THE IMMORTALITY OF A SONG: “LA VIE EN ROSE” Melissa Vandersluis Period 6

BIO OF EDITH PIAF Edith Piaf was born to street performers in France. She was actually raised by her maternal grandmother, but was treated very badly. Eventually, upon her father’s return from WWI, her father took her to live at his mother’s. This was a house of ill repute. This bio should be at least 1 nicely written paragraph in your own words!!!! Etc….

“LA VIE EN ROSE” The song “La Rose En Vie” is one of those songs that keeps getting reborn multiple times per generation. It was first written in 1945 by French singer song-writer Edith Piaf. It became Piaf’s signature song and gained international acclaim, even winning an Grammy Hall of Fame Award in Over the years, it has been covered by a long list of international singers, both male and female.

HISTORY OF THE ERA Create a timeline that has five events from history AND the timeline of the song’s creation WWII ends 1945 The 1 st computer was built (ENIAC) 1946 The Bikini bathing suit was introduced 1948 Ghandi assassinated 1949 George Orwell publishes “1984” La Vie en Rose 1946 performed

THE LYRICS Des yeux qui font baisser les miens Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche Voilà le portrait sans retouche De l’homme auquel j’appartiens Quand il me prend dans ses bras Il me parle tout bas Je vois la vie en rose Il me dit des mots d’amour Des mots de tous les jours Et ça me fait quelque chose Il est entré dans mon cœur Une part de bonheur Dont je connais la cause C’est lui pour moi, moi pour lui dans la vie Il me l’a dit, l’a juré pour la vie Et dès que je l’aperçois Alors je sens en moi Mon coeur qui bat Des nuits d’amour à plus finir Un grand bonheur qui prend sa place Les ennuis, les chagrins s’effacent Heureux, heureux à en mourir Quand il me prend dans ses bras Il me parle tout bas Je vois la vie en rose Il me dit des mots d’amour Des mots de tous les jours Et ça me fait quelque chose Il est entré dans mon coeur Une part de bonheur Dont je connais la cause C’est toi pour moi, moi pour lui dans la vie Il me l’a dit, l’a juré pour la vie Et dès que je l’aperçois Alors je sens en moi Mon coeur qui bat

1951 TRANSLATION TO ENGLISH “LIFE IN PINK” Hold me Close and Hold Me Fast, the Magic's still your Guest; this is La Vie en Rose. When you Kissed me Heaven Smiled, and tho i Closed my Eyes, I see La Vie en Rose. When you Press me to your Heart, i'm in a World Apart, a World where Roses Bloom! And you Speak they will Sing from Above! Everyday Words seem to turn into Love songs... Give your Heart and Soul to me, And Life will always be... La Vie en Rose!....I thought that Love was just a Word... They sang about in Songs i Heard, It took your Kisses to Reveal; That i was Wrong; And Love is Real. Hold me Close and Hold Me Fast, the Magic's still your Guest; this is La Vie en Rose. When you Kissed me Heaven Smiled, and tho i Closed my Eyes, I see La Vie en Rose. When you Press me to your Heart, i'm in a World Apart, a World where Roses Bloom! And you Speak they will Sing from Above! Everyday Words seem to turn into Love songs... Give your Heart and Soul to me, And Life will always be... La Vie en Rose! La da da da la daaaa!

DESCRIBE THE SOUND OF THE POEM Have you heard of an “ear worm” before? It is a song that gets stuck in your head and you can’t get it out until you hear another song (often another ear worm!) THIS SONG has the melody that would count as definite EAR WORM!!!! Don’t say I didn’t warn you. As love songs go, this is the iconic love song. It’s rhythm (DEE-da-DEE- da-DEE) is more than catchy with a smooth and romantic style, it is downright hypnotic. The words glide from one note to the next lulling you into a relaxed dream state of mind. As the words are being sung, one can hear the passion in the singer’s voice. Quite an emotional song, it is clear why this song has lasted for over 70 years.

MADE FOR THE MOVIES “La Vie En Rose” has been featured on many movie soundtracks. Here are just a few of the movie titles: Stage Fright (1950) Sabrina (1954) & (1995) as Sabrina Fairchild's song Duck, Rabbit Duck! (1953) The Cheap Detective (1978) 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) Band of brothers (2001) Flip's Sorry (2002) Something's Gotta Give (2003) Jeux d'enfants (2003) La notte di Totò (2003) View from the Top (2003) Modigliani (2004) A World Without Thieves (2004) Lord of War (2005) Rent (2005) Valiant (2005) The Yacoubian Building (2006) La Môme (2007) Fred Claus (2007) La Vie en Rose (2007) Mr. Lonely (2007) The bucket List (2007) Wall-E (2008) X-men First Class (2011) Monte Carlo (2011) The Hundred Foot Journey (2014)

ANALYSIS OF THE SONG “La Vie en Rose” translated to “Life in Pink” is a love song with a smooth, almost sad, sound to it. The title makes it sound like a song about a person who is in that moment where they are blinded by love and everything is beautiful in that moment. The speaker of the song is a woman who is describing how her man makes her feel. She talks about how she never thought love was real, but now that she has him in her life she KNOWS love is real. The imagery used in the lyrics pull the listener closer into her heart and emotions as the song progresses. “And when you speak, angels sing from above; Everyday words seem to turn into love songs” The comparison of love to heaven is made over and over again. But the lyrics also state, “It took your kisses to reveal that I was wrong, and love is real.” These lines expose the Speaker of the song’s new understanding that love is not just a word. The theme is clear in this song: Love can bring you happiness. Throughout the entire song she describes how wonderful his love makes her feel. To be loved makes you see the world in a new way. “A world where roses bloom.” It is evident that love places her in a “life in pink”. All the words have a positive connotation and describe happiness. For instance, “roses bloom” “angels” “heaven”. Perhaps this universal theme of LOVE is one of the primary reasons this song has endured time. The words and melody speak to people from all cultures and all ages; an example of a truly timeless song. There are few songs that find themselves evolving over time, through many media (radio, television, movies) to introduce themselves to new audiences. “La Vie en Rose” is a special song in that it did just that. It was loved by the people of the 1940s, it crossed oceans, survived translation after translation. The song bounced from one decade into the next to be rediscovered by fans of different genres of music. This song unlike so many is loved by all and has developed into a truly international representation of music uniting all people.

THE PERFORMANCE The first performance is by Edith Piaf. This second performance is by Louis Armstrong in the 1950s. This third performance is by Melissa Manchester And finally, this fourth one is by Lady Gaga

WORKS CITED EdithPiaf. "Edith Piaf - La Vie En Rose (Officiel) [Live Version]." YouTube. YouTube, 18 Aug Web. 26 Apr "La Vie En Rose." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 26 Apr Staggs, Matt. "Memoir in a Melody." Signature Reads Memoir in a Melody Edith Piaf WarTorn Europe and La Vie En Rose Comments. Signature, 25 Nov Web. 26 Apr "What Movies Have the Song "la Vie En Rose" in Them?" Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo!. Web. 26 Apr This is your list of ALL the resources you used to learn about your song, etc…