Born in Paris, France to a poor and dysfunctional family, Marguerite Boulc'h was a child left to a life on the streets in the dark side of Paris. In her teens she got a break when she met one of the female music-hall performers who heard her sing and introduced her to show business promoters. She began performing under the stage name "Pervenche" and soon met and married Robert Hollard, a performer who used the nom de guerre "Roberty." Alcohol entered her life at an early age and her drinking became a problem for her husband. Their marriage did not last long and Boulc'h's husband left her for the Parisian singer, Damia. Fréhel then began a relationship with Maurice Chevalier but that too did not last long and after he left her for the much older megastar Mistinguett, the distraught girl, still only 19 years old, attempted suicide.
Following her failed suicide attempt, in 1911 Marguerite Boulc'h tried to escape her pain and travelled to Bucharest, Romania and then to Russia where she remained for more than ten years. Lost in a world of alcohol and drugs, she returned to Paris in 1923 to a shocked public that saw the wasted shadow of the singer they had known and loved. She then signalled a new beginning by switching to the stage name "Fréhel", taking the name from Cap Fréhel in Brittany where her parents had been born. Singing as Fréhel, at the Paris Olympia in 1924 she recaptured the former magic with a powerful performance and was soon headlining at the most popular venues in the country. Part of what is now referred to as the bal musette, Fréhel often sang accompanied by pipes and/or an accordion player.
In the 1930s, she appeared in several motion pictures, almost always portraying a singer in a minor or supporting role. The most notable films in which she performed were 1931's De Coeur des Lilas, based on the Tristan Bernard play, and Pépé le Moko that starred Jean Gabin. While her alcohol abuse continued, she nevertheless was a major show business force of 1930s France. Of all her songs, her 1939 "La Java Bleue", with music by Vincent Scotto, proved her most popular.
Despite being one of Europe's most sought after performers, her destructive addictions led to her dropping out of sight for years. She never found the love she had sought for so long and died in 1951, a wretched drunk, alone in a hotel in Pigalle. She was interred in the Cimetière de Pantin, near Paris.
Her 1934 recording "Si tu n'étais pas là" was featured in the 2001 soundtrack for the film Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain (Amélie).
Some of Fréhel's best known songs:
* "Comme un moineau" (1925)
* "Où est-il donc? " (1926)
* "À la dérive" (1932)
* "Où sont tous mes amants" (1935)
* "Tel qu'il est" (1936)
* "La der des der" (1939)
* "La java bleue" (1939)
Films:
* De Coeur des Lilas (1931)
* La Rue sans nom (1934)
* Le roman d'un tricheur (1936)
* Pépé le Moko (1937)
* L'Innocent (1937)
* La Rue sans joie (1938)
Si tu n'etais pas la
Fréhel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Comment pourrais-je vivre?
Je ne connaîtrais pas
Ce bonheur qui m'enivre
Quand je suis dans tes bras
Mon cœur joyeux se livre
Comment pourrais-je vivre
Si tu n'étais pas là?
J'ai parfois malgré moi
Des craintes folles
Même un soir sans te voir
Je me désole
Tu reviens et soudain
Plus de tristesse
Car tu sais l'effacer
D'une caresse
Si tu n'étais pas là
Comment pourrais-je vivre?
Je ne connaîtrais pas
Ce bonheur qui m'enivre
Quand je suis dans tes bras
Mon cœur joyeux se livre
Comment pourrais-je vivre
Si tu n'étais pas là?
Les projets que je fais
Presque sans trêve
Les beaux soirs où l'espoir
Berce mon rêve
Nos tourments si charmants
Bien loin du monde
C'est à toi que je dois
Ces joies profondes
Si tu n'étais pas là
Comment pourrais-je vivre?
Je ne connaîtrais pas
Ce bonheur qui m'enivre
Quand je suis dans tes bras
Mon cœur joyeux se livre
Comment pourrais-je vivre
Si tu n'étais pas là?
In "Si tu n'étais pas là," Frehel sings about how her life would be different without her beloved. She starts the song by posing the question "Comment pourrais-je vivre?" which translates to "how could I live?" Without her lover, she claims she wouldn't experience the happiness and joy that comes from being with them. Her heart sings when she's in their arms, and she can't imagine a life without them.
Frehel goes on to confess that even when she's away from her lover, she can feel melancholy and desperate. However, when they return, they bring joy and happiness with them, erasing all traces of sadness with a single touch. She describes the projects she works on, hoping that they will one day come to fruition, dreaming of a better future. She acknowledges that life is full of struggles, but it is made more bearable by her partner.
The song ends with Frehel repeating the refrain, emphasizing how much her life depends on her lover's presence. Overall, "Si tu n'étais pas là" is a touching love song that celebrates the joy and comfort that comes from being in a loving relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Si tu n'étais pas là
If you were not here with me
Comment pourrais-je vivre?
How could I live?
Je ne connaîtrais pas
I would not know
Ce bonheur qui m'enivre
The happiness that fills me
Quand je suis dans tes bras
When I am in your arms
Mon cœur joyeux se livre
My heart happily opens up
J'ai parfois malgré moi
Sometimes, despite myself
Des craintes folles
I have wild fears
Même un soir sans te voir
Evening without seeing you
Je me désole
I become sad
Tu reviens et soudain
You return and suddenly
Plus de tristesse
No more sadness
Car tu sais l'effacer
Because you know how to erase it
D'une caresse
With a caress
Les projets que je fais
The plans that I make
Presque sans trêve
Almost endlessly
Les beaux soirs où l'espoir
The beautiful evenings where hope
Berce mon rêve
Nurtures my dream
Nos tourments si charmants
Our charming torments
Bien loin du monde
Far from the world
C'est à toi que je dois
It is to you that I owe
Ces joies profondes
These deep joys
Si tu n'étais pas là
If you were not here with me
Comment pourrais-je vivre?
How could I live?
Je ne connaîtrais pas
I would not know
Ce bonheur qui m'enivre
The happiness that fills me
Quand je suis dans tes bras
When I am in your arms
Mon cœur joyeux se livre
My heart happily opens up
Comment pourrais-je vivre
How could I live
Si tu n'étais pas là?
If you were not here with me
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Gaston Claret, Pierre Bayle
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@meriamae4322
If you weren't there
How could I live ?
I wouldn't know
This exhilarating happiness
When I am in your arms
My cheerful heart surrenders
How could I live
If you weren't there ?
Without wishing to, I am sometime
Terribly anxious
Even one night without seeing you
Upsets me
You come back and suddenly
No more sadness
For you know how to
Stroke it away
If you weren't there
How could I live ?
I wouldn't know
This exhilarating happiness
When I am in your arms
My cheerful heart surrenders
How could I live
If you weren't there ?
The plans I make
Almost unceasingly
The beautiful nights when hope
Nourishes my dream
Our quite delightful torments
So far away from the world
You are the one to whom I owe
These deep delights
If you weren't there
How could I live ?
I wouldn't know
This exhilarating happiness
When I am in your arms
My cheerful heart surrenders
How could I live
If you weren't there ?
@Der_klein_koala
Si tu n'étais pas là
Comment pourrais-je vivre?
Je ne connaîtrais pas
Ce bonheur qui m'enivre
Quand je suis dans tes bras
Mon cœur joyeux se livre
Comment pourrais-je vivre
Si tu n'étais pas là?
J'ai parfois malgré moi
Des craintes folles
Même un soir sans te voir
Je me désole
Tu reviens et soudain
Plus de tristesse
Car tu sais l'effacer
D'une caresse
Si tu n'étais pas là
Comment pourrais-je vivre?
Je ne connaîtrais pas
Ce bonheur qui m'enivre
Quand je suis dans tes bras
Mon cœur joyeux se livre
Comment pourrais-je vivre
Si tu n'étais pas là?
Les projets que je fais
Presque sans trêve
Les beaux soirs où l'espoir
Berce mon rêve
Nos tourments si charmants
Bien loin du monde
C'est à toi que je dois
Ces joies profondes
Si tu n'étais pas là
Comment pourrais-je vivre?
Je ne connaîtrais pas
Ce bonheur qui m'enivre
Quand je suis dans tes bras
Mon cœur joyeux se livre
Comment pourrais-je vivre
Si tu n'étais pas là?
@danielhowe7362
Thanks to the greatest French movie of recent years, Amelie, I discovered this gem! You don't have to understand French to be moved to the core by the genuine depth of the voice and the beautiful sentiments. You'd have to have a stone heart not to be moved by this gem!
@remydecultot552
Une magnifique chanson bouleversante interprétée avec une superbe voix.
@sylvierocklin1603
j'ai toujours aimée Fréhel j'ai 54 ans aujourd'hui j'avais 4 ans en 1970 personne ne m a appris à aimer Frehel et ses consoeurs damia et Berthe Silva je l'ai aimés toute seule à 4 ans de moi même et écouter FREHEL pour moi c'est normal j adore ♥♥♥♥
@fimovanille4782
J'adore ce genre de musique meme à 21 ans , mais seul un cercle restreint de personne plus ou moins romantiques peuvent comprendre ce genre de musique , ce genre d'émotions quelle procure
@joegeneve8987
pareil.
@yadusolparterre
Montre leur le film Amelie Poulain, c'est celui qui m'a fait aimer Frehel
@erzbet07
The film AMELIE brought me here...but only because of the haunting song heard in the Metro "Si tu n'etais pas la". Now I'm off to learn more about Frehel. Such a beautiful voice and her diction was delectable. Merci!
@chabaudmariette1172
C'est dit ! Un monument de la chanson populaire ! Cet accent d'la rue ; ...droit au coeur Madame !💗⚘
@ahmedkemak454
Une très belle chanson éternelle 💕 toute une époque 💕 repose en paix madame Fréhel inchallah 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
@christophe36000
1934 ;) , quelle belle époque à Paris. La liberté.