La Vie en rose

For other uses, see La Vie en rose (disambiguation).

"La Vie en rose"
Single by Édith Piaf
from the album Chansons parisiennes
B-side	"Un refrain courait dans la rue"
Released	1947
Format	10"
Genre	Traditional pop
Label	Columbia Records
Writer(s)	Louiguy (melody) Édith Piaf (lyrics)
Édith Piaf singles chronology
"Les trois cloches" (1946) "La Vie en rose" (1947) "Si tu partais" (1947)

Columbia Records poster of Piaf; "La Vie en rose" appeared on nearly all Piaf's records

"La Vie en rose" (French pronunciation: [la vi ɑ̃ ʁoz]) was the signature song of French singer Édith Piaf, written in 1945, popularized in 1946, and released as a single in 1947.

Song history

The song's title can be translated as "Life in Rosy Hues" or "Life Through Rose-Colored Glasses"; its literal meaning is "Life in Pink".

The melody of the song was composed by Louis Guglielmi, known as Louiguy, and the lyrics were written by Édith Piaf herself. Originally, the song was registered as being written by Louiguy only, since at the time Piaf did not have necessary qualifications to be able to copyright her work with SACEM. Words "Quand il me tient dans ses bras..." ("When he takes me in his arms...") came to her mind one evening in 1944, when she was standing in front of an American man. That gave the base for the rest of lyrics. Piaf offered the song to Marianne Michel, who slightly modified the lyrics, changing "les choses" ("things") for "la vie" ("life"). English lyrics for the song were later written by Mack David.

Initially, Piaf's peers and songwriting team did not think the song would be successful, finding it weaker than the rest of her repertoire. Having listened to their advice, the singer put the song aside, only to change her mind the next year. The song would be performed live in concert for the first time in 1946, and it became a favorite with audiences. It was the song that made Piaf internationally famous, with its lyrics telling about retaken love and appealing to those who had survived the difficult wartime.

"La Vie en rose" was released on a 10" single in 1947 by Columbia Records, a division of EMI, with "Un refrain courait dans la rue" making the B-side. It met with a warm reception and sold a million copies in the USA. It was the biggest-selling single of 1948 in Italy, and the ninth biggest-selling single in Brazil in 1949. "La Vie en rose" was also performed by Piaf in a 1948 French movie Neuf garçons, un coeur. The first Piaf's album to include "La Vie en rose" was the 10" Chansons parisiennes, released in 1950. It later appeared on most of Piaf's subsequent albums and countless greatest hits compilations. The song would go on to become Piaf's signature song and her trademark hit, sitting with "Milord" and "Non, je ne regrette rien" among her best-known and most recognizable tunes. Encouraged by its success, the singer penned 80 more own songs throughout her career.

The song received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1998.

Track listing

• 10" Single

A. "La Vie en rose"

B. "Un refrain courait dans la rue"

Chart performance

Chart	Peak position
United States	23

References in popular culture

French actress Marion Cotillard played Piaf in the 2007 film La Vie en rose

Two films about Piaf named after the song's title have been produced. The first one, a 1998 documentary, used archive footage and interviews with Raquel Bitton, and was narrated by Bebe Neuwirth. The 2007 biographical feature film La Vie en rose won Marion Cotillard an Academy Award for Best Actress for portraying Piaf in the film from the age of 19 until her death at 47.

As music in films

• Stage Fright (1950)
• By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953) - instrumental only
• Sabrina (1954) - as Sabrina Fairchild's song
• Noches de Casablanca (1963) - sung by Sara Montiel
• The Cheap Detective (1978) - however, Eileen Brennan's character, Betty DeBoop, doesn't sing the words, and just sings "La la la la la la la en rose"
• Bull Durham (1988)
• Christo in Paris (1990)
• Natural Born Killers (1994)
• Prêt-à-Porter (1994)
• French Kiss (1995)
• Sabrina (1995)
• A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998)
• Summer of Sam (1999)
• View from the Top (2003)
• Love Me If You Dare (2003)
• Something's Gotta Give (2003)
• Modigliani (2004)
• A World Without Thieves (2004)
• Valiant (2005)
• Lord of War (2005)
• The Yacoubian Building (2006)
• La Vie en rose (2007)
• Mister Lonely (2007)
• Jellyfish (2007)
• Fred Claus (2007)
• The Bucket List (2007)
• WALL-E (2008)
• The Wackness (2008)
• Map of the Sounds of Tokyo (2009)
• X-Men: First Class (2011)
• Monte Carlo (2011)

As music in other media

• "La Vie en rose" appeared in the television show I Love Lucy in the episode entitled "Hollywood Anniversary", right before Desi Arnaz sang the song "The Anniversary Waltz". The episode was filmed and aired in 1955.
• Barbara Feldon sang "La Vie en rose" in a 1966 episode of Get Smart entitled "Casablanca".
• The song appeared in the television show Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, in the episode entitled "Pheromone, My Lovely" (1993).
• "La Vie en rose" appeared in an episode of Relic Hunter entitled "Memories of Montmarte".
• In "Cold Stones", the 76th episode of The Sopranos, Rosalie Aprile hums a throaty version of the song to comfort Carmela Soprano. The episode was aired in May 2006.
• In the 2006 Egyptian film The Yacoubian Building, chanteuse Christine (Youssra) includes "La Vie en rose" in her repertoire, singing it on at least one occasion for Zaki el Dessouki (Adel Imam).
• An unknown singer sang "La Vie en rose" for a 2008 Irish Ferries radio advertisement in Ireland.
• "La Vie en rose" is played on the piano in a 2011 TV commercial entitled "Piano" for rheumatoid arthritis.

Other mentions

• Ian Fleming references the song in his first James Bond novel Casino Royale, when Bond is eating with Vesper Lynd, and again in his fourth novel Diamonds Are Forever, when Bond chooses to skip it on the record player as it has "painful memories".
• Lyrics from the song are quoted in Albert Cohen's 1968 novel Belle du Seigneur (chapter LVI).
• La Vie en Rose was also the name of a spaceship in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ, as well as an episode title of Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory.
• In the 1990s anime Di Gi Charat, the name Rabi~en~Rose is based in "La Vie en rose".
• "La Vie en rose" is mentioned in John Boyne's novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, published in 2006.

Cover versions

Grace Jones is one of the many artists who have covered the song

• Amália Rodrigues
• Amanda Lear
• Aretha Franklin
• Audrey Hepburn
• BB King
• Belinda Carlisle
• Bette Midler
• Bing Crosby
• Brenda Lee
• Candan Erçetin
• Celine Dion
• Connie Francis
• Cyndi Lauper
• Dalida
• Danny Vera
• Dean Martin
• Diana Krall
• Donna Summer
• Evelina Sašenko
• Grace Jones
• Hadiqa Kiyani
• Herb Alpert
• Jack Nicholson
• Jo Stafford
• José Carreras
• Josephine Baker
• Julio Iglesias
• Katherine Jenkins
• La Toya Jackson
• Lesley Garrett
• Liza Minnelli
• Louis Armstrong
• Luciano Pavarotti
• Madeleine Peyroux
• Marija Naumova
• Marlene Dietrich
• Melissa Manchester
• Michael Bublé
• Milva
• Paula Cole
• Petula Clark
• Pearl Django
• Plácido Domingo
• Pomplamoose
• Raquel Bitton
• Sara Montiel
• Shirley Bassey
• Sophie Milman
• Taco
• Tatsuro Yamashita
• Thalía
• The Three Tenors
• Tony Bennett (with k.d. lang)
• Ute Lemper
• Yves Montand
• Yvette Giraud
• Zazie