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.
Plus bleu que tes yeux
Édith Piaf Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Je ne vois rien de mieux,
Même le bleu des cieux.
Plus blond que tes cheveux dorés
Ne peut s'imaginer,
Même le blond des blés.
Plus pur que ton souffle si doux,
Le vent, même au mois d'août,
Plus fort que mon amour pour toi,
La mer, même en furie,
Ne s'en approche pas.
Plus bleu que le bleu de tes yeux,
Je ne vois rien de mieux,
Même le bleu des cieux.
Si un jour tu devais t'en aller
Et me quitter,
Mon destin changerait tout-à-coup
Do tout au tout.
Plus gris que le gris de ma vie,
Rien ne serait plus gris,
Pas même un ciel de pluie.
Plus noir que le noir de mon c?ur,
La terre en profondeur
N'aurait pas sa noirceur.
Plus vide que mes jours sans toi,
Aucun gouffre sans fond
Ne s'en approchera.
Plus long que mon chagrin d'amour,
Même l'éternité
Près de lui serait court.
Plus gris que le gris de ma vie,
Rien ne serait plus gris,
Pas même un ciel de pluie.
On a tort de penser, je sais bien,
Aux lendemains.
A quoi bon se compliquer la vie
Puisqu'aujourd'hui...
Plus bleu que le bleu de tes yeux,
Je ne vois rien de mieux,
Même le bleu des cieux.
Plus blond que tes cheveux dorés
Ne peut s'imaginer,
Même le blond des blés.
Plus pur que ton souffle si doux,
Le vent, même au mois d'août,
Ne peut être plus doux.
Plus fort que mon amour pour toi
La mer, même en furie,
Ne s'en approche pas.
Plus bleu que le bleu de tes yeux,
Je ne vois que les rêves
Que m'apportent tes yeux...
The lyrics of the French song "Plus bleu que tes yeux" by Edith Piaf are about the depth and strength of love. The first verse compares the beautiful blue of the lover's eyes to the sky, indicating that the lover's eyes are more beautiful than anything in the world. The second verse describes the lover's hair as more beautiful than the fields of wheat. The third verse compares the purity of the lover's breath to the softness of the wind in August. The fourth verse compares the love for the lover to the fury of the sea, indicating that even the great power of the ocean doesn't compare to the strength of the love felt for the lover.
The second half of the song takes a darker turn, with the first verse of the second part discussing the devastation that would be felt if the lover were to leave. The singer's life would be colorless and empty, and the blackness of their heart would be deeper than the earth's depths. The third verse implies that the singer's life would be unbearable without their lover, indicating that no abyss would be deep enough to express their grief. The final chorus is a repetition of the first, emphasizing that the beauty of the lover's eyes is unmatched.
Overall, the song expresses the power and importance of love through beautiful imagery, with the second half of the song emphasizing the devastation that would be felt if that love were ever to be lost.
Line by Line Meaning
Plus bleu que le bleu de tes yeux,
Je ne vois rien de mieux,
Même le bleu des cieux.
The color blue, as seen in your eyes, is beyond compare. Not even the blue of the skies can compare to your eyes.
Plus blond que tes cheveux dorés
Ne peut s'imaginer,
Même le blond des blés.
The color of your golden hair is the epitome of beauty, and not even the fields of wheat can match its radiance.
Plus pur que ton souffle si doux,
Le vent, même au mois d'août,
Ne peut être plus doux.
The purity of your gentle breath is indescribable, and not even the August wind can be as delicate and soothing.
Plus fort que mon amour pour toi,
La mer, même en furie,
Ne s'en approche pas.
My love for you is stronger than the wildest of seas, and no matter how furious it gets, it cannot match the intensity of my love.
Si un jour tu devais t'en aller
Et me quitter,
Mon destin changerait tout-à-coup
Do tout au tout.
If one day you were to leave me and abandon me, my entire world would change abruptly and completely.
Plus gris que le gris de ma vie,
Rien ne serait plus gris,
Pas même un ciel de pluie.
My life without you would be a dreary shade of grey, and not even a rainy sky can compare to the emptiness I would feel.
Plus noir que le noir de mon cœur,
La terre en profondeur
N'aurait pas sa noirceur.
The darkness of my heart without you is so profound that even the deepest depths of the earth cannot match its bleakness.
Plus vide que mes jours sans toi,
Aucun gouffre sans fond
Ne s'en approchera.
My days without you would be so empty that not even an endless abyss can match the depth of my despair.
Plus long que mon chagrin d'amour,
Même l'éternité
Près de lui serait court.
The pain of my love for you is so enduring that even eternity would seem short in comparison.
On a tort de penser, je sais bien,
Aux lendemains.
A quoi bon se compliquer la vie
Puisqu'aujourd'hui...
We are wrong to worry about the future, for it only complicates our lives. It's better to enjoy the present moment since it's all we truly have.
Plus bleu que le bleu de tes yeux,
Je ne vois rien de mieux,
Même le bleu des cieux.
The color blue in your eyes is unsurpassed, and nothing can rival its beauty. Not even the blue skies can compare to it.
Plus blond que tes cheveux dorés
Ne peut s'imaginer,
Même le blond des blés.
The color of your golden hair is beyond imagination. Not even the fields of wheat can match its brilliance.
Plus pur que ton souffle si doux,
Le vent, même au mois d'août,
Ne peut être plus doux.
The purity of your gentle breath is indescribable, and not even the August wind can be as delicate and soothing.
Plus fort que mon amour pour toi
La mer, même en furie,
Ne s'en approche pas.
My love for you is so strong that not even the raging sea can compare to its intensity.
Plus bleu que le bleu de tes yeux,
Je ne vois que les rêves
Que m'apportent tes yeux...
Your blue eyes are the only thing I see, and they bring me dreams that I hold onto dearly.
Lyrics © RAOUL BRETON EDITIONS, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: CHARLES AZNAVOUR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Haiense
RIP ma chère Edith !!1 Ta voix est éternelle. Bisous , bisous.
Lucas Cornejo
Amazing music, you talent is incredible.
Cameron
If you dont now edith piaf is dead in 1963
Cameron
But she is so amazing
Dow Liw
Sublime chanson d'edith Piaf. Le Duo avec Charles Aznavour est magnifique aussi. 🌹🌹
njp mantra
Grande Édith par le coeur et le talent.elle vivait ces chansons jusqu a dans ces tripes c etait du vécu et une sincérité incroyable sur scène.Une formidale chanteuse apres tant de mauvaises expériences de la vie qui ne lui a pas fait de cadeau jusqu au bout.
Eleştirel Akıl
Bir ses ancak bu kadar güzel, bu kadar naif, bu kadar ince, bu kadar tatlı olabilir.
Cameron
Comme d'habitude tu nous émerveille avec ta musique
Daniele Clauzel
chanson signée par Charles Aznavour paroles et musique ...
emmanuelle morena
Comme d'habitude