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.
Un Homme Comme les Autres
Édith Piaf Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mais pour peu qu'il vous intéresse,
Ça tient d' la place, cré nom d'un chien.
Celui pour qui j'ai des faiblesses
N'est pas tellement joli garçon
Mais il ressemble à ma chanson.
Un homme comme les autres,
Et pourtant
Personne n'a sa voix,
Personne n'a ses yeux.
Quand je l'aperçois,
J'en ai plein les yeux
Et je l'aime
Un homme comme les autres,
Un homme parmi tant d'autres
Et pourtant
Nous avons des nuits
Toutes remplies d'amour,
Serrée contre lui
Jusqu'au petit jour
Où l'on s'aime
Un homme comme les autres,
Un homme parmi tant d'autres.
Voilà des mois qu'il est parti.
Les gens m'ont dit "On s'en console."
Probable qu'ils avaient menti.
J'ai l'impression que je deviens folle.
Jamais, jamais je ne l'oublierai.
Jusqu'à la fin, je l'attendrai.
Un homme comme les autres,
Un homme parmi tant d'autres
Et pourtant
En fermant les yeux,
Je revois soudain
Quand, dans mes cheveux,
Il glissait ses mains
Et je l'aime
Un homme comme les autres,
Un homme parmi tant d'autres
Et pourtant
Dans mes souvenirs,
Je nous vois danser,
Je vais me blottir,
Lui va m'emporter.
Et je l'aime
Un homme parmi tant d'autres
The lyrics of Édith Piaf's song Un Homme Comme les Autres describe a woman's love for an ordinary man who may not be physically attractive but has captured her heart. She reveals that even though society may see men as nothing special, the man she loves holds a special place in her heart. She compares his beauty to that of her own music. The song also speaks of the woman's deep feelings for the man, including memories of their passionate love and the pain of his absence, as well as her determination to wait for him despite the opinions of others. She portrays this man as humble, vulnerable and quite ordinary despite the fact that he is special to her.
The lyrics of Un Homme Comme les Autres display the emotion of love in its most authentic form - genuine and unconditional. The words depict the real essence of love that goes beyond appearance or societal standards. The song embodies the message that individuals can be ordinary to others, but become special and unique to someone who loves them unconditionally. Through the lyrics, Édith Piaf encourages listeners to appreciate and cherish the love they find, without paying attention to what others may think.
Line by Line Meaning
A l' voir comme ça, un homme c'est rien,
At first glance, a man is nothing,
Mais pour peu qu'il vous intéresse,
But when he catches your interest,
Ça tient d' la place, cré nom d'un chien.
He takes up quite a bit of space, damn it.
Celui pour qui j'ai des faiblesses
The one for whom I have weaknesses
N'est pas tellement joli garçon
Is not such a handsome boy
Mais il ressemble à ma chanson.
But he resembles my song.
Un homme comme les autres,
A man like any other,
Un homme parmi tant d'autres
One man among many
Et pourtant
And yet
Personne n'a sa voix,
No one has his voice,
Personne n'a ses yeux.
No one has his eyes.
Quand je l'aperçois,
When I catch sight of him,
J'en ai plein les yeux
My eyes are full of him
Et je l'aime
And I love him
Nous avons des nuits
We have nights
Toutes remplies d'amour,
All filled with love
Serrée contre lui
Held close to him
Jusqu'au petit jour
Until the break of day
Où l'on s'aime
Where we love each other
Voilà des mois qu'il est parti.
It's been months since he left.
Les gens m'ont dit "On s'en console."
People told me "You'll get over it."
Probable qu'ils avaient menti.
They were probably lying.
J'ai l'impression que je deviens folle.
I feel like I'm going crazy.
Jamais, jamais je ne l'oublierai.
Never, never will I forget him.
En fermant les yeux,
Closing my eyes,
Je revois soudain
I suddenly see again
Quand, dans mes cheveux,
When, in my hair,
Il glissait ses mains
He would slide his hands
Dans mes souvenirs,
In my memories,
Je nous vois danser,
I see us dancing,
Je vais me blottir,
I'm going to snuggle up,
Lui va m'emporter.
He's going to carry me away.
Et je l'aime
And I love him
Un homme parmi tant d'autres
One man among many
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BEUSCHER ARPEGE
Written by: EDITH PIAF (EDITH GASSION), PIERRE ROCHE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mauricette cavalli
Quelle interprétation !!Magnifique ,ça laisse songeuse c'est très beau, bien sûr, je pense à toi tout bas tu n'es pas ordinaire. ...délicieux moment jolie voix bravo et merci j'en redemande. ...
jukeboxnano
Une histoire de amour de tous les jours... mais racconté seule comme elle sait la racconter...
octavia salcudean
Un homme comme nous tous, mais quand elle chante, quel spectacle!!!!!....
Ｋａｚｕｓｈｉｇｅ Ｉｋｅｕｃｈｉ
好い曲です、本当に唄が上手い。
adolfo cagorno
sublime
didou1563
merci, c'est une chanson que j'aime beaucoup...
Cristina Bernadat Artiste inspirée
❤️❤️❤️
Formula Juan
Toujours Piaff
tychaton08
Merci!