La Vie En Rose There

La Vie En Rose

There are a number of popular songs that seem to transcend generational lines, cultural barriers, and even gender performances. One very interesting offering is La Vie en rose, literally Life in pink, first made popular in 1946 by French torch singer Edith Piaf. Idiomatically, this roughly means "seeing life through rose colored glasses," a perfect theme for many of Piaf's brooding tones and personality. Piaf wrote the lyrics as her international career was burgeoning, and the melody by one of her favorite song writers, Louis Guglieme (Louiguy). At first, Piaf's colleagues and team did not think the song would be at all successful, yet it became a favorite with audiences around the world, and Piaf's signature song (Bret, 2009). The song quickly became so popular it was translated into several languages, and then the greatest compliment of all -- imitated by singers in far different genres. Ironic since the words were almost hastily scribbled on a cocktail napkin while Piaf was drinking with her friend Marianne Michel at a cafe' on the Champs-Elysees (Burke, 2011, p. 118).

In addition, besides over 50 singers recording the work, as a signature of Piaf's life it has been made into a stage play and a surprisingly successful 2007 Franco-Canadian biographical film, in which the title actress, Marion Cotillard, won the Academy Award for her performance. This was the first time that the Oscar was given for a French-language role, and the first French film to win more than one Oscar. It became the third-highest grossing French language film in the United States and was critically praised for lifelike and deeply emotional performances (Scott, 2007).

Song Analysis -- Clearly, La Vie en rose is a classic torch song -- a sentimental love song in which the singer lments some sort of unrequited love. This theme, of carrying a torch for someone refers to the ideal of romance in which one party is oblivious to the other's feelings, the person has died or moved on, or the romantic affair has drizzled or been negated. Most music scholars see the torch song as a niche rather than a genre, but also acknowledge that regardless of country there is a jazz and blues influence, at least in the melodic structure (Forte, 2001). Most torch singers are female and use this style as the bulk of their repetorie, but it is also part of a lip-synching tradition for male cross-dressing performers (Torch Singers, 2010).

Perhaps one of the reasons that La Vie en rose has remained so popular is a dual sensual challenge. Simply listening to the manner in which the music rises and falls, instrumentation like a cafe nightclub, brings back memories of art deco scenes, St. Germain's smoky night clubs, singers bringing tears to the eyes of the audience; of Maurice Chevalier's unique French wit and charm; of the over sensuality of Yves Montand or Charles Azanvour; and the manner in which the crooners and sex symbols of several generations from Frank Sinatra and Julie London to Grace Jones and Donna Summer. Since love is such a universal emotion, and the basic idea of La Vie en rose is that when in love we can view the world far more positively, we can relate to longing for that special someone's touch, and we can easily believe that the smooth poetry of the song is pure magic -- the magic of love (Delanoe, 1997).

Performance Analysis -- There are many ways one could anlayze performances of La Vie en rose: chronologically, gender, style, genre, tempo, etc. Just as there is a drastic difference between the Louis Armstrong version of What a Wonderful World, and that of Hawaiian folk singer Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, yet both bring tears to one's eyes, both move straight to the heart, and both are timeless.

So, too, is La Vie en rose. For this analysis, though, it was easier to try to quantify some of the similarities and differences between recorded performances and then hone in on what makes the differing versions so uniquely special. By sticking to female singer with somewhat of a torch song tone, we can get more of a uniquely "french" flavor in the classic:

Artist

Genre' Version

Year

Comments

Piaf, Edith

http://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=b1fWC8-KJwM

French Folk, Torch

1946+ several versions

Classic french folk with pining voice, silky vowel sounds and sensuous chord changes

Francis, Connie

http://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=JJLPmSVnaPU

At the height of her popularity; less sultry, more in line with her image of the all-American girl.

1965- mixed English / French version

Uses tricks of chromaticism and upward chord changes, stretches top notes as was her signature.

Dietrich, Marlene

http://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=WpAON4N_1ek

Truer to form, piano and more nighclub orchestration, takes many liberties with meter

1949+ - French / she is German torch singer, very sultry, speaks and tells a story of longing

Played the song as if it were a movie, one can almost see her batting her eyes at the camera

Bitton, R.

http://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=wibMvS5CfVY

Faster tempo, less sultry, concentrates on story element; more Parisan and uppler class dialect

1998+ French / English, has a traveling show that is a tribute to Piaf; brough Piaf's music to many modern listeners

Numerous versions available; beautiful but not as sulty

Franklin, A.

http://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=dbKFsTxEMB0&feature=related

Limited orchestration, more liberty, bends notes as was her style, very Ella Fitzgerald-like

1977- At a Paris Jazz festival;

Much slower, many more liberties with the melody; sultry but in an elegant jazz manner

Midler, B.

http://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=kj-1iHIpwSc&feature=related

Slower, more lyrical, less sultry, less nightclub and more concert

Late 1970s, uses at multiple concerts