Josephine Baker - La Vie En Rose (Columbia Records 1968) video free download

"La Vie en rose" was the signature song of French singer Édith Piaf, written in 1945, popularized in 1946, and released as a single in 1947. The song's title can be translated as "Life in Rosy Hues" or "Life Through Rose-Colored Glasses"; its literal meaning is "Life in Pink". the melody was composed by Marguerite Monnot and Louis Guglielmi, known as Louiguy. Originally, the song was registered as being written by Louiguy only, since at the time Piaf did not have necessary qualifications to be able to copyright her work with SACEM. Words "Quand il me tient dans ses bras..." ("When he takes me in his arms...") came to her mind one evening in 1944, when she was standing in front of an American man. That gave the base for the rest of lyrics. Piaf offered the song to Marianne Michel, who slightly modified the lyrics, changing "les choses" ("things") for "la vie" ("life"). English lyrics for the song were later written by Mack David.

Josephine Baker (June 3, 1906 -- April 12, 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer, and actress. Born Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri, she became a citizen of France in 1937. Fluent in both English and French, Baker became an international musical and political icon. She was given such nicknames as the "Bronze Venus", the "Black Pearl", and the "Créole Goddess".

Baker was the first African-American female to star in a major motion picture, Zouzou (1934), to integrate an American concert hall, and to become a world-famous entertainer. She is also noted for her contributions to the Civil Rights Movement in the United States (she was offered the unofficial leadership of the movement by Coretta Scott King in 1968 following Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, but turned it down), for assisting the French Resistance during World War II, and for receiving the French military honor, the Croix de guerre.

Château des Milandes, a castle near Sarlat in the Dordogne, was Josephine Baker's home where she raised her 12 children. It is open to the public and displays her stage outfits including her banana skirt (of which there are apparently several). It also displays many family photographs and documents as well as her Legion of Honour medal. Most rooms are open for the public to walk through including bedrooms with little cots in where her children slept, a huge kitchen and a dining room where she often entertained large groups. The bathrooms are made in art deco style but most rooms retained the French chateau style.

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

{Refrain:}

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 m'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 cœur qui bat

Des nuits d'amour à plus finir

Un grand bonheur qui prend sa place

Des ennuis, des chagrins s'effacent

Heureux, heureux à en mourir

{au Refrain}

{Nota: variante pour le dernier couplet:}

Des nuits d'amour à en mourir

Un grand bonheur qui prend sa place

Les ennuis, les chagrins s'effacent

Heureux, heureux pour mon plaisir