Céline Dion Sings Piaf in Tribute to the Victims of the Paris Attacks

3 minutes

Last night (November 22, U.S. time), Céline Dion sang Edith Piaf’s classic “Hymne à l’amour” at the American Music Awards, paying tribute to the victims of the Paris attacks.

I had spent much of the day watching ISIS propaganda videos on a website run by an American Middle East specialist who tracks the group. The videos were polished and manipulative, but the more I watched, the more I felt a deep, dark sadness. Then I came across Céline Dion’s performance on YouTube and quickly shared it, hoping to spread a little positive energy.

Piaf wrote “Hymne à l’amour” for her lover, the French world-champion boxer Marcel Cerdan. She first sang it in New York on September 14, 1949. On October 27, Cerdan was flying from Paris to New York when his plane crashed, taking him from her forever.

The Chinese lyrics were translated and adapted for singing by the veteran translator Xue Fan. It takes more than a literal translation to make lyrics fit the original melody. His celebrated work also includes “Moscow Nights,” “Auld Lang Syne,” and “The Straw Hat Song.”

Hymn to Love

A Hymn to Love

The blue sky could fall upon us

And the earth could crumble away

It matters little if you love me

I care nothing for the whole wide world.

Let the sky collapse, let the earth split apart,

Let the sea dry up and the stones turn to dust,

As long as our hearts truly love each other,

Let the storm winds and thunder rage.

As long as love floods my mornings

As long as my body trembles beneath your hands

I care nothing for trouble

My love, since you love me.

As long as love nourishes my heart,

As long as love blooms forever,

Let every worry drift away,

As long as you are here beside me.

I would go to the ends of the world,

I would dye my hair blonde,

If you asked me to.

I would follow you across the world,

I would go with you till the end of time,

If that is what you wanted.

I would go and fetch the moon

I would go and steal a fortune

If you asked me to.

I would dare climb to the sky for the moon,

I would dare dive into the sea for treasure,

If that is what you wanted.

I would renounce my homeland

I would renounce my friends

If you asked me to.

I would say goodbye to my friends and family,

I would leave my home without a second thought,

If that is what you wanted.

People might laugh at me

I would do anything

If you asked me to.

I would not care what people said,

I would share every hardship with you,

If that is what you wanted.

If one day life tore you away from me,

If you died far away from me,

It matters little if you love me,

For I would die too.

If death should take you from this life,

If you should leave this world,

As long as our hearts truly love each other,

I would no longer cling to life.

Eternity would be ours

In the blue of the boundless sky,

In heaven there are no more troubles,

My love, do you believe we love each other?

God brings together those who love.

I would follow you to heaven,

And from then on we would rejoice in paradise,

Let every worry drift away,

May we love each other forever,

May we love each other forever.

The final line literally means: “God brings together those who love.”