Lefel's mother was from French Guiana and her father from the island of Martinique. She moved with her parents to Martinique when she was three. It was there that she was exposed to the rich musical traditions of the Caribbean. During the 1970s, when Lefel was growing up, creative young artists with Haitian bands were just beginning to create the zouk sound. Groups such as Les Frères Déjean, Le Ska Shah Number One and Tabou Combo drew on a combination of traditional African, Caribbean and European rhythms, including belair, biguine and mazurka, to produce their unique music which became another global phenomenon in the decades following the death of Bob Marley.
In her 14th year, Lefel and her mother left for France, settling in the Saint-Denis suburb of Paris. There she continued her studies in law, occasionally singing with her brother's folk rock group, and, in 1984, launched her career as a professional singer. The turning point in her career came when she met the Maffia band leader Jean-Michel Cambrimol. He invited her to accompany the band on a tour of the French Antilles, and recorded the hit single "My doudou" with her. Lefel's success on that tour led to more offers, including one from Jean-Luc Lazair of Lazair, with whom she recorded the single "Ich Maman". In 1987, she accepted an offer from the famous Martinican group Malavoi, appearing as a chorus singer on their album La case à Lucie. She earned her nickname "la sirène" by singing a song of that title on Malavoi's 1993 album Matebis. During the same period she met the arranger and producer Ronald Rubinel, whom she later married and with whom she had twin sons.
The year after Lefel first appeared with Malavoi she recorded her first solo album, La klé (The Key), which won the Prix de la SACEM for its producer, Georges Debs, in 1988. The album included a duet between Lefel and "Latin Crooner" Ralph Thamar - one of many collaborations Lefel recorded during her career with famous musicians, including Gilles Voyer, Dominique Zorobabel, Jean-Philippe Marthély, Sylviane Cédia and Mario Canonge. She explained to an interviewer for the RFI Musique website that when she hosted a house party she invited the people she loved the most, and she felt there was no reason why a recording session should be any different.
By 1992, Lefel had become well-known throughout the Caribbean and her reputation had spread to Mozambique. In that year she released her second album,Mèci (Thanks), which was honored with the Sacem trophy for the best female singer of the year. Mèci broke records for Afro-Caribbean independent artists, selling in excess of 40,000 units. Her third album Rendez-vous, released in 1996, continued to build her reputation as one of the leading female interpreters of Afro-Caribbean genres.
But that same year Lefel took her career in quite a different direction, with a live recording made at the famed Olympia theater in Paris. In Edith Lefel a l'Olympia, the artist expanded her repertoire to include French and English language material, including some of the Parisian street songs that had been popularized by Edith Piaf. She explained that her parents had listened to Piaf when she was young (along with other classic French-language chanteurs like Jacques Brel and Charles Aznavour), and that she had often imitated Piaf at home for their entertainment. On the evening of the Olympia concert, May 11, 1996, Lefel impressed the audience with her immense talent, supported by her friends Ralph Thamar and Jean-Luc Alger, and her husband and children.
A very attractive woman whose likeness graced the covers of many prominent French magazines, Lefel died at the height of her powers and popularity[1] in January 2003, at only age 39. She died in her sleep. Autopsy results revealed a combination of smoking and birth control pills as the cause of her death. Edith Lefel is buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery.
Contents
[hide] 1 Discography 1.1 Albums
2 References
3 External links
Asi parè
Edith Lefel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A si parè ou lé kité mwen
A si parè mwen fè wou kekchoy
Dépi dé mwa ou ka néglijé mwen
Mé sèpandan mwen toujou travay
Pou mwen té ba'w tou sa ou té lé
E jòdi ou sé an gwo musieu
Ou ka kité mwen pou an kannay
Alé musieu
Sa ou fè a pa kay pòté'w bonneu
Alé engra
Timanmay-la mwen kay swagné'y ba'w
Alé méchan
Loyé kay-la mwen ké péyé'y ba'w
Mwen sé kréyòl mwen ni kouraj
Mwen lé wè'w isi a Fort-De-France
Alé musieu
Sa ou fè a pa kay pòté'w bonneu
Alé engra
Timanmay-la mwen kay swagné'y ba'w
Alé bouro
Loyé kay-la mwen ké péyé'y ba'w
Mwen sé kréyòl mwen ni kouraj
Mwen lé wè'w isi a Fort-De-France
Asi yo!
Alé musieu
Sa ou fè a pa kay pòté'w bonneu
Alé engra
Timanmay-la mwen kay swagné'y ba'w
Alé méchan
Loyé kay-la mwen ké péyé'y ba'w
Mwen sé kréyòl mwen ni kouraj
Mwen lé wè'w isi a Fort-De-France
Alé musieu
Sa ou fè a pa kay pòté'w bonneu
Alé engra
Timanmay-la mwen kay swagné'y ba'w
Alé bouro
Loyé kay-la mwen ké péyé'y ba'w
Mwen sé kréyòl mwen ni kouraj
Mwen lé wè'w isi a Fort-De-France
Asi yo!
Ou pé pati si sé lidé wou
Ou pé alé épi sa ou enmen
Ranjé mal-ou pran malchapray-ou
Mé pa touché bel konplé gri a
Non!
Nou fanm élas nou sav dan lavi
Toujou ranpli ke de makakri
E zot tout nonm sé kon sa zot yé
Bon fanm toujou mal rékonpansé
Alé musieu
Sa ou fè a pa kay pòté'w bonneu
Alé engra
Timanmay-la mwen kay swagné'y ba'w
Alé méchan
Loyé kay-la mwen ké péyé'y ba'w
Mwen sé kréyòl mwen ni kouraj
Mwen lé wè'w isi a Fort-De-France
Alé musieu
Sa ou fè a pa kay pòté'w bonneu
Alé engra
Timanmay-la mwen kay swagné'y ba'w
Alé bouro
Loyé kay-la mwen ké péyé'y ba'w
Mwen sé kréyòl mwen ni kouraj
Mwen lé wè'w isi a Fort-De-France
Yélélélélélélé
Yélélélélélélé
The song "Asi paré" by Edith Lefel is a Creole-language track that speaks to the suffering of women who are mistreated by their partners. The opening lines of the song translate to “It seems that I'm not pretty anymore / It seems that you want to leave me / It seems that I have done something wrong / For two months you have been neglecting me.” The song then goes on to encourage women to take control of their lives and not tolerate abuse or mistreatment. The lyrics also mention the struggles of being a woman and how they are often not appreciated or valued in society.
Line by Line Meaning
A si parè mwen pa bel ankò
According to appearances, I am no longer beautiful
A si parè ou lé kité mwen
According to appearances, you want to leave me
A si parè mwen fè wou kekchoy
According to appearances, I did something wrong to you
Dépi dé mwa ou ka néglijé mwen
For the past two months, you have been neglecting me
Mé sèpandan mwen toujou travay
But despite that, I am still working hard
Pou mwen té ba'w tou sa ou té lé
So that I could give you everything you wanted
E jòdi ou sé an gwo musieu
And now you are a big shot
Ou ka kité mwen pou an kannay
You are leaving me for a piece of sugar cane
Alé musieu
Go on, sir
Sa ou fè a pa kay pòté'w bonneu
What you are doing won't bring you any good
Alé engra
Go on, nasty one
Timanmay-la mwen kay swagné'y ba'w
I will teach that young girl to love you less
Alé méchan
Go on, mean one
Loyé kay-la mwen ké péyé'y ba'w
I will pay for that house you rent
Mwen sé kréyòl mwen ni kouraj
I am Creole, I am courageous
Mwen lé wè'w isi a Fort-De-France
I want to see you here in Fort-de-France
Asi yo!
Come on!
Ou pé pati si sé lidé wou
You can leave if that's what you want
Ou pé alé épi sa ou enmen
You can leave with what you love
Ranjé mal-ou pran malchapray-ou
Fix your problems and take your bad luck
Mé pa touché bel konplé gri a
But don't touch the pretty necklace
Non!
No!
Nou fanm élas nou sav dan lavi
We women, unfortunately, know about life
Toujou ranpli ke de makakri
Always full of monkey business
E zot tout nonm sé kon sa zot yé
And all you men are like that
Bon fanm toujou mal rékonpansé
Good women are always poorly rewarded
Yélélélélélélé
Yélélélélélélé
Contributed by Noah O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@CS-hb9zu
Asi Paré man pa bel enko
asi paré ou lé kité mwen ...
Asi paré mwen fé ou kekchose dépi dé moi ou ka négligé mwen
Mé Cependant mwen toujou travail pou mwen pé ba'w tou sa ou télé
Et jodi ou sé an gro'missieu ou ka quité mwen pou an kannay
Refrain:
Alé missieu sa ou fe-a pa kay pote'w bonheur
Alé ingra ti manmay-la mwen kay soinié ba'w
Alé méchan loyé kay-la mwen kay péyé ba'w
Mwen sé créol mwen ni couraj mwen lé ouè'w ici a Fort-de France
Alé missieu sa ou fe-a pa kay pote'w bonheur
Alé ingra ti manmay-la mwen kay soinié ba'w
Alé Bourro loyé kay-la mwen kay péyé ba'w
Mwen sé créol mwen ni couraj mwen lé ouè'w ici a Fort-de-France
Asi YO!
Refrain:
Ou pé pati épi si sé lidé'ou
Ou pé alé épi sa ou inmin
Rangé mallou pren mal chagra'ou mé pa touché bel conplé gri a
Nou femn élas, nou sav dan la vi toujou rempli que de macacri
Mé zot tout nomes sé consa zot yé bomn famn toujou mal réconpensé
Yé lé lé lé
Yé lé lé lé
@chantalegeorges4858
As it appear I'm no longer beautiful.
As it appear you want to leave me.
As it appear, I made upset, since 2 months you have neglect me. Meanwhile I have been working to give you all that you've wanted, and now you have become " mr.
big shot" you left me for a cougar.
Chorus:
Leave, you greedy
What you did will not make you happy
Leave, ingrate your every little thing I took care for you, your rent, i paid it for you, I am creole I have strength from here to Fort de France (Repeat)
It is your idea to leave
You want to go to whom you love
Pack your bags but do not touch the beautiful grey suit.
Us women, we're tired, but we know this life is full of bullshit and we know good women are always last.
Chorus
Leave, you greedy
What you did will not make you happy
Leave, ingrate your every little thing I took care for you, your rent, i paid it for you, I am creole I have strength from here to Fort de France (Repeat)
My attempt to translate. Google didn't do a good job.
@TheVideoSelection
Edith LEFEL - A Si Paré (480p)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXy4rGHxpiM
@isabellegianti8161
Le pasteur a tué Pierre Paul Jacque l hôpital
@isabellegianti8161
Le pasteur a tué Pierre Paul Jacque
@isabellegianti8161
A l hôpital
@juniorsinaise3340
Yes sir very nice music listening from St lucia I can understand a little because I speak creole 🎶🎶💯
@williamrobinson2880
MAGNIFIQUE chanteuse R.I.P Édith tu t'en est allée pour illuminé les anges avec ta merveilleuse voix🌹🌹🌹👏👏👏❤❤❤🕊🕊🕊🙏🙏🙏🔝🔝🔝
@Zyndyenne
Tjr la en.2023 une femme d'uneelegance d'une force incroyable une fanm doubout potomitan comme on aime tant sans compter sa beauté
@florencepedussaud6356
Edith tu es et tu restes toujours mon icône de la musique antillaise. Je ne t’oublie pas malgré les années qui passent...
@moimeme6749
Rip dad.
Bon voyage.
@marinefarouil4768
2019 . J'écoute encore . Toujours autant de plaisir.