La Vie En Rose

My song "La Vie En Rose," is a cover by Louis Armstrong, on his album called, Tribute to Edith Piaf. I chose Armstrong's version of the song because it was the only version I heard while growing up. My parents had danced to this song at their wedding, and always play it while we eat our Thanksgiving meal as a family.

The song was originally written post World War 2, in a time when people wished to see the world through "rose colored glasses" instead of reality. "La Vie En Rose" translates to, "Life in Pink" or "Life Through Rose-Tinted Glasses". In a time of destruction and depression, the song was meant to create a nurturing and loving atmosphere for suffering people through its poetic lyrics.

The song is a strong love song from the perspective of someone who only wanted to be with their lover, and ignore reality.

There is an abundant amount of figurative language in the song. The song starts off with:

Hold me close and hold me fast
The magic spell you cast
This is la vie en rose

Right off the bat, the speaker is directing the song to the person they love. Asking them to hold them and cast their magic spell over them. Obviously magic spells do not exist in real life, the speaker is comparing their love to a magic spell, and is therefore a metaphor. Through that spell can the speaker see life through their rose colored glasses, and truly enjoy life with their wholesome love. This theme is further portrayed in the next stanza:

When you press me to your heart
I'm in a world apart
A world where roses bloom

Again, just by physically being with their love, they are able to separate themselves from the destruction and sadness of the real world. The symbolism is displaying how powerful love is. It can help one through the challenges and hard ships life throws ones way.

There are only six stanzas in the song, repeated twice, so it is quite short. In the last two stanzas, the speaker uses hyperbole to truly demonstrate their devotion to their love:

Give your heart and soul to me
And life will always be
La vie en rose
I thought that love was just a word
They sang about in songs I heard
It took your kisses to reveal
That I was wrong, and love is real

When the speaker asks for their lover's heart and soul, he/she uses such extremes to illuminate the true devotion of their love. They would put themselves in such a vulnerable position because they believe in their love, and want to see through the rose colored glasses of a loving life with them. The speaker uses another hyperbole when they say it took your kisses to reveal love is real. Meaning that they had not felt love before they met that person, had not experienced such a deep connection with another to see life through rose-colored glasses. To be happy.

I think "La Vie En Rose" is a great love song, that demonstrates love is a very powerful feeling that can help one live through the harsh realities of life.