I don’t think this is the best version of this beautiful song, but this is meant to be a blog about pop records.
The lyrics were written by Edith Piaf as Hymne à l’amour (Hymn to Love) with music by Marguerite Monnot. Piaf wrote the song in September 1949 as a tribute to her lover, Marcel Cerdan, acknowledged as the best boxer France has ever produced. The following month Cerdan was killed in a plane crash.
Piaf recorded the song on May 2, 1950. I don’t think you can beat this.
An English version was written by Geoffrey Parsons and first recorded by Vera Lynn in 1953.
This is a performance by Piaf of the English version.
Kay Starr released it in 1954 and took it to No 4 in America.
So to Brenda Lee, who recorded it for her 1961 album Emotions. I wish she didn’t take liberties with the melody.
Mary Hopkin did a reasonable job of it in 1976, reaching No 32 in Britain.
Brilliant stuff. I watched an old Vera Lynn film recently was struck by how beautiful she was, and natural. If she was around nowadays she would have tattoos, six-inch long eyelashes, eyebrows removed and slugs painted on, an orange tan, fake body parts and jeans with great big rips across the legs.
I enjoyed the Mary Hopkins clip too. An old workmate of mine used to call her Hairy Mopkins.