What name comes up more in the topic of French music than Edith Piaf? Many cultured musicians would answer: none. Born Edith Giovanna Gassion, this Parisian rose would eventually become known as “La Môme Piaf” or “little sparrow” in Parisian slang. This nickname of sorts would be oh so fitting for a petite songstress. Sadly, Edith would eventually become addicted to morphine and die on October 10th 1963 at the tender age of 48. Her music would live on for many years though. The 2007 recipient of the Academy Award for best actress, Marion Cotillard, well deserved it portraying Edith in the acclaimed film “La Vie En Rose” which, if you have not yet done so, you must watch. No French singer will ever surpass the sheer emotion Edith put into her music, and she will be remembered forever.
The lyrics of this emotional song tell of a woman being carried around by a crowd when she crashes into a man, falls in love. And then just as quickly the crowd tears them apart, never to see each other again. Perfect stuff for Edith Piaf!
This emotional song cum hymn is a plea to God to keep alive a loved one for just a few more days or months so that memories can be built. There is much in this song which bears a striking resemblance to aspects of Edith’s life.
This song should be familiar to most people – it is originally a French folk song brought to international acclaim by Piaf and later re-recorded by many other artists. This is a song about a big-time Parisian hustler who eventually gets arrested, so the usual English title is misleading, making it sound as if the song had been intended to extol the virtues or merry nature of the Parisian poor.
This Swiss written song was one of the most popular of Piaf’s songs, and it was the introductory song used in her US tour of 1945/1946. She toured with the male singing group compagnons de la chanson who are also seen in this clip.
During Edith Piaf’s rise to fame the French-Algerian conflict was occurring in Northern Africa. This dreary ballad to a young handsome legionnaire or “member of the French legion” defines Edith Piaf’s constant struggle to find true love.
A salute to all of Edith Piaf’s years spent in Paris. This title is a double entendre. Firstly it primarily refers to her home city, where she often longs to be, and loves most in her heart. Secondly, some interpret it to be onomatopoeia of the grueling life of a celebrity. Constantly working and traveling, life never ends leaving the repetitive “Padam, padam, padam, padam” running through your head never ending.
Raised in a brothel, Edith Piaf immediately learned some of the darkest lessons in life. Milord addresses the story of a common prostitute yearning to be loved by a British “Lord”, yet never prevailing in her dreams. What inspired Edith to write such a depressing tale? The world will never know.
Edith Piaf would wed Théo Sarapo in one of her last years, but no man would ever rival her first true love, heavyweight boxer Marcel Cerdan. Legend has it that this solemn hymn was written by Edith Piaf for Marcel after his death as one last display of love.
Often known as “Edith Piaf’s Last Lament” this salute to all of Edith’s mistakes and misfortunes defines her positive attitude on life. Determined never to perform again in one of her last years, Charles Dumont convinced Edith Piaf to perform one last time through writing this passionate summary of her life. 2 years later Edith Piaf would pass away having “nothing to regret.”
Perhaps no other song has ever gained the recognition and association that this one has with France. Although Edith’s last days were more like “La Vie En Noir”. This anthem of giddy French living possessed a certain warm quality all Americans were striving for during the crazy ‘60s. Edith Piaf will never be forgotten. But should her music ever drift away into the halls of time, La Vie En Rose will forever live on in the hearts of Frenchmen and Englishmen alike.
Contributor: JC123
whoa, that came off as snooty. sorry for the rant.
Um, I think you’re taking a couple of random comments too seriously.
First of all, I’m sure there are at least seven people in the whole world who find the career of a musician who passed away over 40 years ago not so interesting, or who do not like the musical style in general, or simply didn’t know about her until they saw this list. Either way, everyone’s entitled to their opinion, even if such opinion comes from ignorance of the subject or not.
Second, they’re probably (but not necessarily) just bored children (physically or just mentally) who happened to stumble upon a list that’s above their usual narrow cultural upbringing. So their trivial comments should be considered like such, trivially.
53. B_Rad- “Sounds like that entire rant was directed at me. Could you be any more condescending?”
::choke:: Could you be any more self-centered? Any rants made over the disgust of the few who feel the need to bring everyone down were generalized; if directed, at those idiots who had already posted to this list. I actually had to double-check to make sure you hadn’t posted already (and you hadn’t). Get over yourself- you’re a rock in Randall’s shoe, nothing more.
55. jc123- Bless you for having some culture. I, myself, have preferred New Age music over the more popular rock or pop or rap categories. You will have to admit, though, that if someone were to make a stupid comment on a list, he or she would probably be under the age of 20.
I am going to buy the greatest hits of Edith Piaf now.
Cedestra: very true I couldn’t imagine my parents posting something negative about Edith Piaf!
jfrater: You should also buy the film (if you haven’t already) I’ve only seen it in it’s entirety once but wish I had the time to buy it!
jc123: I bought it already
Self centered? That makes no sense whatsoever but, whatever. I guess you missed the nonsense that went on over at the rockers list. Who are you Metatron, the voice of Randall or something? I couldn’t care less about the “social status” of everyone here, so again, whatever.
Great list! I was never into Edith’s music, but I can appreciate her immense importance and influence as an artist.
I must point out, however, at number 7 that unless I’m missing some subtlety of the lyrics themselves, “Cloches” is not French for “clocks”, it is French for “Bells”
B_Rad: What Cedestra wrote actually makes a lot of sense, at least to me. What you wrote sounded self-centered, whether you meant it to or not. And this is a list on Edith Piaf, not a continuation of the ‘Rockers’ list, so the comments from that list shouldn’t have any stock in what is posted on this new list. Don’t take this as an attack, or me being condescending, because I’m not trying to be. I’m just pointing out that, to an outside point of view, your post sounded a tad self-centered. That’s all.
Jc123: Good job on this list, it was very entertaining and brought back terrific memories for me!
I believe Crispin needs a little lesson in comment etiquette. And obviously you are completely wrong, thousands of people care plus a small collection of very intelligent invidual academy members. Would Marion Cotillard win an academy award for portraying a character who no one cares about? You may not care but others do. Plus using caps lock makes everyone not care about you.
ObiterDicta: Yes you are correct. Cloches is the plural form of bells. Horlage means clocks although cloches could be an informal french slang for some sort of clock with a bell..I’m not sure.
****
60. stevenh
1982, wow that was before NFSNet!
You must really be an old fellow. I was sure that I pre-dated most of the people here, working with one of the first search engines (archie) in the early 90’s, after having written a basic ftp system a few years earlier.
For non-geeks: The first ‘public’ web browser was developed in 1993, a university project funded by The Communication Act of 1991
****
Okay, jeeze, poor choice of words – shoot me…I got my first apple in 1982, and was on several posting-boards for writers…we did research for each other and shared support and critiques, and I’m not a “fellow”.
When I could do research online, (1993 if you say so), it was a godsend.
Should I kneel and kiss your ring? Or will a sincere Thank you, do?
edith who?
now if this list was about edith bunker, that would be somehting, edith bunker could sing baby!
****
53. B_Rad
Sounds like that entire rant was directed at me.
****
If you had actually read the posts above it, you would have seen that I had lifted *exact* quotes from four posters, none of them were you.
I meant something
segue (50)
Thank you for including me. Made my day. It amazes me that I have your respect, as such. I feel quite inferior to you, world experience and intellectually. I’ve never been anywhere or done anything. All I do is read and teach.
Crispin: Do you think we care about Edith Bunker in this list? No. So do something productive and attempt to prove that Edith Bunker was better by writing a list about her.
well this list was great, I discovered a new singer
Marion Cotillard who is that?
Marion Cunningham was a great actress, just aske Joanie and Richie
jc123: Congrats on the list!
Those of you upset about the tendency of the “less cultured” and immature to come here and make derogatory comments without taking the time to discover the beauty of Edith Piaf’s music – did you notice that jc123 him/herself is a 13 year old (I apologise if I misread comment 45!). Segue, Randall, Jackie,, JwJwBean, etc, take heart
Actually I took the time and read about Edith Piaf’s life.
She was a great women….
…I would love to have done some morphine with her and listen to some OZZY
great! a wonderful list! a small quibble…Marcel Cerdan, Edith Piaf’s lover, was a middleweight not a heavyweight.
okay! I bought the album! I love it. Thanks jc123 for reminding me of her music with this list.
It is great to come here and discover something new, thanks a lot and great list.
magnificient talent, but its the voice recorded for me and although I am aware and have heard her here and there and at different atmospheric levels–wait, thats it exactly(well maybe not exactly..but for emphasis, let it stand) certain is sure that I am unwilling to watch these Youtube computer uploads. I have seen a few pictures on the albums I heard from within the times that i have been open to the moment, but the voice alone is enough. Its like the best of Lydia Mendoza for me. You childrens ever heard (of) her?
p.s. I’ll watchem later, twist my arm,but for now I dissolve into the clouds of the voice and weather, it hooks me like a flying fish into the sun.
wow what a great list
Love her music, it reminds me of when I was younger, and my Dad hooked up the speakers to the kitchen, and on Friday’s he would play her music and we would all make homemade pizza’s. I loved it, especially when it was winter time and it would be cold outside, but the house would smell of pizza and be filled with the warmth of the oven!!
GREAT LIST
I’ve heard of her, of course. She seems to have such a tragic tendre to her voice. She does remind me a lot of Judy Garland, I hope I’m not offending anyone. I really wish I understood French, but I took Spanish. I’m not very well educated by some people’s standards, but I constantly educate myself by reading whatever I can get my hands on. I do appreciate talent though, and not being very familiar with her work, I would love to find out more. So, thanks for the list, now I’ll have to find some books about her because I’m so curious.
Having heard of Piaf over the years but considering her to be somewhat nasal in tone and with high school French receding further with every year I must say I still haven’t worked out why I went to see La Vie En Rose. But I am bloody glad I did. While I still don’t think I can take her voice in large doses I am impressed with what she achieved given her beginnings and the ongoing tragedy that was her life.
For those of you that have discovered Edith as a result of this list I say get that movie it is called La Vie En Rose. Watching the youtube clips showed me what a great job Cotillard did catching Edith’s stage presence especially the seeming uncertainty/diffidence/what-do-I-do-now immediately after she finishes singing.
Jc123, thank you for the list. Jamie?, thank you for the clips.
Cheers
Lee
Thank you JC123 and thank you Jamie. It’s for moments like this that I’ve been hounding this universe for some time now.
She was/is magnificient, it’s the emotion she puts in it I think. I believe I have everything she ever made. And “je ne regrette rien” is become my credo. And for the ranters out there, her vinyls are right next the very first Black Sabbath from 1970 in my collection. Keep an open mind, you might actually learn something.
On to the next singer songwriter, Jaques Brel.
Randall mentioned him in the first posts. He too puts his heart and his soul in his songs.
Sorry about the ranting, could not keep quiet faced with these idiocies.
Just need to set somthing straight.
“piaf” is slang for sparrow
“la môme” is slang for little girl
Just needed to say this, sorry
Great list JC123. I wish I’d had your breadth at the age of 13. Keep experiencing. Keep learning. I love learning new things. I wish this site had existed when I was 13.
I knew the broad story of Edith Piaf’s life and music, but had only heard items 2 and 1.
As I was listening to item 2, my wife, who is Korean, came in and did a very creditable lip-synch.
There a some voices which represent and even define an era. Hers was one.
Gord in Canada: Very good research I always appreciate the knowledge of a Canadian…afterall you are much closer to the french than us Americans.
Mama-Kali: Yes you’re right about the individual words but when combined it simply becomes “the little sparrow”. “Mome” is a feminine word in french so it always has the la in front of it. It’s not that mome means little girl, but the actual word itself is feminine. Mome means “child” or most would say “kid” but the word itself is feminine. It’s hard to explain/understand for a non-french speaker but in many languages words have genders also. For example: “La pizza” pizza isn’t a girl, but the word has feminine connotations from many many years ago. This is probably too much but this is basically what comes of trying to translate french informalities into english!
Edith Piaf! hehe ^_^ nice to see this!
Nice to see the negative comments as well – if you’ve listened and don’t like it, move on… no need to say “boring” or anything like that, since obviously, to most people it is not boring.
the comments on these pages are the worst! i mean you do love the sound of yourselfs don’t you? (randall) its a comment not a blog on what you think about other comments, also i would never want to be half the woman she was, i’ll stick to being completely man thanks.
I didn’t like this list. Does that mean I’m not cultured?
Just to clarify, I didn’t HATE this list either. I feel rather ambivalent about the whole thing. =/
rhhayley – No, it doesn’t mean you’re not cultured. And I thank you for saying you didn’t like it and not something like “Boring” or “This sucks”. It’s not for everyone
Contributor: JC123. That you for this List.
It was so well written I would never have guessed you were 13! Your parents and teachers must be very, very proud of you…but most importantly, be proud of yourself.
Having a healthy self-worth is far more important than others opinion of you. I’m not talking about being an ego-maniac, everyone hates them (usually even themselves, somewhere deep inside), I talking about being sure of your worth, being proud of your worth, and never, ever, being satisfied with leaving your worth as-is.
You are already a fantastic person. Keep it up!
Number One translates to “The Pink Aeroplane” (in Glasgow).
People will be listening to the music of Edith Piaf long after the majority of what passes for “popular music” these days is assigned to the dustbin of musical history.
It really is amazing you are only 13 JC123. You should be very proud of yourself. Thank you for turning many of us on to Edith Piaf.
Wow, everyone seems to be in a “mood”.
I’ve never heard of Edith Piaf. I would like to read some of her bio…where can I find that? I don’t speak French so English sites please.
segue: Your comment “I’m not talking about being an ego-maniac, everyone hates them (usually even themselves, somewhere deep inside)” made me laugh out of the fact that it was so blunt, yet true. Thanks for the compliment!
****
#76. Vera Lynn
segue (50)
Thank you for including me. Made my day. It amazes me that I have your respect, as such. I feel quite inferior to you, world experience and intellectually. I’ve never been anywhere or done anything. All I do is read and teach.
****
Vera Lynn, the most undervalued members of society are teachers. It is to teachers we entrust our children daily. You help their minds grow, gain new knowledge, experience new ways of looking at the world.
Without teachers, children would have little chance of ever having any knowledge beyond that of their parents…*some* would, of course, *some* always do. But it’s teachers who are the very life-blood of a growing, healthy, viable society.
Of all the possible professions, teachers are among the top 5 of those I admire above all others.
Okay, that’s the generalized portion of my response to your post…here is the personal response.
You are so much more intelligent than you give yourself credit for, that it actually pains me. I mean that.
I don’t know where you got this idea, Vera Lynn, but it’s so *off*, it’s so *wrong*, that it’s almost impossible to address. So rather than ramble on endlessly, let me just say this:
You are brilliant. Perhaps you haven’t fulfilled *your* expectations yet, in which case all you have to do is take the time (free time, I know you can’t just say ta-ta to your job!), and study the subjects that would make you feel more fulfilled.
I’ve never stopped learning. I never will. The only thing that will stop me is death. Make this your own goal. You’ll love it!
Start with Diane Ackerman’s A Natural History of the Senses.
It will blow you away.
****
#104. jc123
segue: Your comment “I’m not talking about being an ego-maniac, everyone hates them (usually even themselves, somewhere deep inside)” made me laugh out of the fact that it was so blunt, yet true. Thanks for the compliment!
****
jc123, sometimes I’m feeling rather blunt. Then again, I figured you’d get it.
And you’re welcome. It was a sincere compliment.
B_Rad: “Who are you Metatron, the voice of Randall or something?”
If I was the voice of Randall, I would be very hoarse by now.
Most people who post from one topic to another tend to start over with a clean slate. Of course, MPW and Vera Lynn will always love each other, whether it’s a list of the Top 10 Robots of All Time or 20 Items That Look Like the Virgin Mary (hey, I’m handing them out here!), but mostly people won’t attack someone from one list on another. Seems to be in bad manners.
Now, Randall wrote a generalized statement. Everyone, except you, took it to be a generalized statement. You came in and said, “Hey! Why are you picking on me?”. It made me laugh, because either your delusional/paranoid and have a guilty conscience, or you’re full of yourself and think everyone *must* be talking about you. Real craziness isn’t as funny as being a pompous *****, so I went with the latter.
So this is the lady in all the crossword puzzles?
Impressive. I had never heard of her outside of puzzles.
Just for the record, my statement WAS generalized–directed at no one in particular.
I should have stayed out on the sailboat longer and not come inside. It’s too beautiful a day for this *****.
JC, it’s still a great list, and you are one perceptive, cultured kid. Nice work, sprog.
Wonderful list. My husband was a Legionnaire during the Algerian War and the song Mon légionnaire brought tears to his eyes. Such a beautiful voice in her own distinct sort of way. Too bad that it seems that the most talented artists die young from drug addictions or complications from the same.
As for the negativity, let go of the Xbox (or whatever it is you play) and learn that there is life outside of video games. I enjoy many different kinds of music to include WWII German marches and US Civil War music(not meant to offend anyone)even though Im 27 years old and many of my peers think that my music is weird and that it sucks. There is a whole world out there people, go see it you might be surprised what you find.
Thanks for the outstanding list JC123.
Armystrong:
“As for the negativity, let go of the Xbox (or whatever it is you play) and learn that there is life outside of video games.”
How is that comment related to any of the negativity expressed by other commenters on this list?
Ok, so I don’t have any particular liking for french songs or singers, at least now I know that there was a french singer called Edith Piaf and a lot of people love her music. Knowledge shared is never knowledge wasted. Ooh that’s such a cool quote, maybe I should copyright it.
BTW, Randall and Jfrater, get a room!
Tempyra,
That was meant for the people who write boring, *snore*, and the other things of that nature. I didnt mean it to come across the way it did. My apologies I was rather uptight after an 18 hour workday on 3 hours of sleep. I spent a lot of that time dealing with kids in the Army that have the same feeling about the things we say to them. Again, my apologies.
Armystrong: That’s cool, thanks for replying
As someone who buys and sells videogames and consoles for a living (mostly) and who has a boyfriend who creates videogames for a living (mostly), I tend to ‘pounce’ when people make comments that I think perpetrate the stereotype of gamers as being anti-social, violence-loving teenagers.
LOL, I dont hate gamers or games. I myself have quite the library for Xbox,Xbox360,Wii,PS2,PS3, and all the old school game consoles. And I so dont believe that violent,antisocial kids are caused by video games, thats lack of parenting IMHO.
Armystrong:
“Xbox,Xbox360,Wii,PS2,PS3, and all the old school game consoles”
That’s quite a collection! Most of the stuff I buy is for the older Sega (Master System, Mega Drive, Saturn), Nintendo (NES & SNES), and Sony consoles (PSX & PS2)
I tend to think that people who personify (I think that is the correct word) the gamer stereotype prefer the more violent games because they’re (the person) anti-social, not the other way around where people think violent games turn previously ‘ok’ people into that stereotype.
i dont even know who edith piaf is. hahaha =)
Hmmm, Tempyra, I may have some games you might want…
I think my husband is trying to lose his collection of video games (the older ones, we still have our PS3, PS2, and Wii) and Gamestop told him not to sell them back- we could make more money selling them on eBay.
Every time I hear La vie en rose I feel young and happy again… but that’s the optimistic “rose-tinted glasses” that Edith Piaf had the ability to make one feel; though, it’s probably not good to listen to this song after heartbreak.
How I wish I could live like her without bitterness…
****
#119. Anne O’Nemus
Every time I hear La vie en rose I feel young and happy again… How I wish I could live like her without bitterness…
****
No one lives without bitterness 100% of the time. What’s important is to balance the times of bitterness with times of joy, and to live the balance of your life with as much serene acceptance as possible.
Note the “as possible”.
Acceptance is an acquired talent. Something one learns by practice, by failing, and trying again and again and again.
I know whereof I speak; both of learning acceptance, and of failure.
All in all, I am better at acceptance than I was when I started trying to learn.
Some days, I totally forget to be sad or angry or bitter.
Some days, I have nothing but sunshine and ocean breezes.
Practice, Anne O’, practice.