This was recently in the US TV show
How I Met Your Mother. The version there is in G and English. The show, if you've never heard of it, is the long version of a father telling his children how he met their mother. The story is so long you never see her or get any closer to finding how he actually met her until many episodes in. Here, he doesn't even meet her, but hears her singing on the next balcony in a hotel. The singer is Cristin Milioti who appeared in the Broadway version of
Once, the Irish romantic movie, full or lovely music too.
Translation is a tricky thing. Strictly the title means "The Life in Pink".
Edith Piaf's 1946 version is of course definitive. She wrote the words to convey something like "I see life through rose-coloured glasses" but it is more about love and passion that just simple optimism. It is life and love itself.
I think it's best to try and sing it in French, the most romantic language of all. Except for Klingon.
My versions below are in C, so here's
Andrea Bocelli singing it in that key. He happens to be blind and it's fascinating to see how he can so effortlessly sing and manoeuvre around the stage. Bravo.
I also like
Jack Nicholson's version.
Here's three versions. The original, the most common version in English, which is not a translation at all and then my own effort which tried to capture the meaning of the words, and doesn't bother with the rhyme. I've also written it with a male voice, rather than female.
0112 C
A7
Des yeux qui font baisser les miens,
Dm7 G7
Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche,
C
Gm
Voila le portrait sans retouche
A7
Dm7
G7
De la femme, auquel j'appartiens
CHORUS
C
Cmaj7
Quand elle me prend dans ses bras
C6
elle me parle tout bas,
2323 Dm7
G7
Je vois la vie en rose.
Dm7
G7
Elle me dit des mots d'amour,
Dm7
Des mots de tous les jours,
G7
G7+
C Dm7 G7
Et ça me fait quelque chos
C
Cmaj7
Elle est entre dans mon coeur
C6
Une part de bonheur
C7
F
Dont je connais la cause.
1213
C
C'est lui (toi) pour moi, Moi pour lui (toi) Dans la vie,
2323 or D7
Dm7
G7 1212
Elle me l'a dit, l'a jure pour la vie.
C
Cmaj7
Et des que je l'apercois
Dm7
Alors je sens en moi
G7 C
0101 Dm7 G7
Mon coeur qui bat
0112 C
A7 Dm7 G7
Des nuits d'amour a ne plus en finir, Un grand bonheur qui prend sa place
C
Gm
A7
Dm7
G7
Des enuis, des chagrins s'effacent, Heureux, heureux a en mourir.
CHORUS
0112 C
A7
With eyes which lower mine,
Dm7 G7
A smile's lost on her lips,
C
Gm
That's the untouched portrait
A7
Dm7
G7
Of the girl I belong to.
C
Cmaj7
When I take her in my arms
C6
and she whispers soft to me,
2323 Dm7
G7
I see la vie en rose.
Dm7
G7
She declares her love to me
Dm7
just everyday words of love
G7
G7+
C Dm7 G7
And they do something to me.
C
Cmaj7
She has placed into my heart
C6
A tiny speck of joy
C7
F
of which I know the cause.
1213
C
It's her for me, me for her, all my life
2323 or D7
Dm7
G7 1212
She said to me, swore to me, "forever".
C
Cmaj7
And as soon as I see her
Dm7
Then I feel in me
G7 C
0101 Dm7 G7
my beating heart
0112 C
A7
May the nights of loving never end,
Dm7 G7
A great joy which takes the place
C
Gm
of trouble, grief, they are removed
A7
Dm7
G7
I could die, could die of it
0112
C
A7 Dm7 G7
I thought that love was just a word They sang about in love songs I heard
C
Gm
A7
Dm7
G7
It took your kisses to reveal that I was wrong and love is real.
C
Cmaj7
Hold me close and hold me fast,
C6
The magic spell you cast,
2323 Dm7
G7
This is la vie en rose.
Dm7
G7
When you kiss me heaven sighs,
Dm7
And though I close my eyes
G7+
C 2323 Dm7 G7
I see la vie en rose.
C
Cmaj7
When you press me to your heart,
C6
I'm in a world apart.
C7
F
A world where roses bloom;
1213
C
And when you speak angels sing from above;
2323 or D7
Dm7
G7 1212
Every day words seem to turn into love songs.
C
Cmaj7
Give your heart and soul to me,
C6
Dm7
And life will always be
G7 C
2323 Dm7 G7
La Vie en Rose.
