Édith Piaf set aside her rosey signature song for two years before releasing it as a single. The melody for 'La Vie en Rose' was composed by Catalan musician Louis Guglielmi under the nom de plume Louiguy. Piaf wrote the lyrics, inspired in 1944 by an American man with the line "Quand il me tient dans ses bras..." ("When he takes me in his arms..."). Initially, the song was registered only to Louiguy because Piaf did not belong to the professional songwriter's union: Le Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique (SACEM). Piaf was convince by her inner circle not to release the song herself or perform it as they deemed it to be unworthy of the rest of her repertoire. In 1945, Marianne Michel recorded the first version of the song and changed the lyrics from "la vie" ("life") to "les choses" ("things"). The next year, Piaf reconsidered the song and began performing it live. The enthusiastic response from audiences led her to record it herself and it was released in 1947 on Columbia Records. 'La Vie en Rose' would make Piaf an international star, selling a million copies in the US, and becoming the biggest-selling single in Italy the next year and the ninth biggest-selling single in Brazil in 1949. Piaf also performed the song in the 1948 French movie 'Neuf Garçons, un Coeur'. In 1998, it received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award.
Des yeux qui font baiser les miens
Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche
Voila le portrait sans retouche
De l'homme auquel, j'appartiens
Quand il me prend dans ses bras
Il me parle tout bas
Je vois la vie en rose
Il me dit des mots d'amour
Des mots de tous les jours
Et ça me fait quelque chose
Il est entré dans mon coeur
Une part de bonheur
Dont je connais la cause
C'est lui pour moi
Moi pour lui dans la vie
Il me l'a dit, l'a juré pour la vie
Et, dès que je l'apercois
Alors je sens en moi
Mon coeur qui bat
Des nuits d'amour à ne plus en finir
Un grand bonheur qui prend sa place
Des enuis des chagrins, des phases
Heureux, heureux a en mourir
Quand il me prend dans ses bras
Il me parle tout bas
Je vois la vie en rose
Il me dit des mots d'amour
Des mots de tous les jours
Et ça me fait quelque chose
Il est entré dans mon Coeur
Une part de bonheur
Dont je connais la cause
C'est toi pour moi
Moi pour toi dans la vie
Il me l'a dit, m'a juré pour la vie
Et, dès que je l'apercois
Alors je sens en moi
Mon coeur qui bat
Lalalala, lalalala La, la, la, la
translation:
"A Rose-Colored Life"
Eyes which (make love to) (kiss) mine,
A laugh that is lost from his mouth,
This is the portrait, without retouching,
Of the man to whom I belong.
When he takes me in his arms,
He speaks to me so (low) (softly),
I see life rose-colored.
He tells me words of love,
The words of (every day) (day-to-day),
And that just does something to me!
He has come into my heart,
One part of happiness,
Of which I can understand the cause.
It’s him for me, me for him,
throughout life.
He said it to me, he has sworn it for life!
And ever since I've realized it,
Well, I can feel inside of me
my heart, which is beating.
The nights of love are never more to end
(A great contentment) (The good times) that take(s) the place
of (boredom) (troubles), sorrows, phases...
Happy, happy until (the end) (dying)!
When he takes me in his arms,
He speaks to me so (low) (softly),
I see life rose-colored.
He tells me words of love,
The words of (every day) (day-to-day),
And that just does something to me!
He has come into my heart,
One part of happiness,
Of which I can understand the cause.
It’s you for me, me for you,
throughout life.
He said it to me, he has sworn it for life!
And ever since I've realized it,
You see, I can feel inside of me
my heart, which is beating.
English lyrics for the song were later written by American songwriter Mack David:
Hold me close and hold me fast
The magic spell you cast
This is La Vie En Rose
When you kiss me heaven sighs
And though I close my eyes
I see La Vie En Rose
When you press me to your heart
And in a world apart
A world where roses bloom
And when you speak angels sing from above
Everyday word seems to turn into love song
Give your heart and soul to me
And life will always be
La Vie En Rose
Louis Armstrong:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IJzYAda1wA
Aretha Franklin
Grace Jones:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1IYUvrn8gk
Marianne Michel
Madeleine Peyroux
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie5ewb6SGrQ
Iggy Pop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLU0uqsyIs4
Three Tenors:
Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, and Luciano Pavarotti
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHA1ef3gpo4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHA1ef3gpo4
