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.
L'homme À La Moto
Édith Piaf Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Un blouson de cuir noir avec un aigle sur le dos
Sa moto qui partait comme un boulet de canon
Semait la terreur dans toute la région
Jamais il ne se coiffait, jamais il ne se lavait
Les ongles pleins de cambouis mais sur les biceps il avait
Un tatouage avec un cœur bleu sur la peau blême
Il avait une petite amie du nom de Marie-Lou
On la prenait en pitié, une enfant de son âge
Car tout le monde savait bien qu'il aimait entre tout
Sa chienne de moto bien davantage
Il portait des culottes, des bottes de moto
Un blouson de cuir noir avec un aigle sur le dos
Sa moto qui partait comme un boulet de canon
Semait la terreur dans toute la région
Marie-Lou la pauvre fille l'implora, le supplia
Dit, "ne pars pas ce soir, je vais pleurer si tu t'en vas"
Mais les mots furent perdus, ses larmes pareillement
Dans le bruit de la machine et du tuyau d'échappement
Il bondit comme un diable avec des flammes dans les yeux
Au passage à niveau, ce fut comme un éclair de feu
Contre une locomotive qui filait vers le midi
Et quand on débarrassa les débris
On trouva sa culotte, ses bottes de moto
Son blouson de cuir noir avec un aigle sur le dos
Mais plus rien de la moto et plus rien de ce démon
Qui semait la terreur dans toute la région
The song L'homme à la moto by Edith Piaf tells the story of a man who had an intense love for his motorcycle. He wore motorcycle pants and boots, and a black leather jacket with an eagle on the back. His motorcycle was his pride and joy, and it could accelerate like a bullet leaving everyone in the region terrified. He did not care much about his appearance and would neglect basic hygiene practices like shaving and washing his hands, which would be covered in grease. However, on his biceps, he had a tattoo of a blue heart that read "maman je t'aime" which showed the love he had for his mother.
The man had a girlfriend named Marie-Lou, who was the same age as him, and was taken pity on because of the obsession he had for his motorcycle. The love he had for his bike far outweighed any other in his life. Marie-Lou tried to beg and plead with him to not leave on this particular night, warning him that she would cry if he did, but he ignored her pleas. The man roared off into the night with flames in his eyes like a devil, and there was a tragic accident at a railway crossing. When they found the debris, they found everything he was wearing, but the motorcycle and the man's body were nowhere to be found.
Line by Line Meaning
Il portait des culottes, des bottes de moto
He wore leather pants and motorcycle boots
Un blouson de cuir noir avec un aigle sur le dos
He had a black leather jacket with an eagle on the back
Sa moto qui partait comme un boulet de canon
His motorcycle was as fast as a cannonball
Semait la terreur dans toute la région
It scared everyone in the region
Jamais il ne se coiffait, jamais il ne se lavait
He never combed his hair or washed himself
Les ongles pleins de cambouis mais sur les biceps il avait
His nails were dirty with oil, but he had strong biceps
Un tatouage avec un cœur bleu sur la peau blême
He had a blue heart tattoo on his pale skin
Et juste à l'intérieur, on lisait, "maman je t'aime"
And just inside, it read "mom, I love you"
Il avait une petite amie du nom de Marie-Lou
He had a girlfriend named Marie-Lou
On la prenait en pitié, une enfant de son âge
People felt sorry for her, a child of her age
Car tout le monde savait bien qu'il aimait entre tout
Because everyone knew that he loved above all else
Sa chienne de moto bien davantage
His motorcycle more than anything else
Marie-Lou la pauvre fille l'implora, le supplia
Poor Marie-Lou begged and pleaded with him
Dit, "ne pars pas ce soir, je vais pleurer si tu t'en vas"
Saying, "Don't leave tonight, I'll cry if you go"
Mais les mots furent perdus, ses larmes pareillement
But his words were lost, as were her tears
Dans le bruit de la machine et du tuyau d'échappement
In the noise of the machine and the exhaust pipe
Il bondit comme un diable avec des flammes dans les yeux
He jumped up like a devil with flames in his eyes
Au passage à niveau, ce fut comme un éclair de feu
At the railroad crossing, it was like a bolt of lightning
Contre une locomotive qui filait vers le midi
Against a locomotive heading south
Et quand on débarrassa les débris
And when they cleared away the debris
On trouva sa culotte, ses bottes de moto
They found his leather pants and motorcycle boots
Son blouson de cuir noir avec un aigle sur le dos
His black leather jacket with an eagle on the back
Mais plus rien de la moto et plus rien de ce démon
But there was nothing left of the motorcycle or the demon
Qui semait la terreur dans toute la région
Who scared everyone in the region
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Jean (jean Andre Brun) Drejac
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@38spe
Quel coffre ! C'est allucinant L'intonation qu'elle a mis dans cette chanson 👏🙌🙏
@fabiopaolobarbieri2286
She unleashes thunder and lightning while keeping the most perfectly precise pronunciation. Amazing.
@lucasneelneel6987
Oui je suis fane
@aurorefrancart9839
Cc
@aurorefrancart9839
Bravoooo
@jeheherzuzveg7790
Y'a pas de coffre c'est une moto
@lefoufoupecheur9126
Je viens de tomber sur cette chanson par hasard ! Je ne l'ai écouté la dernière fois il y a 6 ou 7 ans ! J'adore ! Ça, ce sont les VRAIES chansons ! Repose en paix Edith ❤️😭🕊️
@karim605
Oui mais tapé des main aller bougé tous aller on va tous porté des culottes
@valentinaquere3294
mon grand père me faisait écouter du edith piaf dans la voiture, et je lui demandais tout le temps cette musique c'était ma préférée..
@MangeTaFace
Pareil avec ma mère ^^