"The Poor People of Paris" is a US pop song that became a number-one

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

hit in 1956. It is based on the French language song "La goualante du pauvre Jean" ("The Ballad of Poor John"), with music by

Marguerite Monnot Marguerite Monnot (28 May 1903 – 12 October 1961) was a French songwriter and composer best known for having written many of the songs performed by Édith Piaf ("Milord", " Hymne à l'amour") and for the music in the stage musical '' Irma La ...

and words by René Rouzaud.

Edith Piaf Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and var ...

had one of her biggest hits with the original French version. The song was adapted in 1954 by American songwriter Jack Lawrence, who wrote English lyrics that are considerably different from the original French ones. The English language title arises in part from a misinterpretation of the French title, as "pauvre Jean" was taken for the same-sounding "pauvres gens", which translates as "poor people." Lawrence's lyrics, which pronounce "Paris" as "PaREE" in the French style, are seldom heard, as most of the popular recordings of the song in the English-speaking world have been instrumentals.

Les Baxter version

A recording of the tune by

Les Baxter Leslie Thompson "Les" Baxter (March 14, 1922 – January 15, 1996) was a best-selling American musician and composer. After working as an arranger and composer for swing bands, he developed his own style of easy listening music, known as exotica a ...

's orchestra ( Capitol Records catalog number 3336, with the flip side "Theme from 'Helen of Troy'") was a number-one hit on the '' Billboard'' chart in the US in 1956: for four weeks on the Best Sellers in Stores chart, for six weeks on the Most Played by Jockeys and Hot 100 charts, and for three weeks on the Most Played on Jukeboxes chart. This recording was also released in Australia by Capitol under catalog number CP-1044. This version of the song was also the last song to reach number one (in the US) before

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

's "

Heartbreak Hotel "Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. It was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, with credit being ...

" topped the chart. Baxter's version featured strings, brass, a wordless chorus, tinkling percussion, finger snapping, and a group of whistlers.

Winifred Atwell version

In the same year, the piano version by

Winifred Atwell Una Winifred Atwell (27 February or 27 April 1910 or 1914There is some uncertainty over her date and year of birth. Many sources suggest 27 February 1914, but there is a strong suggestion that her birthday was 27 April. Most sources give her ye ...

( Decca Records catalog number F10681) was number one in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

for three weeks. In Australia, it was released as Decca Catalogue number Y 6783.

Other versions

*Cover versions by

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted the '' The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. His style came to be known as "champagne music" to his radio, te ...

Russ Morgan Russell Morgan (April 29, 1904 – August 7, 1969) was an American big band leader and arranger during the 1930s and 1940s. He was best known for being the one of the composers of the song "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", with Larry Stock ...

( Decca Records catalog number 29835, with the flip side "Annabelle") and

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...

appeared in the US Top 100. * Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney recorded a version containing the seldom-heard Lawrence lyrics for their 1965 album ''

That Travelin' Two-Beat ''That Travelin' Two-Beat'' is a duet album by Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney recorded in 1964 and released on Capitol Records in 1965. With its world tour theme, it was a revisitation of the concept explored in the duo's acclaimed RCA V ...

''. * Dean Martin recorded the song with the Lawrence lyrics for his 1962 album ''

French Style ''French Style'' is Dean Martin's first LP for Reprise Records. Recorded during February 1962, it features French-themed popular songs and chansons arranged by Neal Hefti. Among them "C'est si bon," which frequently appears on Dean Martin compil ...

''. * Billy May also recorded a Latin-styled version that appears in the

Ultra-Lounge ''Ultra-Lounge'' is a series of compilation CDs released by Capitol Records, featuring music predominantly from the 1950s and 1960s in genres such as exotica, space age pop, mambo, television theme songs, and lounge. Many of the volumes have sin ...

CD Volume 10: ''A Bachelor in Paris'', that was edited together with Les Baxter's version. *In 1991, Episode 6 of Series 2 of ''

Vic Reeves Big Night Out ''Vic Reeves Big Night Out'' was a cult British comedy stage show and later television series which ran on Channel 4 for two series in 1990 and 1991, as well as a New Year special. Its live incarnation marked the beginnings of the collaboration ...

'' featured a version of the song with completely new lyrics detailing The Man With The Stick's holiday. *A 1955 version of

Eddie Cochran Ray Edward Cochran (; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician. Cochran's songs, such as " Twenty Flight Rock", "Summertime Blues", " C'mon Everybody" and " Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desir ...

was released in 1997 on the album ''Rockin' It Country Style''. *

Reginald Dixon Reginald Herbert Dixon, MBE, ARCM (16 October 1904 – 9 May 1985) was an English theatre organist who was primarily known for his position as organist at the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool, a position he held from March 1930 ...

released a version of the song as part of a medley with the songs "Willie Can" and " The Happy Whistler" on his 2009 compilation album ''Reginald Dixon at the Organ''. * Lenny Dee recorded an instrumental version in his 1965 album "The Lenny Dee Tour" (Decca DL 74654).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poor People of Paris Number-one singles in the United States Billboard Top 100 number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia 1954 songs 1956 singles Édith Piaf songs Songs with lyrics by Jack Lawrence Songs about Paris Eddie Cochran songs Capitol Records singles Songs with music by Marguerite Monnot Pop instrumentals