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.
Le ''ça ira''
Édith Piaf Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Et ces mots-là, ça compte tout de même.
On s'est aimé huit jours tout plein
Puis il m'a dit un beau matin :
"V'là que j'm'en vais. N'aie trop d'peine.
J'suis matelot, faut qu'tu comprennes."
"Les marins ça fait des voyages.
On part joyeux, on revient content.
Des fois; bien sûr; y a les naufrages,
Mais les retours c'est tout plaisir
Et nos amours peuvent pas mourir.
On sait qu'on r'part, on n'a pas l'coeur
De s'faire du mal à son bonheur.
Faut pas pleurer ! Aie du courage !
La mer est belle et puis dis-toi
Qu'on n'y peut rien ni toi ni moi
Et qu'les marins, faut qu'ça voyage."
J'l'ai vu partir sur son navire.
Y m'faisait d'loin un beau sourire,
Et d'un seul coup je n'l'ai plus vu
Et puis l'bateau a disparu.
La mer chantait d'une voix câline.
On a parlé comme des copines.
Les marins ça fait des voyages.
On reste jamais pour bien longtemps.
S'il revient joyeux, il repart content.
Pour les aimer, faut du courage,
Mais les retours c'est tout plaisir
Et leurs amours peuvent pas mourir.
Le voilà qui part, mon pauvr'bonheur.
Dessus la mer vogue mon coeur
Mais v'là qu'je pense qu'y a des naufrages.
Sois bonne, la mer : ne l'garde pas.
Si tu veux bien, on partagera,
Comme les marins, faut qu'ça voyage.
J'l'ai attendu pendant des s'maines,
Et puis maint'nant c'est plus la peine.
Il m'a fait dire par ses amis
Qu'y r'viendrait plus, qu'c'était fini.
Il m'avait fait cadeau d'une bague.
Je l'ai jetée au creux des vagues.
Les marins ça fait des voyages.
On les espère pendant longtemps.
Y'en a qui r'viennent de temps en temps.
D'autres s'font voler l'coeur au passage.
Y a plus d'retour, y a plus d'plaisir.
Y a plus d'amour, y a qu'à mourir.
Celui qu'j'aimais, y r'viendra pas
Et puis s'y r'vient, il recommenc'ra,
Car les marins, faut qu'ça voyage.
Ça court toujours vers d'autres bonheurs
Et ça nous laisse avec notre coeur,
Notre coeur fané pour tout partage.
The lyrics of Édith Piaf's song "Les marins ça fait des voyages" tell the story of a woman who is in love with a sailor. The song reflects on the transient nature of love and relationships with sailors, who are constantly on the move due to their profession.
At the beginning of the song, the woman recalls her lover telling her that he loves her, and despite the brevity of their time together, those words still matter to her. They loved each other for a week, but one morning he informs her that he must leave because he is a sailor and it's something she should understand. The sailor explains to her that sailors are always on the move, never staying in one place for long. They leave happily and return content, although there are sometimes shipwrecks. However, their love cannot die, and they know they will have to set sail again.
The woman watches her lover depart on his ship, smiling at her from a distance. Suddenly, she loses sight of him as the boat disappears. She then speaks to the sea, which sings to her softly, and they have a conversation like friends. The sea echoes the sentiment that sailors always go on journeys, and while it takes courage to love them, their returns bring joy, and their love remains alive. However, the woman begins to think of the possibility of shipwrecks, hoping that the sea will not keep her lover and that they will share their lives just like sailors continue to travel.
Weeks go by, and the woman waits for her lover, but eventually, his friends inform her that he will not return and it's over. He had given her a ring as a gift, and she throws it into the waves. The song ends with the realization that some sailors never come back, leaving no pleasure, no love, only a withered heart for those left behind.
Overall, "Les marins ça fait des voyages" reflects on the fleeting nature of relationships with sailors and the emotional turmoil experienced by those who love them. It portrays the bittersweet reality of loving someone who is constantly on the move, and the challenges of loneliness and longing that come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
Il m'avait dit seulement "je t'aime"
He had only said to me "I love you"
Et ces mots-là, ça compte tout de même.
And those words, they still matter.
On s'est aimé huit jours tout plein
We loved each other for a full eight days
Puis il m'a dit un beau matin :
Then one beautiful morning he told me:
"V'là que j'm'en vais. N'aie trop d'peine.
"Here I go. Don't be too sad.
J'suis matelot, faut qu'tu comprennes."
I'm a sailor, you have to understand."
"Les marins ça fait des voyages.
"Sailors go on journeys.
On reste jamais pour bien longtemps.
They never stay for very long.
On part joyeux, on revient content.
They leave happy, they return happy.
Des fois; bien sûr; y a les naufrages,
Sometimes, of course, there are shipwrecks,
Mais les retours c'est tout plaisir
But the returns are all joy.
Et nos amours peuvent pas mourir.
And our love cannot die.
On sait qu'on r'part, on n'a pas l'coeur
We know that we'll leave, we don't have the heart
De s'faire du mal à son bonheur.
To cause harm to our happiness.
Faut pas pleurer ! Aie du courage !
You mustn't cry! Have courage!
La mer est belle et puis dis-toi
The sea is beautiful, and tell yourself
Qu'on n'y peut rien ni toi ni moi
That we can't do anything about it, neither you nor me
Et qu'les marins, faut qu'ça voyage."
And sailors, they have to travel."
J'l'ai vu partir sur son navire.
I saw him leave on his ship.
Y m'faisait d'loin un beau sourire,
He gave me a beautiful smile from afar,
Et d'un seul coup je n'l'ai plus vu
And suddenly, I couldn't see him anymore
Et puis l'bateau a disparu.
And then the boat disappeared.
La mer chantait d'une voix câline.
The sea was singing with a gentle voice.
On a parlé comme des copines.
We talked like friends.
"Les marins ça fait des voyages.
"Sailors go on journeys.
On reste jamais pour bien longtemps.
They never stay for very long.
S'il revient joyeux, il repart content.
If he returns happy, he leaves content
Pour les aimer, faut du courage,
To love them, you need courage,
Mais les retours c'est tout plaisir
But the returns are all joy.
Et leurs amours peuvent pas mourir.
And their love cannot die.
Le voilà qui part, mon pauvr'bonheur.
There he goes, my poor happiness.
Dessus la mer vogue mon coeur
My heart sails on the sea
Mais v'là qu'je pense qu'y a des naufrages.
But then I think, there are shipwrecks.
Sois bonne, la mer : ne l'garde pas.
Be kind, sea: don't keep him.
Si tu veux bien, on partagera,
If you're willing, we'll share
Comme les marins, faut qu'ça voyage."
Like sailors, it must travel."
J'l'ai attendu pendant des s'maines,
I waited for him for weeks,
Et puis maint'nant c'est plus la peine.
And now it's no longer worth it.
Il m'a fait dire par ses amis
He had his friends tell me
Qu'y r'viendrait plus, qu'c'était fini.
That he wouldn't come back, that it was over.
Il m'avait fait cadeau d'une bague.
He had given me a ring as a gift.
Je l'ai jetée au creux des vagues.
I threw it into the depths of the waves.
"Les marins ça fait des voyages.
"Sailors go on journeys.
On les espère pendant longtemps.
We hope for them for a long time.
Y'en a qui r'viennent de temps en temps.
Some come back from time to time.
D'autres s'font voler l'coeur au passage.
Others have their hearts stolen along the way.
Y a plus d'retour, y a plus d'plaisir.
There's no more return, no more joy.
Y a plus d'amour, y a qu'à mourir.
There's no more love, just to die.
Celui qu'j'aimais, y r'viendra pas
The one I loved, he won't come back
Et puis s'y r'vient, il recommenc'ra,
And if he returns, he'll start over,
Car les marins, faut qu'ça voyage.
Because sailors have to travel.
Ça court toujours vers d'autres bonheurs
Always running towards other happiness
Et ça nous laisse avec notre coeur,
And it leaves us with our heart,
Notre coeur fané pour tout partage.
Our withered heart for all sharing.
Lyrics © SEMI
Written by: Mitty GOLDIN, Raymond ASSO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Albert K3
Afin d’affirmer les droits
De la République,
Il nous faut vaincre les rois
Et toute leur clique.
Plus de bon Dieu, de Jésus !
Des prêtres… Il n’en faut plus !
Quand les temps seront venus,
Aucune famille
N’aura plus d’enfants pieds-nus,
Traînant la guenille.
Tout le monde aura du pain,
Du travail et du bon vin.
Rikard
Ah ! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine
The people on this day repeat over and over,
Ah ! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine
In spite of the mutineers everything shall succeed.
Our enemies, confounded, stay petrified
And we shall sing Alleluia
Ah ! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine
When Boileau used to speak about the clergy
Like a prophet he predicted this.
By singing my little song
With pleasure, people shall say,
Ah ! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine.
According to the precepts of the Gospel
Of the lawmaker everything shall be accomplished
The one who puts on airs shall be brought down
The one who is humble shall be elevated
The true catechism shall instruct us
And the awful fanaticism shall be snuffed out.
At being obedient to Law
Every Frenchman shall train
Ah ! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine.
Pierrette and Margot sing the guinguette
Let us rejoice, good times will come !
The French people used to keep silent,
The aristocrat says, "Mea culpa!"
The clergy regrets its wealth,
Through justice, the nation will have it.
Thanks to the careful Lafayette,
Everyone will calm down.
Ah! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine
By the torches of the august assembly,
Ah ! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine
An armed people will always take care of themselves.
We'll know right from wrong,
The citizen will support the Good.
Ah ! It'll be fine, It'll be fine, It'll be fine
When the aristocrat shall protest,
The good citizen will laugh in his face,
Without troubling his soul,
And will always be the stronger.
Small ones and great ones all have the soul of a soldier,
During war none shall betray.
With heart all good French people will fight,
If he sees something fishy he shall speak with courage.
Lafayette says "come if you will!"
Without fear for fire or flame,
The French always shall win!
BBTITUDE BRIGITTE
La, la-la-la, la-la-la, la, la
La, la-la, la, la, la
On nous a dit "ça, c'est la vie"
On fait c'qu'on peut, c'est comme ça
Un jour de plus au paradis
Sois gentil, bosse et tais-toi
On nous a dit "ça, c'est la vie"
C'est le cœur ou la tête, docteur, dîtes-moi
Ça n'parle plus d'amour par ici
Sans la Belle, la Bête, elle aurait fait quoi
Même si c'est pas, c'est pas, c'est pas si facile
Je veux garder mon âme d'enfant
Regarde le monde comme il a le spleen
Mais toi, tu fais comme si t'avais le temps
Ça ira, le pire est passé
Faut pas qu'on se laisse tomber
Relever, relever, résister encore une fois
Ça ira, ça ira
Y a plus d'sourire à la maison
Moi, j'fais le clown à la fête
Même si je n'ai qu'une chanson
Pour faire du bien à la tête
Parfois, j'reviens à la raison
Je me dis que les hommes sont pas faits pour ça
Je dis à mon fils "fais attention
Le bonheur se fait rare, ne t'y habitue pas"
Même si c'est pas, c'est pas, c'est pas si facile
Je veux garder mon âme d'enfant
Regarde le monde comme il a le spleen
Mais toi, tu fais comme si t'avais le temps
Ça ira, le pire est passé
Faut pas qu'on se laisse tomber
Relever, relever, résister encore une fois
Ça ira, ça ira
La, la-la-la, la-la-la, la, la
La, la-la, la, la, la (résister encore une)
La, la-la-la, la-la-la, la, la
La, la-la, la, la, la (résister encore une fois)
Ça ira, le pire est passé
Faut pas qu'on se laisse tomber
Relever, relever, résister encore une fois
Ça ira, ça ira
Ça ira, le pire est passé
Faut pas qu'on se laisse tomber
Relever, relever, résister encore une fois
Ça ira, ça ira
Ein Hirsch
Sie lernen Nichts, Sie lernen Nichts
Die Herrn Hochwohlgeboren!
Vergeblich schmettert des Gerichts
Posaune ihren Ohren,
Daß golden nur aus schwarzer Nacht
Das Morgenroth der Freiheit lacht
Nach blutig schweren Wehen.
Sie mögen's nicht verstehen!
Weil wenn die Herrn von besser'm Blut
Die neue Zeit nicht lernen,
So hängt die Herren kurz und gut
Hoch, hoch! an die Laternen!
Der Fürsten feile Dienerschaar,
Der Troß der Schergenknechte,
Sie lernen nicht trotz grauem Haar
Der Menschheit ew'ge Rechte;
Daß es des Mannes unwerth sei,
In angestammter Hundetreu
Den eignen Sinn zu knechten
Und für Tyrannen fechten.
Sie lernen Nichts, denn Sklavenbrut
Wird Freiheit nimmer lernen,
Drum hängt die Buben kurz und gut
Hoch, hoch! an die Laternen!
Sie lernen Nichts, die Gottes Wort
Noch wähnen uns zu künden;
Daß Pfaffentrug und Geistesmord
Die größten aller Sünden! -
Daß einer neuen Sonne Licht
Des alten Irrwahns Fesseln bricht,
Daß man zur Gottheit bete
Nur an der Freiheits-Stätte.
Das wird in blinder Glaubenswuth
Kein Pfaffe jemals lernen,
Drum hängt die Pfaffen kurz und gut
Hoch, hoch! an die Laternen!
Sie lernen nicht, sie lernen nie,
Die Kron' und Purpur tragen;
Des Schicksals Rächerfaust hat sie
Mit Blindheit ganz geschlagen.
Sie träumen noch die alte Zeit:
Im Blut des Volks die Herrlichkeit
Des Purpurs neu zu baden,
Die Herrn von Gottes Gnaden!
Weil kein Tyrann in Gnad' geruht,
Des Volkes Recht zu lernen:
Hängt Tyrannen kurz und gut
Hoch, hoch! an die Laternen!
Anonym, Politischer Courier No. 91, Wien, 4. October 1848.
Michel Poulton
Les paroles et la voix d'Edith Piaf!! Comment ne pas avoir le frisson?...pour l'éternité!
Der Hoffnungsvolle
Quelle belle et révolutionnaire chanson!
Leticia MARTIN-PEÑASCO
Quelle voix , énergie et quelle prestance
Riccardo Eramo
Quel frisson quand ils chantent "ah ça ira, ça ira ça ira!". Un grand respect au grand peuple français par un italien!
Frédérique Couture
Encore!
Édith Piaf
Mon dieu,
Edith piaf i gain more respect for you each day, what a joy to hear her sing such a revolutionary song.
Vive l’edith piaf ❤❤
Vozes do meu Brasil
Maravilhosa !!!
philipchek
It's nice you choosed to translate this one :) - For some people it may seems an unknowed "obscure" song although every French knows the melody and the "Ha ça ira, ça ira, ça ira, les artistocrates à la lanterne !". One thing I'd like to insist on, and we have talk about it, is that every sentence in the song refers to real historical facts and politic fights and claims, when this womem march to Versailles occured, which make this song more "clever" and historical than it may look at first sight for just a simple revolutionary song with banal people claims. And thanks to have found for once more a good "pretext" to listen to the wonderful voice of Edith Piaf :)
VNRose3
philipchek Yes, I have many Piaf LPs and CDs and this was on none of them. Thanks to philipchek for finding it for me, and for the history lesson.
Bernard Verdy
MERCI!