La Vie en Rose Lyrics & English Translation - Edith Piaf (2024)

La Vie en Rose lyrics and translation articulate timeless themes of love, romance, and resilience – it’s one of Edith Piaf’s most famous and beloved songs. It has been covered and interpreted by many famous artists, including Louis Armstrong (who sang an English interpretation of the lyrics) and Lady Gaga, who sang it in French in “A Star is Born.” La Vie en Rose is about finding new love after a trying time, and many people saw it as an anthem of hope as it was released shortly after the end of World War 2. French lyrics and English translation below.


Vocabulary and an explanation of the translation and phrases will follow the video and lyrics translation. Enjoy!

Below the translation you will find an analysis of the song and translation, a breakdown of the vocabulary, and a video of Edith Piaf performing “La Vie en Rose” live.

La Vie en Rose Lyrics and Translation

French English
Des yeux qui font baisser les miensA gaze that make me lower my own
Un rire qui se perd sur sa boucheA laugh that is lost on his lips-
Voila le portrait sans retouchesThat is the un-retouched portrait
De l'homme auquel j'appartiensOf the man to whom I belong
Quand il me prend dans ses brasWhen he takes me into his arms
Il me parle l'a tout basHe speaks to me softly
Je vois la vie en roseAnd I see life through rose-colored glasses
Il me dit des mots d'amourHe speaks words of love to me
Des mots de tous les joursThey are every day words
Et ça m' fait quelque choseAnd they do something to me
Il est entré dans mon coeurHe has entered into my heart
Une part de bonheurA bit of happiness
Dont je connais la causeThat I know the cause of
C'est lui pour moiIt's only him for me
Moi pour lui dans la vieAnd me for him, for life
Il me l'a dit, l'a jure pour la vieHe told me, he swore to me, for life
Et, dès que je l'aperçoisAs soon as I notice him
Alors je sens en moiI feel inside me
Mon coeur qui batMy heart beating
Des nuits d'amour à plus en finirEndless nights of love
Un grand bonheur qui prend sa placeBring great happiness
Les ennuis, les chagrins, s'effacentThe pain and bothers fade away
Heureux, heureux à mourirHappy, so happy I could die
Quand il me prend dans ses brasWhen he takes me into his arms
Il me parle tout basHe speaks to me softly
Je vois la vie en roseAnd I see life through rose-colored glasses
Il me dit des mots d'amourHe speaks words of love to me
Des mots de tout les joursThey are every day words
Et ça m' fait quelque choseAnd they do something to me
Il est entré dans mon coeurHe has entered into my heart
Une part de bonheurA bit of happiness
Dont je connais la causeThat I know the cause of
C'est lui pour moiIt's only him for me
Moi pour lui dans la vieAnd me for him, for life
Il me l'a dit, l'a jure pour la vieHe told me, he swore to me, for life
Et, dès que je l'apercoisAs soon as I notice him
Alors je sens en moiI feel inside me
Mon coeur qui batMy heart beating
Lalalala, lalalalaLalalala, lalalala
La, la, la, laLa, la, la, la

La Vie en Rose Vocabulary, Analysis, and Explanation

The great thing about this song is that it uses relatively simple vocabulary to convey the very deep and heartfelt experience of new love. This song captures so many of the small gestures that we associate with falling in love: feeling your heart race as soon as you spot your new love, looking away when they look at you, etc.

baisser: to lower

Des yeux qui font baisser les miens: literally “eyes that make me lower my own”
I’ve chosen to translate that as “a gaze that makes me lower my own” because in the context she is talking about the way he looks at her, rather than his actual eyes. I think we all know the feeling: when someone you really like looks at you and you look away because it’s just too uncomfortable to hold their gaze (even though you want to).

Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche – this is a tough line to translate.
un rire: a laugh
se perdre: to lose itself (oneself)
la bouche: mouth

I’ve chosen to translate this as “a laugh that is lost on his lips;” literally it would be translated “a laugh that loses itself on his lips.” I think that she is referring to the moment when someone laughs a short, fleeting laugh that seems to dance across their lips.

retouche: a correction, amendment, or as we would translate it for a photo “retouching”.

tout bas: literally “all low” but in this context it means “softly” or “quietly”.

OK and now for the chorus/title – how to best translate “la vie en rose”? We use this phrase occasionally in English, and my preference would be to leave it in French since there isn’t a saying in English that is as elegant. However we do have the saying “to see life through rose-colored glasses.” I feel that this sounds a bit awkward, and not nearly as nice as saying “I see la vie en rose,” which would literally translate as “I see life in pink” or “I see life in rosy-hues.”

Il me dit: He speaks to me or he tells me
les mots d’amour, les mots de tous les jours: words of love, everyday words
Here Édith is telling us that her love whispers sweet nothings to her, but also every day words. I like the way she pairs these two lines. By coupling them she seems to be suggesting that both words of love and everyday words are equally precious when they come from the man she loves. How romantic is that?

jurer: to promise, to swear

dès que je l’aperçois: From the moment I perceive him (am aware of him)
Dès que (time): When (time), or as soon as

Dès translates as “from” in the sense that it marks the beginning of a period of time. Dès que means “as soon as” (in French you can also say “aussitôt que”).

à plus finir: endless
I believe this is a shortened version of the more correct: à n’en plus finir, which means “endless”. Often in songs some syllables are dropped (I’m sure you can think of many examples of this in English songs as well.)

s’effacer: to fade

Edith Piaf Performing La Vie en Rose Live

This is from the TV show “La joie de vivre” where Edith Piaf performed live on March 4, 1954. Enjoy!

What do you think of this translation? Do you have any additional questions? Leave them in the comments below! Thank you. 🙂

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La Vie en Rose Lyrics & English Translation - Edith Piaf (2024)

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