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
La sirène
Edith Lefel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A penn mwen souri nom la couri decenn
Jimbé mwen bo dlo la
Y bo y di mwen di "cherie soit a moi pour la vie" (2fois)
Alo -mwen desenn- la cascade -pou binyin- y di -mwen cheri- chante mwen -ka vini--
Y pren- on plonjon -disparèt -an dlo a-
Doudou sé ou mwen wé sé ou mwen lé (2fois)(2fois)
Lé mwen refléchi mwen di sé on sirene ki fé mwen jé ta la
Y bo mwen y fé mwen inmé-y épi y kité mwen (2fois)
Y kité - mwen (2fois)
The lyrics to Edith Lefel's song La sirène describe the experience of the singer as she goes on a journey to find a waterfall. As she reaches the waterfall, she sees a beautiful lady who tells her to sing to her so that she can come closer. The singer then jumps into the water and disappears, but she returns to say that she sees her lover in the lady's eyes. She realizes that the lady is a siren and falls in love with her. However, the siren soon leaves her, and the singer is left to reflect on the experience of falling in love with a mythical creature.
The lyrics of La sirène are full of metaphors and symbolism. The journey to find the waterfall represents the search for love or happiness, while the lady who the singer sees in the waterfall represents an unattainable or imaginary love. The metaphor of the siren represents the danger and allure of falling in love with someone who is not real or attainable. The singer's realization that she sees her lover in the siren's eyes shows her acceptance of the impossibility of the situation, and her willingness to fall in love with an unattainable object of desire.
Overall, the lyrics of La sirène are a beautiful and emotional portrayal of the complexities of love and desire. The use of symbolism and metaphor adds depth and richness to the song, making it a timeless classic.
Line by Line Meaning
ON JOU- MWEN DESENN- LA CASCADE- POU Binyin -mwen ten -on ti chan- ki soti -di siel la -mwen lévé -zié mwen- pou chéché- la sa yé- mwen y vwé- on mamzel- trè joli -ki di mwen
One day, I descended to the waterfall to refresh myself with the water falling from the sky. I opened my eyes to see a very pretty lady who spoke to me.
A penn mwen souri nom la couri decenn
In an instant, she smiled at me and her name traveled for decades.
Jimbé mwen bo dlo la
She held my hand close to the water.
Y bo y di mwen di "cherie soit a moi pour la vie" (2fois)
She said to me, "My dear, be mine for life" (2x).
Alo -mwen desenn- la cascade -pou binyin- y di -mwen cheri- chante mwen -ka vini--
So I descended to the waterfall to hear her say my name and sing to me.
Y pren- on plonjon -disparèt -an dlo a-
She took a dive and disappeared into the water.
Lé jou- ka pasé- mé mwen la -ka di:
As days passed, I remained there and said:
Doudou sé ou mwen wé sé ou mwen lé (2fois)(2fois)
My darling, it is you I see, it is you I want (2x)(2x).
Lé mwen refléchi mwen di sé on sirene ki fé mwen jé ta la
As I reflected, I realized that she was a mermaid who made me stay there.
Y bo mwen y fé mwen inmé-y épi y kité mwen (2fois)
She had me loving her and then she left me (2x).
Y kité - mwen (2fois)
She left me (2x).
Writer(s): Loulou Boislaville, Paul Rosine
Contributed by Max O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.