La Foule

After watching "My Summer Of Love" I heard this song and instantly recognised the voice. Edith's voice is simply amazing. I've yet to look into what the meaning of the song is yet (my French is abismal), but this is a great song that succeeds in doing many things such as flaunting an astounding voice, turning you onto more Edith Piaf and making me smile.

One of those songs that you don't have to understand to love. The only real French I know, I've learned from Mme. Piaf.

In a nutshell, this song is about being in awe of a large/busy city. I assuem she is referring to Paris.

I THINK (keyword: think) this is about a woman who met up with a man in this big city, but the crowd of the city swept her away and crushed her within it until she couldn't get to the man anymore. She never saw him again.

This is as yet a somewhat imperfect translation. It needs a degree of phrasal and rhythmic finessing. But this will do for now I guess for anyone looking for some help in appreciating the song in French, 'cause even as it stands now, it's quite accurate and I'd say more or less faithful even in its tone to the original. However, once I've finalized this into a something better, I'll post the updated version here.

LA FOULE Paroles: Michel Rivgauche, musique: Angel Cobral, enr. 28 février 1957

Je revois la ville en fête et en délire Suffoquant sous le soleil et sous la joie Et j'entends dans la musique les cris, les rires Qui éclatent et rebondissent autour de moi Et perdue parmi ces gens qui me bousculent Étourdie, désemparée, je reste là Quand soudain, je me retourne, il se recule, Et la foule vient me jeter entre ses bras...

I review the city in feast and in delirium Choking under the sun and under joy And I hear in music the screams, the laughters That explode and rebound around me And lost among these people who jostle me Lightheaded, distressed, I remain there When suddenly, I turn around, he moves back, And the crowd comes to throw itself between his arms...

Emportés par la foule qui nous traîne Nous entraîne Écrasés l'un contre l'autre Nous ne formons qu'un seul corps Et le flot sans effort Nous pousse, enchaînés l'un et l'autre Et nous laisse tous deux Épanouis, enivrés et heureux.

Taken away by the crowd which drags us Crushed one against the other We form only one body And we are effortlessly pushed by the flow, Linked one and the other And we let ourselves full bloom, inebriate and happy.

Entraînés par la foule qui s'élance Et qui danse Une folle farandole Nos deux mains restent soudées Et parfois soulevés Nos deux corps enlacés s'envolent Et retombent tous deux Épanouis, enivrés et heureux...

Driven by the crowd springing and dancing A mad farandole Our two hands remain welded And raised sometimes Our bodies in embrace fly off And fall again, the two of us In full bloom, inebriate and happy...

Et la joie éclaboussée par son sourire Me transperce et rejaillit au fond de moi Mais soudain je pousse un cri parmi les rires Quand la foule vient l'arracher d'entre mes bras...

And the joy splashed by his smile transfixes me and rebounds to my core But suddenly I utter a scream among the laughters When the crowd comes to throw itself among my arms...

Emportés par la foule qui nous traîne Nous entraîne Nous éloigne l'un de l'autre Je lutte et je me débats Mais le son de ma voix S'étouffe dans les rires des autres Et je crie de douleur, de fureur et de rage Et je pleure...

Taken away by the crowd who drags us and moves us away One from the other I fight and I struggle But the sound of my voice Is drowned in laughters of others And I cry out in pain, fury and rage And I start crying...

Entraînée par la foule qui s'élance Et qui danse Une folle farandole Je suis emportée au loin Et je crispe mes poings, maudissant la foule qui me vole L'homme qu'elle m'avait donné Et que je n'ai jamais retrouvé...

Driven by the crowd springing and dancing A mad farandole I am taken far away And I tense my fists, cursing the crowd which steals from me The man that it had given to me And whom I never recovered...

I love the atmosphere of this song. I am not sure what the real meaning is, but when I listen to it, it reminds me of la fete du village (village party), that there is in France every summer in most villages, with orchestras/ bands playing. The atmosphere is fun, families gather to dance, eat outside. It can get very crowded. You dance outside in your village all night, it is really a lovely atmosphere. Then she seems to add in the song, someone she danced with and liked, and suddenly she loses him in the crowd, as it gets very busy. This is one of my favorite songs of Edith Piaf.