les muguets...
Listening to the lily of the valley ringing...
Vises, mon Jules,
Look, my Jules,
Cette crapule
This scoundrel
Qui nous tombe sur les bras.
Who falls into our arms.
Depuis le temps
For a long time
Qu'on l'attend
That we have been waiting for
Comme une bombe, le voilà.
Like a bomb, here it is.
Le revoilà, le printemps
Here it is again, spring
Tout fleuri de lilas
Full of lilacs
Qui rapplique en dansant,
Arriving dancing
En dansant la java.
Dancing the java.
'y a la foule dans les rues
There's a crowd in the streets
Qui suit les orphéons,
Following the choir,
Des épaules toutes nues
Bare shoulders
Et du monde au balcon.
And people on the balcony.
C'est la fête aux poètes
It's the poets' festival
Et je t'aime éperduement
And I love you madly
Et ça tourne dans ma tête.
And it's spinning in my head.
Enfin le printemps...
Finally spring...
J'ai le vertige dans tes yeux.
I have vertigo in your eyes.
Je voltige dans du bleu.
I'm fluttering in blue.
Je vois double et c'est mieux.
I see double and it's better.
Vise mon cœur tout là-haut...
Look at my heart up there...
Qui fait du cerf-volant.
Who's flying a kite.
Rattrape-le si tu peux,
Catch it if you can,
Mon amour, mon amour
My love, my love,
Qui fout le camp...
That's disappearing...
Enfin le printemps !!!
Finally, spring!!
Contributed by Austin K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.