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.
Les Feuilles Mortes
Édith Piaf Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Des jours heureux où nous étions amis
En ce temps-là la vie était plus belle
Et le soleil plus brûlant qu'aujourd'hui
Les feuilles mortes se ramassent à la pelle
Tu vois, je n'ai pas oublié
Les feuilles mortes se ramassent à la pelle
Et le vent du Nord les emporte,
Dans la nuit froide de l'oubli
Tu vois je n'ai pas oublié,
La chanson que tu me chantais
Les feuilles mortes se ramassent à la pelle
Les souvenirs et les regrets aussi,
Mais mon amour silencieux et fidèle
Sourit toujours et remercie la vie
Je t'aimais tant, tu étais si jolie,
Comment veux-tu que je t'oublie?
En ce temps-là la vie était plus belle
Et le soleil plus brûlant qu'aujourd'hui
Tu étais ma plus douce amie
Mais je n'ai que faire des regrets
Et la chanson que tu chantais,
Toujours, toujours je l'entendrai
C'est une chanson qui nous ressemble,
Toi tu m'aimais, moi je t'aimais
Et nous vivions, tous deux ensemble,
Toi qui m'aimais, moi qui t'aimais
Mais la vie sépare ceux qui s'aiment,
Tout doucement, sans faire de bruit
Et la mer efface sur le sable
Les pas des amants désunis
C'est une chanson qui nous ressemble,
Toi tu m'aimais et je t'aimais
Et nous vivions tous deux ensemble,
Toi qui m'aimais, moi qui t'aimais
Mais la vie sépare ceux qui s'aiment,
Tout doucement, sans faire de bruit
Et la mer efface sur le sable
Les pas des amants désunis
"Les feuilles mortes" is a French song that talks about love, memories, and the passage of time. The lyrics are full of nostalgia, and the singer is reflecting on a past love. The song begins with the singer yearning for their friend to remember the happy days they had when they were younger. The lyrics speak of times when life was more beautiful, and the sun was hotter.
The chorus "Les feuilles mortes se ramassent à la pelle" can be translated to "the dead leaves are swept away with the shovel." The singer hasn't forgotten the past, and the memories and regrets still linger. The wind carries away the memories, and the singer hasn't forgotten the song their love used to sing. The singer talks about how their love was once so strong, but life eventually separates those who love each other.
The song is a classic in French music, and it has been covered many times by different artists. "Les feuilles mortes" was originally a poem written by Jacques Prévert. The song was composed by Joseph Kosma, and it was featured in the film Les Portes de la nuit, which was directed by Marcel Carné. The song and the film were both released in 1946.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, je voudais tant que tu te souviennes
I wish so much that you remember
Des jours heureux où nous étions amis
The happy days when we were friends
En ce temps-là la vie était plus belle
Back then, life was more beautiful
Et le soleil plus brûlant qu'aujourd'hui
And the sun hotter than today
Les feuilles mortes se ramassent à la pelle
The dead leaves are gathered with a shovel
Tu vois, je n'ai pas oublié
You see, I haven't forgotten
Les souvenirs et les regrets aussi
The memories and the regrets too
Et le vent du Nord les emporte,
And the North wind carries them away
Dans la nuit froide de l'oubli
In the cold night of oblivion
La chanson que tu me chantais
The song you used to sing to me
Mais mon amour silencieux et fidèle
But my silent and faithful love
Sourit toujours et remercie la vie
Always smiles and thanks life
Je t'aimais tant, tu étais si jolie,
I loved you so much, you were so pretty
Comment veux-tu que je t'oublie?
How do you expect me to forget you?
Tu étais ma plus douce amie
You were my sweetest friend
Mais je n'ai que faire des regrets
But I have no use for regrets
Et la chanson que tu chantais,
And the song you used to sing
Toujours, toujours je l'entendrai
I will always, always hear it
C'est une chanson qui nous ressemble,
It's a song that is like us
Toi tu m'aimais, moi je t'aimais
You loved me, and I loved you
Et nous vivions, tous deux ensemble,
And we lived together, both of us
Mais la vie sépare ceux qui s'aiment,
But life separates those who love each other
Tout doucement, sans faire de bruit
Quietly and without making a sound
Et la mer efface sur le sable
And the sea erases on the sand
Les pas des amants désunis
The footsteps of separated lovers
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Jacques Prevert, Joseph Kosma
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Claudio Valentim
Chorei ao ouvi-la ela era uma artista extraordinária e incrível que voz possante e ao mesmo tempo marcante estou apaixonado por essa cantora que nem nascido eu era.
Fatima Pastichi
Viva YouTube...adoro essa cantora. No meu coração ela nunca vai estar morta, Piaf...eterna!
kenavo2103
Dommage que la chanson ne soit pas chantée entièrement en français par elle. Son interprétion est si émouvante.
Photoshop
+kenavo2103 The English doesn't ruin it, but French certainly fits it a lot better.
Doriedson Donato
COMO SEMPRE MARAVILHOSO , MUITO BOM MESMO.
Ricardo Brunini
Impresionante, maravillosa y mágica.
Antonia Prado
Maravillosas su voz y las letras de sus canciones.
Tapio skaya
Very nice collection of pictures of Paris, it really adds something to the song!
Jacky Lo
An emotional voice that can stir up all my sorrows deep within....
melunia100
cudowny Paryż i cudowny głos