This week I'm writing about one of my 12" records. I'm not certain where I picked up The World Of Piaf - my best guess is that it came from the charity shop that I worked in between University and getting a paid job but I could have bought it elsewhere as it's one of the older records in my collection. Édith Piaf is a character who I find very interesting; from a very impoverished background, even fame didn't lessen the hardship she continued to face up until her death aged 47. I don't speak French, at least not to the degree where I can pick out more than the occasional word or phrase in a song, but it's my favourite foreign language to listen to.
Side A
1. Padam, Padam 🟢
We open with one of the Piaf songs that I'm most familiar with, although I have no idea what it means. It doesn't sound sad like a lot of her songs - it has a pleasant oompah rhythm with accordion and waltz strings. After she finishes singing, these instruments finish with a key change and a loud dramatic final note. I didn't look up translations of the lyrics while I was listening to the album but am doing so as I type up my thoughts. 'Padam, Padam' is onomatopoeic; a tune that's haunted her.
2. Les Trois Cloches 🟢
The album covers around 15 years of Piaf's career and Les Trois Cloches is the oldest song on the record, from 1946. It sounds it, too - it has a religious air to it. It's acapella with a lead vocal and a choral backing; Édith sings the verses and goes back and forth with another singer. The sleeve gives a little information about each song and says that this one tells the life story of one person.
3. Traque 🟢
There's clearly a story being told in these lyrics and it sounds like it would be compelling if only I were able to understand it. The sleeve explains that it's about a man literally running from his past which fits in well with the accompaniment.
4. La Belle Histoire d'Amour 🟢
This has a big dramatic chorus and soft, sweet verses, which is a commonality between a lot of Piaf's works. There are blasts of brass and timpani during the choruses which are very striking and a little frightening. The description says that the song is a lament for an ex-lover by quoting some of the lyrics, which it turns out are super sad.
5. Les Amants d'Un Jour 🟢
There's a real wistfulness to this, almost like it's a song from an old Disney movie; Cinderella or Snow White waiting for their prince to come. I understood it to be about a working woman staying on the sidelines, watching others pass through her hotel as lovers. However, I've read the lyrics now and in fact the lovers take a room in her hotel in which to die together and she is haunted by their memory, which is even more heart-wrenching. She performed an English version of the song on tour in the US in the 50s and thankfully there is a recording of it. The song ends with the sound of her breaking the glass that she's cleaning in the lyrics which is a great touch.
6. Le Diable de la Bastille 🟢
One of Piaf's trademarks is the way that she rolls her Rs and this song exemplifies that trait. It has a darkness to it which is fit for Le Diable (or the Devil). She fits in a lot of words in this song so I was intrigued to understand the story of this dramatic dance with the devil. It appears to be about a young woman being seduced by the devil on Bastille Day - a woman who, of course, turns out to be the narrator.
7. T'es l'Homme Qu'il Me Faut 🟢
This is very upbeat for Piaf. It almost sounds a bit Hawaiian in the accompaniment, a sound which was very much in vogue at this time. It's not a million miles away from something you could imagine Elvis performing, especially with the classic rock-n-roll cadence at the end. She sounds really happy in this one which makes sense as it's a love song.
8. C'est À Hambourg 🟢
It's about romancing sailors - presumably while working as a prostitute. She gives us a little English, Spanish and German while naming different ports of the world where she might meet her sailor boy. Like a lot of her songs it uses the standard jaunty chorus and slowed down verse structure. There's a sound effect to imitate a ship's horn towards the end, like a sailor coming into (or perhaps sailing out of) port, which is a fun way to end the song.
Side B
1. La Vie En Rose 🔵
We start with one of Piaf's signature songs. La Vie En Rose sounds beautiful and romantic. The strings combined with the vocal melody are so luscious. The image in my head when I hear this song is of two lovers, strolling arm in arm down an avenue lined with cherry blossoms; pink petals raining over their heads and pooling at their feet. It's a gorgeous love song.
2. Exodus 🟢
I assumed these lyrics were of a religious nature, given the title, but it's actually about people coming home from a land they'd been cast out of. It has a choir again and there's a lot of drama in the music along with a mournfulness in her voice. Alongside the usual string section, there's also a guitar playing chords and arpeggios which lends it a folk quality.
3. Les Gens 🟢
After the grand finish of Exodus this sounds smaller and more contained, like something from a theatre musical. The accordion and piano give this a distinct Frenchness. Again, it's one where I felt I would benefit more from knowing the words so I've looked them up and it's a love song about les gens (people) noticing how in love she and her partner are while they are in their own world.
4. Les Flons-Flons Du Bal 🟢
This sounds like party music, a song for dancing to at a grand ball. I wasn't sure what the title meant but have since found out it means "the dance band's music" so that makes a lot of sense. It's a fun-sounding song with a great beat, which is referenced in the lyrics - it's about hearing a band playing downstairs while Piaf is upstairs grieving the demise of her relationship.
5. Milord 🔵
Milord is one of my favourite Piaf songs. It's got a jaunty chorus and slow verses like so much of her output; in this one it's especially striking, as if there are 2 distinct sides to her. You get the mournful storyteller in the verses, almost narrating rather than singing, and then there's the entertainer in the chorus leading everyone in a dance. After a few verses everything goes quiet, as if we've come to the end, but instead there's a spoken word section, then she vocalises the chorus melody getting louder and faster as the band builds back up... once we're at maximum volume, she slows down, then finally speeds up for a big dramatic ending. That's my favourite part of the album.
6. A Quoi Ca Sert l'Amour (with Théo Sarapo) 🟢
This is the only credited duet on the album and is performed with her husband. It's got that showtune cheeriness about it again and doesn't ever slow down, with the two singing back and forth. Despite the happy tune, the title translates to "What Good Is Love?" so it's a little misleading to us non-native speakers! It sounds really familiar so it's possible that someone wrote English lyrics to this and had a hit with it, but I can't find any obvious answer to that.
7. L'Homme de Berlin 🟢
The sleeve informs me that this is her final recording, committed to tape at home six months before her death. Despite the fact that she was mostly bedbound, she still had a great voice. The song fades out, which is a poignant way to close the book on her life story.
8. Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien 🔵
The most iconic of all of her songs. It's triumphant, like a national anthem with its swells of brass. She delivers this song with so much passion, the 'no regrets' message being a powerful one coming from a woman who lived such a colourful life. The roar of the crowd at the end of this live recording says it all.
I think if Édith Piaf proves anything to me, it's that while lyrical content isn't everything, an understanding of it is crucial for me to truly love a song, especially one that tells a story like Piaf so often did. The information on the record sleeve helped a lot and I enjoyed reading the biographical story printed on the back, in the way that records often had back when this was pressed in the sixties - I'd like that style of vinyl to come back. The World Of Piaf is from EMI's 'Worldwide' series and the sleeve suggests that listening while watching your home movies from holidays in France. For me, Piaf works perfectly as background music as I like the songs but don't need to stop working to sing along with her. I don't think we'll ever see a singer like her again.
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