# I'm looking for songs like "La Vie En Rose." **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 5, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-songs-like-la-vie-en-rose/709031 "2015-01-05T14:00:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-songs-like-la-vie-en-rose/709031/1 "2015-01-05T14:00:09Z")
Like [this version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NK9zdPj-os&index=8&list=WL) in particular. I love the violin, the French, just the overall sound of it. I also really enjoy [this song,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvV-RoVGuZk) even though I don’t know any words. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-songs-like-la-vie-en-rose/709031/2 "2015-01-05T14:12:19Z")
Maybe Edith Piaff, if I’m thinking of the right person. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-songs-like-la-vie-en-rose/709031/3 "2015-01-05T15:12:02Z")
[La Mer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd_nopTFuZA), by Charles Trenet, if you’re just looking for melodic French songs. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-songs-like-la-vie-en-rose/709031/4 "2015-01-05T15:33:20Z")
Edith Piaf. Actually this piece is in honor of Dame Piaf. Do you like this style? [http://youtu.be/Q3Kvu6Kgp88](http://youtu.be/Q3Kvu6Kgp88) ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-songs-like-la-vie-en-rose/709031/5 "2015-01-05T15:37:50Z")
Edith Piaf, Serge Gainsbourg, and if you can tolerate American similarities, there’s always Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-songs-like-la-vie-en-rose/709031/6 "2015-01-05T15:51:53Z")
See? Edith Piaf. Told ya. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-songs-like-la-vie-en-rose/709031/7 "2015-01-05T16:01:08Z")
Trenet, Piaf, Legrand, Brel, Nougaro . . . there’s a whole slew of amazing French language songwriters and singers (of which I’m sure I only know a very few). ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-songs-like-la-vie-en-rose/709031/8 "2015-01-05T16:16:28Z")
I have read several comparisons to Piaf attributed to [Madeleine Peyroux](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OvVlL4rxUA) and she reminds me a bit of [Billie Holiday.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billie_Holiday) ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-songs-like-la-vie-en-rose/709031/9 "2015-01-05T16:34:18Z")
Pink Martini frontperson China Forbes sings a couple of songs reminiscent of Edith Piaf, like “Sympathique” and “Everywhere.” You might also get a kick out of _World Musette_ by Les Primitifs du Futur, a French musette band featuring Robert Crumb. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-songs-like-la-vie-en-rose/709031/10 "2015-01-06T01:50:55Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > [La Mer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd_nopTFuZA), by Charles Trenet, if you’re just looking for melodic French songs. +1. First thing I thought of when I saw the subject. Very… polished song. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-songs-like-la-vie-en-rose/709031/11 "2015-01-06T02:46:27Z")
One Edith Piaf song I really love is “Non, Je ne Regrette Rien.” ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-songs-like-la-vie-en-rose/709031/12 "2015-01-06T02:55:34Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > One Edith Piaf song I really love is “Non, Je ne Regrette Rien.” Great tune. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-songs-like-la-vie-en-rose/709031/13 "2015-01-06T05:13:29Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > One Edith Piaf song I really love is “Non, Je ne Regrette Rien.” You’d love the jukeboxs in bars that were staked out, so to speak, by the US Army Special Forces during the Vietnam era. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-songs-like-la-vie-en-rose/709031/14 "2015-01-06T07:31:03Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > Like [this version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NK9zdPj-os&index=8&list=WL) in particular. I love the violin, the French, just the overall sound of it. > > I also really enjoy [this song,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvV-RoVGuZk) even though I don’t know any words. It’s great that you like that first track, because as a native speaker, I can’t get past the singer’s horrible, horrible pronunciation. That’s too bad, because musically it’s a good version. Since everyone’s already suggested Edith Piaf, I’ll point you towards one of my all time favourite singers: Barbara. Her voice was exquisite, and she was unique in that she wrote, sung and played the piano for almost all her songs. She did sadness and melancholy better than anyone else, but she had a few up-beat songs. A sample: [Ma plus belle histoire d’amour](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1ET9la1JuM) [Gueule de nuit, followed by Du bout des lèvres](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z82bd-TeX8) [Göttingen](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9b6E4MnCWk) [Dis, quand reviendras-tu?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUE80DTNxK4) [Le temps du lilas](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfb3uKRPQqU) As **Horatio Hellpop** hinted to, the second track falls in the _musette_ genre. The singer sounds a little like [Zaz](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm88QAI8I5A) who is one of the most popular signers nowadays in the French world. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-songs-like-la-vie-en-rose/709031/16 "2015-01-06T10:23:19Z")
https://www.youtube.com/embed/kLXNBu6_JNA?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=RDJFSsUasp9dw ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-songs-like-la-vie-en-rose/709031/17 "2015-01-06T10:27:52Z")
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEKf7oS4zYA) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-songs-like-la-vie-en-rose/709031/18 "2015-01-06T10:29:51Z")
[![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6EECFyOdRYU/hqdefault.jpg "Je n'en connais pas la fin - Jeff Buckley") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EECFyOdRYU) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-songs-like-la-vie-en-rose/709031/19 "2015-01-06T10:31:54Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/SYoc8h75KVM/maxresdefault.jpg "HD 1080p "The Man That Got Away" Judy Garland - A Star Is Born (1954)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYoc8h75KVM) ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-songs-like-la-vie-en-rose/709031/20 "2015-01-06T10:56:44Z")
- **Lucienne Delyle** : _Mon Amant de Saint-Jean_ (1942) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93\_pv-XWHpQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93_pv-XWHpQ) - **Charles Aznavour** : _La Bohème_ ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-JQ8dPQh7g](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-JQ8dPQh7g)) - **Barbara** ’s _Göttingen_ has already been mentioned so I’ll add my personal favourite: _Nantes_ ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cidaKYwD3lQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cidaKYwD3lQ)), a really depressing song about her abusing father’s death (she had a very complicated relationship with him). - While we’re talking about songs dedicated to the performer’s father, there’s the wonderful little downer: **Daniel Guichard** - _Mon Vieux_ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu2bYRcZlqI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu2bYRcZlqI). The last lines get me. Every. Time. - There’s got to be some **Jacques Brel** , too of course: _Amsterdam_ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2kkr0e\_dTQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2kkr0e_dTQ) \*La Chanson des Vieux Amants \* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecux7v9OSXE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecux7v9OSXE) _Ne me Quitte pas_ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q\_bq5mStroM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_bq5mStroM) _Le Plat Pays_ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6Pc-Z\_r5jQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6Pc-Z_r5jQ) _Les Vieux_ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_lyr2P3jMNM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lyr2P3jMNM) ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-songs-like-la-vie-en-rose/709031/21 "2015-01-06T22:36:05Z")
Thank you for all the suggestions! I have a lot of listening to do tonight. I’m pretty stoked about it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-looking-for-songs-like-la-vie-en-rose/709031.md?page=2)