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.
Je sais comment
Édith Piaf Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Aimes-tu la liberté?
Voudrais-tu t'enfuir d'ici?
Aimerais-tu t'évader?
Veux-tu revivre à la vie,
Marcher sans chaînes à tes pieds?
Oh, réponds-moi, mon ami,
Aimerais-tu t'évader?
Je sais comment.
Comment scier tous ces barreaux
Qui sont là en guise de rideaux.
Je sais comment.
Comment faire sauter les verrous
Entre la liberté et nous.
Je sais comment.
Comment faire tomber en poussière
Ce mur énorme d'énormes pierres.
Je sais commment.
Comment de sortir de ce cachot
Fermé comme l'est un tombeau.
Je sais comment revoir les fleurs
Sous un ciel bleu.
Je sais comment avoir le cœur
Libre et heureux.
Tu ne dis rien, mon ami,
Mais tu as au fond des yeux
Plus de rêves que d'envie
Pour voir ce coin de ciel bleu.
Tu crois que je t'ai menti,
Que je n'ai pas de secret.
Pourtant, tes yeux l'ont compris
C'est eux qui sont dans le vrai.
Je sais comment.
Comment faire tourner sur ses gonds
La porte en fer de la prison.
Je sais comment.
Comment faire voler en éclats
Les boulets qui gênent nos pas.
Je sais comment.
Comment briser de nos mains nues
Toutes ses entraves sans être vus.
Je sais comment.
Comment sortir de ce cachot
Sans risquer d'y laisser la peau.
Je sais comment revoir les fleurs
Sous un ciel bleu.
Je sais comment avoir le cœur
Libre et heureux, dors!
The song Je sais comment by Edith Piaf is an invitation to escape from imprisonment, whether physical or emotional. The singer wishes to be free from chains and walls, and to live again. She asks her friend if he too longs for freedom, and promises that she knows how to achieve it. Her confidence in this ability is backed by her assurance that she can break open doors, shatter obstacles and destroy walls, all while remaining unseen. Her friend appears to be skeptical, but the singer is convinced that his eyes have seen the truth of her words. She urges him to sleep, and promises that she will show him how to see the flowers and have a happy heart under a blue sky once again.
Line by Line Meaning
Écoute moi, mon ami.
Listen to me, my friend.
Aimes-tu la liberté?
Do you love freedom?
Voudrais-tu t'enfuir d'ici?
Would you like to escape from here?
Aimerais-tu t'évader?
Would you like to break free?
Veux-tu revivre à la vie,
Do you want to live again,
Marcher sans chaînes à tes pieds?
To walk without chains on your feet?
Oh, réponds-moi, mon ami,
Oh, answer me, my friend,
Aimerais-tu t'évader?
Would you like to break free?
Je sais comment.
I know how.
Comment scier tous ces barreaux
How to saw all these bars
Qui sont là en guise de rideaux.
That are there like curtains.
Je sais comment.
I know how.
Comment faire sauter les verrous
How to blow the locks
Entre la liberté et nous.
Between freedom and us.
Je sais comment.
I know how.
Comment faire tomber en poussière
How to make this huge wall of huge stones
Ce mur énorme d'énormes pierres.
Collapse into dust.
Je sais commment.
I know how.
Comment de sortir de ce cachot
How to get out of this dungeon
Fermé comme l'est un tombeau.
Closed like a tomb.
Je sais comment revoir les fleurs
I know how to see the flowers again
Sous un ciel bleu.
Under a blue sky.
Je sais comment avoir le cœur
I know how to have a heart
Libre et heureux.
Free and happy.
Tu ne dis rien, mon ami,
You say nothing, my friend,
Mais tu as au fond des yeux
But you have deep in your eyes
Plus de rêves que d'envie
More dreams than desire
Pour voir ce coin de ciel bleu.
To see this corner of blue sky.
Tu crois que je t'ai menti,
You think I lied to you,
Que je n'ai pas de secret.
That I have no secret.
Pourtant, tes yeux l'ont compris
However, your eyes understood it
C'est eux qui sont dans le vrai.
They are the ones who are right.
Je sais comment.
I know how.
Comment faire tourner sur ses gonds
How to turn the iron door of the prison
La porte en fer de la prison.
On its hinges.
Je sais comment.
I know how.
Comment faire voler en éclats
How to shatter the balls that hinder us
Les boulets qui gênent nos pas.
That slow us down.
Je sais comment.
I know how.
Comment briser de nos mains nues
How to break all these shackles with our bare hands
Toutes ses entraves sans être vus.
All these restraints without being seen.
Je sais comment.
I know how.
Comment sortir de ce cachot
How to get out of this dungeon
Sans risquer d'y laisser la peau.
Without risking your skin.
Je sais comment revoir les fleurs
I know how to see the flowers again
Sous un ciel bleu.
Under a blue sky.
Je sais comment avoir le cœur
I know how to have a heart
Libre et heureux, dors!
Free and happy, sleep!
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Julien Lucien Bouchiquet, Robert Roger Maurice Chauvigny
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
leah
Paroles:
Écoute-moi mon ami
Aimes-tu la liberté
Voudrais-tu t'enfuir d'ici
Aimerais-tu t'évader?
Veux-tu revivre à la vie
Marcher sans chaînes à tes pieds
Oh, réponds-moi, mon ami
Aimerais-tu t'évader?
Je sais comment...
Comment scier tous ces barreaux
Qui sont là en guise de rideaux
Je sais comment...
Comment faire sauter les verrous
Entre la liberté et nous
Je sais comment...
Comment faire tomber en poussière
Ce mur énorme d'énormes pierres
Je sais comment...
Comment de sortir de ce cachot
Fermé comme l'est un tombeau
Je sais comment revoir les fleurs
Sous un ciel bleu
Je sais comment avoir le coeur
Libre et heureux...
Tu ne dis rien mon ami
Mais tu as au fond des yeux
Plus de rêves que d'envie
Pour voir ce coin de ciel bleu
Tu crois que je t'ai menti
Que je n'ai pas de secret
Pourtant, tes yeux l'ont compris
C'est eux qui sont dans le vrai...
Je sais comment...
Comment faire tourner sur ses gonds
La porte en fer de la prison
Je sais comment...
Comment faire voler en éclats
Les boulets qui gênent non pas
Je sais comment...
Comment briser de nos mains nues
Toutes ses entraves sans être vus
Je sais comment...
Comment sortir de ce cachot
Sans risquer d'y laisser la peau
Je sais comment revoir les fleurs
Sous un ciel bleu
Je sais comment avoir le coeur
Libre et heureux... Dors!...
Consuelo Avalos
Que hermoso, bello canto, Edith Piaf ❤️
Linda de Chamonix
Today is Saturday, 2nd June 2018. I REALLY listened to 'Je sais comment' to celebrate the first time I heard it, almost sixty years ago, on a jukebox. And over the years my love for this singer and her work grew and I'll make sure this will continue. Some things are irreplaceable because they are truly unique. Merci Edith. Mois aussi, je sais comment apprecier une chose valeureuse. Merci.
Édith Piaf
You've listened it sixty-three years ago ? Wow the 2nd June 1958, "Je sais comment" music must be quite different than on youtube.
evelyne gruzelle
Très belle chanson avec les paroles qui vont droit au cœur 🤩
leah
Paroles:
Écoute-moi mon ami
Aimes-tu la liberté
Voudrais-tu t'enfuir d'ici
Aimerais-tu t'évader?
Veux-tu revivre à la vie
Marcher sans chaînes à tes pieds
Oh, réponds-moi, mon ami
Aimerais-tu t'évader?
Je sais comment...
Comment scier tous ces barreaux
Qui sont là en guise de rideaux
Je sais comment...
Comment faire sauter les verrous
Entre la liberté et nous
Je sais comment...
Comment faire tomber en poussière
Ce mur énorme d'énormes pierres
Je sais comment...
Comment de sortir de ce cachot
Fermé comme l'est un tombeau
Je sais comment revoir les fleurs
Sous un ciel bleu
Je sais comment avoir le coeur
Libre et heureux...
Tu ne dis rien mon ami
Mais tu as au fond des yeux
Plus de rêves que d'envie
Pour voir ce coin de ciel bleu
Tu crois que je t'ai menti
Que je n'ai pas de secret
Pourtant, tes yeux l'ont compris
C'est eux qui sont dans le vrai...
Je sais comment...
Comment faire tourner sur ses gonds
La porte en fer de la prison
Je sais comment...
Comment faire voler en éclats
Les boulets qui gênent non pas
Je sais comment...
Comment briser de nos mains nues
Toutes ses entraves sans être vus
Je sais comment...
Comment sortir de ce cachot
Sans risquer d'y laisser la peau
Je sais comment revoir les fleurs
Sous un ciel bleu
Je sais comment avoir le coeur
Libre et heureux... Dors!...
Cathy Kitson
That last word...when you first hear it, it gives you chills.
Tahar Serbis
Merci ...
leah
@Jean merci
nt1751
quelle voix ! quel texte ! cette petite femme tout en noir quelle grande dame toujours dans nos mémoires...
Leslie Bouchiquet
Texte de Julien bouquet