10 French Love Songs to Dance to at your Wedding
You are looking for a way to add a French touch to your wedding? Maybe a song could be it! For sure, French people don't have Madonna or Michael Jackson to make a crowd dance. But when it comes to love, we aren't bad at all. For your wedding playlist, here are 10 must-have songs! If you are interested in contacting me for your wedding, you can do that here.
1. La vie en rose, Edith Piaf
"Give your heart and soul to me
And life will always be
La vie en rose"
says Edith in her song from 1947. Her voice is the most beautiful one and the song is all about the butterfly you feel when you are in love. Her song is very famous in the US because it has been translated and used by many singers over the years, including Tony Martin, Paul Weston, Bing Crosby (recorded June 22, 1950), Ralph Flanagan, Victor Young, Dean Martin, and Louis Armstrong. But let’s be honest, Edith Piaf version will always be the best!
2. Je t'aime...moi non plus, Gainsbourg & Birkin
They were one of the most famous couples for a while. Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin sing together about love. Translated "I love you... neither am I", the song is very sensual, even sexual as Gainsbourg talks a lot about hip thrust and go/ back between her kidneys. Bad news, parents might not like it. Good news, it's in French, nobody will understand.
3. Je l'aime à mourir, de Francis Cabrel
What makes this song so great? The lyrics. They are just so beautiful. "I love her so much I could die, She’s erased the numbers On the clocks around here, She’s made of my life Paper hens And roars of laughter". Who would not fall for that?
4. Et si tu n'existais pas, Joe Dassin
“And if you did not exist…Tell me why I would exist” Ok, it is a little bit cheesy. But isn't it the typical French love song? Come on, you can give it a try! Listen and read the English lyrics, I bet you are going to fall in love with the kitsch side of it.
5. Le Tourbillon de la vie, Jeanne Moreau
This song was used in one of my favorite French movie LOVE ME IF YOU DARE (a must-see by the way). The song ‘Le Tourbillon de la vie’, sung by actress Jeanne Moreau in famous Nouvelle Vague film Jules et Jim, tells the story of a man and his helpless love for a femme fatale. Her voice is giving goose pump and a pure joie de vivre at the same time.
She had rings on every finger,
Heaps of bracelets around her wrists
And then she sang with a voice
Which, made me fall for her straight away.
She had eyes, opal coloured eyes,
That fascinated me, that fascinated me
There was the oval of her pale face,
Of the femme fatale who, for me, was fatal
6. T'es belle, Volo
"You are pretty when..." and the music goes on. A beautiful declaration of love to a woman, and we imagine ourselves at the edge of a fireplace with our man who sings us these beautiful words accompanied by a guitar.
"You look beautiful when you sleep
You're beautiful when you snore
You're beautiful, that's what is strong,
Even when you inflate me.
You're beautiful awake
You're beautiful and I swear to you
How beautiful you are even when you got your hair done
By your blankets.”
7. Quand on n'a que l'amour, Jacques Brel
First of all, Jacques Brel is a true poet. Read the tranlations of his songs and you will fall in love with his work.
“If we only have love
Then tomorrow will dawn
And the days of our years
Will rise on that morn
If we only have love
To embrace without fears
We will kiss with our eyes
We will sleep without tears”
"If we only have love" was first sang in 1956. Since then, a numerous amount of singers made their own version of it.
8. Les mots d'amour, Debout sur le zinc
The band is very active since 1995. Their song "The word of love" is about how the singer wants to be able to write love songs with a lot of love. The music is a mix of yiddish, rock and tziganes sounds. I love this song because you do not have to know what it says to enjoy it : the music is great and you will want to dance on it!
9. La vie ne vaut rien, Alain Souchon
"Life is not worth a damn thing" is the title of this lovely song. I know what're you thinking. "Here we go with French spleen". Not at all. The song has a twist.
“Life is not worth a thing,
but when I just hold
but when I hold
in these two bewildered hands
the two nice little breasts of my sweetheart,
then I say there's nothing, nothing
nothing better than life”.
Second translation, the singer is saying life is nothing if you don't love a special someone.
10. Mon idylle, Vanessa Paradis
Vanessa Paradis... Yes you know her. She was Johnny Deep's love for a long time, until he went to get a younger version. Yep, French woman are pretty upset about it. But whatever, we still love her! This particular song is about the man she loves and desires. The perfect man. Clearly not Johnny!
When it comes to love and music, I have tons of favorite songs. And you, which one is your favorite?