“Quand il me prend dans ses bras, Il me parle tout bas, Je vois la vie en rose…“. For seventy years now, this song by Édith Piaf, recorded on October 9, 1946, has resonated in the streets of the world.
Like the baguette de pain or the Eiffel Tower, La Vie en Rose belongs to a tourist imagery of France and its capital. You will find the French lyrics and the English translation below, along with information about the meaning of the song.
La Vie en Rose: French lyrics and English translation
[Verse 1]Des yeux qui font baisser les miens
Eyes that lower mine
Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche
A laugh that gets lost on his mouth
Voilà le portrait sans retouche
Here is the portrait without retouching
De l’homme auquel j’appartiens
Of the man to whom I belong
Quand il me prend dans ses bras
When he takes me in his arms
Qu’il me parle tout bas
Let him speak to me softly
Je vois la vie en rose
I see life in pink
Il me dit des mots d’amour
He tells me words of love
Des mots de tous les jours
Everyday words
Et ça m’fait quelque chose
And it does something to me
Il est entré dans mon cœur
Entered my heart
Une part de bonheur
A share of happiness
Dont je connais la cause
Of which I know the cause
C’est lui pour moi
It’s him for me
Moi pour lui
Me for him
Dans la vie
In life
Il me l’a dit
He told me
L’a juré, pour la vie
Swore it, for life
Et dès que je l’aperçois
And as soon as I see him
Alors je sens en moi
Then I feel in me
Mon cœur qui bat
My beating heart
Des nuits d’amour à plus finir
Nights of love that do not end
Un grand bonheur, qui prend sa place
A great happiness, which takes its place
Des ennuis des chagrins s’effacent
Sorrow, troubles fade away
Heureux, heureux, à en mourir
Happy, happy, to death
Quand il me prend dans ses bras
When he takes me in his arms
Qu’il me parle tout bas
Let him speak to me softly
Je vois la vie en rose
I see life in pink
Il me dit des mots d’amour
He tells me words of love
Des mots de tous les jours
Everyday words
Et ça m’fait quelque chose
And it does something to me
Il est entré dans mon cœur
Entered my heart
Une part de bonheur
A share of happiness
Dont je connais la cause
Of which I know the cause
C’est lui pour moi
It’s him for me
Moi pour lui
Me for him
Dans la vie
In life
Il me l’a dit
He told me
L’a juré, pour la vie
Swore it, for life
Et dès que je l’aperçois
And as soon as I see him
Alors je sens en moi
Then I feel in me
Mon cœur qui bat
My beating heart
Lalalalalala
Lalalalalala
Lalalala
La Vie en Rose: Meaning and Story of the Song
How is a song born? Sometimes in a collective creation, of which all the participants are not credited. For “La Vie en Rose”, Edith Piaf is the initiator and the author at 80%, and we should also mention Robert Chauvigny, Marianne Michel, Henri Contet, maybe Marguerite Monnot, and of course Louiguy.
There are several elements which tell the complete story of this song:
- Piaf had an idea for a melody, which she worked with her conductor, Robert Chauvigny, on a draft text.
- Some time later Marianne Michel asked her to write a song for her. Piaf sketched out a few sentences, saying “the music was written” and in the words she scribbled, there is “Quand je vois les choses en rose” (When I see things in pink). Marianne Michel then suggested to her: “… la vie en rose” (life in pink).
- Then, Henri Contet pointed out to her that for the first sentence, it is necessary to introduce the cause so that the continuation is coherent. The cause? When he takes me in his arms…
The song is finished, but Edith is not approved by Sacem as a composer, so she had to find someone to sign the music. Marguerite Monnot, the first to be approached, refuses this “nonsense”, another composer dodges, several perhaps, and it is finally Louiguy who accepts, forced and coerced.
At this time, he is one of Piaf’s “minor” composers. This somewhat invalidates the version he will give after Piaf’s death, by specifying that they had sketched this song a few months before the official date of the meeting with Marianne Michel, and he indicates a date: the baptism of his daughter.
But in this case, Piaf, would likely have proposed the signature to him first, before Marguerite Monnot. Louiguy’s late version seems to have gotten a little better over the years, and he never denied Edith’s version during his lifetime.
Conclusion
There are undoubtedly 3 parts of truth. That of Louiguy: the music and a few words were sketched out on the day of his daughter’s baptism. That of Piaf: Marianne Michel would have encouraged her to finish the text. The Contet’s one: during a first draft, no song is ever perfect, and the retouching is often a collective work.
However, these different versions do not take away from Piaf the creation of “La Vie en Rose”.
Since its creation, about 500 artists have recorded it for more than 1950 versions of “La Vie en Rose”, such as Louis Armstrong, in 1950, then Marlène Dietrich, Diane Dufresne, Montand, Ute Lemper, Iggy Pop, Grace Jones, Emilie Simon, Lady Gaga and a few others. Here’s the very famous version of Louis Armstrong:
If you’d like to discover some new French songs, check out my article about famous French music artists!
If you’re looking for other translations of Édith Piaf’s songs, check out the lyrics and translation of Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien.
