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.
Jézébel
Édith Piaf Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If ever a devil was born
Without a pair of horns
It was you, Jezebel, it was you
If ever an angel fell
Jezebel, it was you
If ever a pair of eyes
Promised me paradise
Deceiving me, grieving me
Leaving me blue
It was you, Jezebel, it was you
If ever a devil's plan
Was made to torment man
It was you, Jezebel, it was you
Could be better had I never known
A lover such as you
Forsaking dreams and all
For the siren call of your arms
Like a demon, love possessed me
You upset me constantly
What evil star is mine
That my fate's design should be
If ever a pair of eyes
Promised me paradise
Deceiving, believing, believing you
It was you, Jezebel, it was you
If ever a devil was born
Without a pair of horns
It was you, night and day, every way
Jezebel, Jezebel, Jezebel
Edith Piaf's song Jezebel is a haunting tale of a man who falls hopelessly in love with a woman, only to have his heart broken by her deceitful and manipulative nature. The lyrics portray Jezebel as a devil in disguise who deceives the singer with her promises of paradise, leaving him feeling deceived, grieving, and blue. He compares her to an angel who fell from heaven, and to a demon who possesses him relentlessly.
The singer of the song feels trapped, forsaking his dreams and his own happiness to be with Jezebel. He sees himself as a victim of fate, wondering why he was destined to fall in love with such a woman. The chorus repeats the refrain, "It was you, Jezebel, it was you," emphasizing the power that she holds over him.
The lyrics are further intensified by Piaf's passionate performance, with her emotive voice expressing the pain and despair of the singer. The song is a powerful interpretation of the age-old trope of the femme fatale, a seductive and dangerous woman who lures men to their downfall.
Line by Line Meaning
If ever a devil was born
Without a pair of horns
It was you, Jezebel, it was you
You are a devil, although not visibly evil like other devils
If ever an angel fell
Jezebel, it was you
Jezebel, it was you
You are not good, although people used to think you were
If ever a pair of eyes
Promised me paradise
Deceiving me, grieving me
Leaving me blue
It was you, Jezebel, it was you
You tricked me into thinking I would find happiness with you, but only left me sad
If ever a devil's plan
Was made to torment man
It was you, Jezebel, it was you
You enjoy causing others pain
Could be better had I never known
A lover such as you
Forsaking dreams and all
For the siren call of your arms
I regret ever being with someone as terrible as you, as it has caused me to give up on my dreams
Like a demon, love possessed me
You upset me constantly
What evil star is mine
That my fate's design should be
My love for you was like being possessed by a demon, and you constantly caused me distress. I wonder why my life has turned out so badly
If ever a pair of eyes
Promised me paradise
Deceiving, believing, believing you
It was you, Jezebel, it was you
You were not truthful and made me believe in false promises
If ever a devil was born
Without a pair of horns
It was you, night and day, every way
Jezebel, Jezebel, Jezebel
You are the epitome of evil, whether it is apparent or not
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Wayne Shanklin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Lise
Jezebel... Jezebel...
Ce démon qui brûlait mon cœur
Cet ange qui séchait mes pleurs
C'était toi, Jezebel, c'était toi.
Ces larmes transpercées de joie,
Jezebel, c'était toi... Jezebel, c'était toi...
Mais l'amour s'est anéanti.
Tout s'est écroulé sur ma vie,
Écrasant, piétinant, emportant mon cœur,
Jezebel... Mais pour toi,
Je ferais le tour de la terre,
J'irais jusqu'au fond des enfers.
Où es-tu ? Jezebel, où es-tu ?
Les souvenirs que l'on croit fanés
Sont des êtres vivants
Avec des yeux de morts vibrants encore de passé
Mais mon cœur est crevé d'obsession.
Il bat en répétant
Tout au fond de moi-même
Ce mot que j'aime,
Ton nom...
Jezebel... Jezebel...
Mais l'amour s'est anéanti.
Tout s'est écroulé sur ma vie,
Écrasant, piétinant, emportant mon cœur
Jezebel... Mais pour toi,
Je ferais le tour de la terre,
J'irais jusqu'au fond des enfers
En criant sans répit,
Jour et nuit,
Jezebel... Jezebel...
Anna Maksimova
Прозвучала совсем
мне неизвестная
песня.Потрясающе!
Dora Dorly
Quelle merveille !
Juliette Mois
Que j'aime Édith Piaf!❤️
Leo Pak
Просто по русски не выразиться класс
Michael Mika
My childhood. Maman je t'adore. Ton Michel xxxooo