La Foule

La Foule ("The Crowd") is a song sung by famed French singer Edith Piaf, released in 1957. The song was composed by Angel Cabral with lyrics written by Michel Rivgauche.

Origin

The song "Que nadie sepa mi sufrir" ("Let no one know my suffering"), with Hugo del Carril, was composed in 1936 by Angel Cabral, with (Spanish) lyrics by Enrique Dizeo, both of Argentine origin. It was a Peruvian Vals, which, between in the 1930s-1950s period, was a very popular musical genre in Spanish-speaking America. The song, was one of two Argentine-composed Peruvian waltzes that became regional hits, the other being "Amarraditos".

Almost twenty years later, during a Latin American concert tour, Edith Piaf heard it from the 1953 recording by Alberto Castillo. Subsequent to Piaf's hit, the original song, in Spanish, was a hit once more, under the title "Amor de mis amores" ("Love of my loves"), the first verse of the chorus in the Spanish version.

Music

The rhythm respects the 3/4 of the regular Waltz, but, as a Peruvian Waltz, requires a light step and a much faster tempo.

Lyrics

Michel Rivgauche's lyrics relate the chance meeting between the singer and a man in the middle of a dense and festive crowd. It's love at first sight, at least from the singer's part, who thanks the crowd for giving her this man. But, just as quickly as it brought them together, the crowd separates them and she never sees him again. "The crowd appears as a sort of demiurge (creator), like destiny, playing with the human beings who are helpless against the vagaries of chance."

Other versions

French jazz singer Raquel Bitton performed the song as part of her Piaf tribute show "Piaf: Her Story, Her Songs".

House musician Casita did a cover of the song, which was used as an ad for Perrier.

External links

• French lyrics with English translation and video clip, at Ooltra.net