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.
Hymne à l'amour
Édith Piaf Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Et la terre peut bien s'écrouler
Peu m'importe, si tu m'aimes
Je me fous du monde entier
Tant que l'amour inondera mes matins
Tant que mon corps frémira sous tes mains
Peu m'importent les problèmes
Mon amour puisque tu m'aimes
J'irais jusqu'au bout du monde
Je me ferais teindre en blonde
Si tu me le demandais
J'irais décrocher la lune
J'irais voler la fortune
Si tu me le demandais
Je renierais ma patrie
Je renierais mes amis
Si tu me le demandais
On peut bien rire de moi
Je ferais n'importe quoi
Si tu me le demandais
Si un jour la vie t'arrache à moi
Si tu meurs que tu sois loin de moi
Peu m'importe si tu m'aimes
Car moi je mourrais aussi
Nous aurons pour nous l'éternité
Dans le bleu de toute l'immensité
Dans le ciel, plus de problèmes
Mon amour crois-tu qu'on s'aime?
Dieu réunit ceux qui s'aiment
The lyrics of this song by Édith Piaf convey a sense of deep and unconditional love that can resist any challenge or obstacle, including the end of the world itself. The lyrics state that the color of the sky may fade away, and the earth may crumble, but as long as there is love, nothing else matters. The singer is willing to do anything for the person she loves, even if it means dying with them. She declares that problems and challenges won't matter as long as they have their love. The phrase "tant que l'amour inondera mes matins" - "as long as love will flood my mornings" - suggests that love is the most important thing for the singer in her daily life.
The lyrics show a willingness to sacrifice for love. The singer says she would go to the end of the world or even die for love. She would change her appearance, steal, or even betray her friends or country if it is what her lover wants. The second part of the song gives a sense of extreme love and devotion, almost to the point of obsession. It states that if the person she loves dies, she would not mind dying with them, and they will have eternity together in the afterlife. This love is not about possession but about eternal togetherness.
Line by Line Meaning
Le ciel bleu sur nous peut s'effondrer
Even if everything around us falls apart and our world crumbles, I'm okay with it.
Et la terre peut bien s'écrouler
Even if the earth itself falls apart, it won't matter to me.
Peu m'importe, si tu m'aimes
I don't care about anything else as long as you love me.
Je me fous du monde entier
The entire world could collapse and it wouldn't matter because I have your love.
Tant que l'amour inondera mes matins
As long as love fills my mornings and my days.
Tant que mon corps frémira sous tes mains
As long as my body feels the sensation of your touch and shivers with pleasure.
Peu m'importent les problèmes
I don't care about any problems in life.
Mon amour puisque tu m'aimes
As long as you love me, my love.
J'irais jusqu'au bout du monde
I will go to the ends of the earth for you.
Je me ferais teindre en blonde
I'll even dye my hair blonde for you.
Si tu me le demandais
If you asked me to.
J'irais décrocher la lune
I'll reach for the moon for you.
J'irais voler la fortune
I'll steal a fortune for you.
Je renierais ma patrie
I'll even deny my country for you.
Je renierais mes amis
I'll deny my friends for you.
Si tu me le demandais
If you asked me to.
On peut bien rire de moi
Even if people laugh at me.
Je ferais n'importe quoi
I'll do anything for you.
Si tu me le demandais
If you asked me to.
Si un jour la vie t'arrache à moi
If one day life takes you away from me.
Si tu meurs que tu sois loin de moi
If you die and leave me alone.
Peu m'importe si tu m'aimes
It won't matter if you love me.
Car moi je mourrais aussi
Because I would die with you.
Nous aurons pour nous l'éternité
We will have eternity together.
Dans le bleu de toute l'immensité
In the vastness of the blue sky.
Dans le ciel, plus de problèmes
In the sky, there are no problems.
Mon amour crois-tu qu'on s'aime?
My love, do you believe that we love each other?
Dieu réunit ceux qui s'aiment
God brings together those who love each other.
Lyrics © RAOUL BRETON EDITIONS, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Edith Piaf, Marguerite Monnot
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@anavracar9002
Hymne à l'amour
Le ciel bleu sur nous peut s’effondrer
Et la terre peut bien s’écrouler,
Peu m’importe si tu m’aimes,
Je me fous du monde entier.
Tant que l’amour inondera mes matins,
Tant que mon corps frémira sous tes mains,
Peu m’importent les problèmes,
Mon amour puisque tu m’aimes.
J’irais jusqu’au bout du monde,
Je me ferais teindre en blonde,
Si tu me le demandais.
J’irais décrocher la lune,
J’irais voler la fortune,
Si tu me le demandais.
Je renierais ma patrie,
Je renierais mes amis,
Si tu me le demandais.
On peut bien rire de moi,
Je ferais n’importe quoi
Si tu me le demandais.
Si un jour la vie t’arrache à moi,
Si tu meurs que tu sois loin de moi,
Peu m'importe si tu m’aimes
Car moi je mourrai aussi.
Nous aurons pour nous l’éternité,
Dans le bleu de toute l’immensité.
Dans le ciel, plus de problèmes.
Mon amour crois-tu qu’on s’aime ?
Dieu réunit ceux qui s’aiment.
@vinc60vb
Je m'incline.. moi jeune homme de 40 ans qui écoute du rap depuis tout petit je ne peux que m'incliner
Cette voix Cette musique c'est paroles.. mes respect madame piaf vous nous manquez.
@buxylabrador1779
La seule immortalité qui existe est le souvenir qu'on laisse dans l'esprit des gens !
J'ai l'air si réfléchi, c'est juste une citation de Bonaparte!
Quelle émotion dans sa voix !
Merci Madame !
@jsl520
Merci d'avoir fleuri l'enterrement de mon grand-père 🙏🏻
@eggman5583
IM THANKFUL THAT PEOPLE ARE DISCOVERING EDITH PAIF
@SunnyStarzz
Same
@darkcnotion
I thank Jeff Buckley!
@sosiggang2101
Oui
@62Tob
Quelle magnifique chanson. Tellement fier d'être Français quand j'entend ce qu'Edith a pu marquer le monde avec ses performances.
@amirahadjaz2595
"Dieu réunit ceux qui s'aiment...."
@armandjamin6090
Est-ce la voix? Est-ce la musique? Sont-ce les paroles? Est-ce un peu tout çà à la fois? Je l'ignore. Je sais juste que cette chanson provoque toujours le même effet sur moi, frissons, plaisir, yeux qui se ferment et qui pourtant se mouillent quand je les rouvre. Merci Madame.