Even if you don’t know the first thing about sports, you’ll want to tune into the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris on Friday (July 26). There is an excellent chance you’ll hear the timeless French standard “La Vie en Rose” – possibly sung by the megastar teaming of Céline Dion and Lady Gaga. (That duet is unconfirmed, but is a tantalizing possibility.)
Both singers have a history with the song, which was made famous by French chanteuse Édith Piaf. Dion sang it on Michael Drucker’s TV show in Paris in 1993 (when she was all of 15). Gaga sang it in 2016 on the Emmy-nominated TV special Tony Bennett Celebrates 90: The Best Is Yet to Come and again two years later in the Oscar-nominated film A Star Is Born.
“La Vie En Rose” was written in 1945 and became a global hit for Piaf in the late ’40s – and in the U.S. in 1950. The song’s wistful quality captured the sad, yet hopeful mood of a people who had endured the horrors and hardships of World War II.
The lyrics were written by Piaf, with music composed by Louiguy. English lyrics were later written by Mack David, the older brother of Hal David. According to legend, people in Piaf’s camp thought the song was weaker than the rest of her repertoire. (Can you imagine?) Heeding their advice, Piaf put the song aside, only to later change her mind. Good thing she did! The ballad became Piaf’s signature song, and one of the most famous songs ever to come out of France.
The literal translation of the song title is “life in pink,” but it can also mean “life in happy hues” or “life in rosy hues.”
Piaf died from liver cancer in 1963 at just 47, but her song will live forever. Here are 13 of the most famous renditions of the longtime pop standard.
