Famous French Love Songs

From LoveToKnow French

Adding some famous French love songs may be just the thing to spice up your CD collection!

The Benefit of French Love Songs

It’s been said many times that music is the international language and that may very well be true. One doesn’t need to be a linguist to appreciate the subtle tones and musical range of French music, and in fact, listening to famous French love songs may actually allow the listener to learn French with greater ease. Music has a way of crossing international boundaries, weaving past our usual stoic selves, and striking right at the core of the human experience.

Additionally, few things are as fun as listening to music, and when you consider the amount of study and preparation it takes to learn a new language, well, exploring the world of music seems like a natural, and enjoyable, way to learn.

Some Famous French Love Songs

L’Hymne à l’amour by Édith Piaf

Édith Piaf is considered to be one of France’s most beloved singers. Of Algerian and Italian decent, her most popular songs include her ballades:

La vie en Rose
Milord
Non, Je ne regrette rien

One of her most famous songs, L’Hymne à l’amour, is as haunting and as beautiful as the tale that inspired it. While Édith Piaf wrote the lyrics to this song, Marguerite Monnot composed the music. It has been reported that Piaf wrote the song for a man, the French boxer Marcel Cerdan, as an ode to her unending love for him.

The tragedy is that Marcel Cerdan died in a plane crash in 1949. The son was recorded on May 2, 1950 and has been re-sung in English under the title If You Love Me (Really Love Me).

Chansons D’amour: Famous French Songs

When it comes to love songs, this album is a must! Not only do you find Édith Piaf on this CD, but you’ll find other legendary greats here, like Charles Trenet (famous for La Mer), Maurice Chevalier (Valentine) and Josephine Baker, whose legend is extraordinary.

Although American born, Baker became a French citizen in 1937. While she had many nicknames, including, "Bronze Venus", and "Creole Goddess", in France, she was simply known as "La Baker". Some of her songs include Avec, and En Avril en Paris. When it comes to French love songs, this CD may prove invaluable because all of the greats are located in one convenient place.

Ballades by Jonny Hallyday

For those searching for a more contemporary mix of love songs, consider Ballades by Johnny Hallyday. As the name implies, this is a collection of love songs that are designed to help one unwind, relax, and of course, feel romantic.

What you’ll love about this compact disc is that it’s fairly lengthy with a total of eighteen tracks in all. Additionally, Johnny Hallyday also covers L’Hymne a L’amour, so not only can one listen to the original recoding, but you can also compare and contrast it with a modern-day version.

Allure by Becky Fox

Sung by Becky Fox, Allure houses eleven tracks of pure romantic bliss. Some of these songs are original, but others are covers of love songs of the past. One reviewer on Amazon commented that the singer doesn’t have a "great" voice, but that the musicians that accompany her are priceless.

All in all, the reviewer claims that this is a fantastic collection of love songs, so it may be worth a second look.

A French Affair with Various Artists

This two disc album features twenty tracks of pure love drama.

Some of these artists featured within this collection include Sacha Distel, Joe Dassin, and Claudine Longet. However, make no mistake about it; at $47.68 a pop, this album doesn’t come cheap. If you are curious to hear what this album sounds like it may be a good idea to head to your local library and request it.

Putting It All Together

Listening to some famous French love songs is a terrific way to unwind from a hectic day and still practice your French. All the CD’s featured above cover at least one of the legendary French tunes of days past, so you’ll also have a quite a collection to impress a friend or two with. Try listening to one of these albums at your next dinner party; it may prove to be terrific conversation starter!

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