"" (); French for "Hymn to Love") is a 1949 French song with lyrics by

Édith Piaf Édith Giovanna Gassion (19 December 1915 – 10 October 1963), known as Édith Piaf (), was a French singer and lyricist best known for performing songs in the cabaret and modern chanson genres. She is widely regarded as France's greatest popu ...

and 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 the music for the stage musical ''Irma La Douc ...

. It was first sung by Piaf that year and recorded by her in 1950 for Columbia records. Piaf sang it in the 1951 French

musical comedy film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as break ...

'' Paris chante toujours'' (''Paris still sings''). The song has been performed by many other singers. It has also featured in two

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

ceremonies: at the 2020 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

in 2021, sung by

Milet Miletus (Ancient Greek: Μίλητος, Mílētos) was an influential ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in present day Turkey. Renowned in antiquity for its wealth, maritime power, and e ...

, and at the

2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The Olympic Games ceremony#Opening, opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics took place on 26 July 2024 across Paris, beginning at 19:30 Central European Summer Time, CEST (17:30 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC). As mandated by the Olympic ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 2024, sung by

Céline Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the " Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had a significant impact on popular musi ...

Édith Piaf

The lyrics were written by Piaf and the music by

. It was written to Piaf's lover and the love of her life, the French boxer,

Marcel Cerdan Marcellin "Marcel" Cerdan (; 22 July 1916 – 28 October 1949) was a French professional boxer and world middleweight champion who was considered by many boxing experts and fans to be France's greatest boxer, and beyond to be one of the best to ...

. On 28 October 1949, Cerdan was killed in the crash of Air France Flight 009 on his way from Paris to New York to come to see her. She recorded the song on 2 May 1950. The song appeared on her albums, ''

Edith Piaf Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English word , meaning ''wealth'' or ''prosperity'', in combination with the Old English , meaning '' strife'', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian lang ...

'' (1953), '' Le Tour de Chant d'Édith Piaf a l'Olympia - No. 2'' (1956) and '' Le Tour de Chant d'Édith Piaf a l'Olympia - No. 3'' (1958).

English versions

"" was translated into English by Piaf's protégé

Eddie Constantine Eddie Constantine (born Israel Constantine; October 29, 1913 – February 25, 1993) was an American singer, actor and entertainer who spent most of his career in France. He became well-known to film audiences for his portrayal of secret agent L ...

as "Hymn to Love", which was recorded by Piaf on her album ''La Vie En Rose / Édith Piaf Sings In English'' (1956). This version was featured on

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

's 2003 album ''

At Last "At Last" is a song written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren for the musical film ''Sun Valley Serenade'' (1941). Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded the tune several times, with a 1942 version reaching number two on the US ''Billboard'' pop ...

''. It was also adapted into English as "If You Love Me (Really Love Me)" with lyrics by Geoffrey Parsons.

Kay Starr Kay Starr (born Catherine Laverne Starks; July 21, 1922 – November 3, 2016) was an American singer who enjoyed considerable success in the late 1940s and 1950s. She was of Iroquois and Irish heritage. Starr performed multiple genres, such as p ...

brought fame to this version in 1954, with her version reaching No. 4 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''s charts of Best Sellers in Stores and Most Played by Jockeys. Starr's version was ranked No. 20 on ''Billboard''s ranking of 1954's Most Popular Records According to Retail Sales and No. 20 on ''Billboard''s ranking of 1954's Most Popular Records According to Disk Jockey Plays.

Donna Loren Donna Zukor (born March 7, 1947), known professionally as Donna Loren, is an United States, American singer and actress. A performer in the 1960s, she was the "Dr Pepper Girl" from 1963 to 1968, a featured female vocalist on ''Shindig!'', an ...

released a version of "If You Love Me (Really Love Me)" in 1963.

Mary Hopkin Mary Hopkin (born 3 May 1950), credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti from her marriage to Tony Visconti, is a Welsh singer best known for her 1968 UK number 1 single " Those Were the Days". She was one of the first artists to be sign ...

released a version of "If You Love Me (Really Love Me)" in 1976, which reached No. 32 on the UK Singles Chart.

2024 Olympic performance

Canadian singer

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

sang "Hymne à l'amour" in French from the first floor of the Eiffel Tower on 26 July 2024, at the culmination of the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in

. It was her first public performance since 2020 and the first since her 2022 diagnosis of

stiff-person syndrome Stiff-person syndrome (SPS), also known as stiff-man syndrome, is a rare neurological disorder of unclear cause characterized by progressive muscular rigidity and stiffness. The stiffness primarily affects the truncal muscles and is characterised ...

. Dion's version was released as a single on 10 October 2024, the 61st anniversary of Edith Piaf's death.

Charts

Japanese versions

"" was adapted into Japanese in 1951 as , by singer Fubuki Koshiji, featuring lyrics by

Tokiko Iwatani was a Japanese lyricist, poet, and translator. Born in Seoul, Korea, she moved with her family to Japan at the age of 5, where they settled in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture. After attending schools in her hometown she entered the English Litera ...

. The song became one of her signature songs, amassing around 2,000,000 copies sold of various singles featuring this song. "Love Hymn" was covered by Keiko Masuda in her 2014 covers album . "" was covered by Japanese singer-songwriter

Hikaru Utada , also known mononymously as Utada, is a Japanese and American singer, songwriter, and producer. She is considered to be one of the most influential and best-selling musical artists in Japan. She is best known by international audiences for w ...

in 2010, under the name . The title is unique to Utada's version, as most Japanese renditions have the same title as Fubuki Koshiji's 1951 cover, "Ai no Sanka". Utada's version reached No. 5 on ''

'' Adult Contemporary Airplay, No. 7 on ''Billboard''

Japan Hot 100 The ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 is a record chart in Japan for songs. It has been compiled by ''Billboard Japan'' and Hanshin Contents Link since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at Billboard-japan.com ( JST) and every Thursday ...

, and No. 19 on

RIAJ The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include prom ...

Digital Track Chart Top 100. Singer-actress

Atsuko Maeda is a Japanese actress and singer. She is a former member of the idol girl group AKB48, and was one of the most prominent members in the group at the time, regarded as the group's "absolute ace", "immovable center", and the "Face of AKB." After ...

performed the Japanese version of the song in the 2019 film ''

To the Ends of the Earth ''To the Ends of the Earth'' is a trilogy of nautical novels—''Rites of Passage'' (1980), ''Close Quarters'' (1987), and ''Fire Down Below'' (1989)—by British author William Golding. Set on a former British man-of-war transporting migrant ...

''. The lyrics also give the film its title. The song was performed by

at the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on 8 August 2021.

In literature

The song is a central plot point to

Anne Wiazemsky Anne Wiazemsky (14 May 1947 – 5 October 2017) was a French actress and novelist. She made her cinema debut at the age of 18, playing Marie, the lead character in Robert Bresson's '' Au hasard Balthazar'' (1966). A year later she married the di ...

's 1996 autobiographical novel ', which won the Prix Maurice Genevoix that year.

References

External links

"Hymne à l'amour" (1950)
by Édith Piaf
French lyrics with English translation and video clip
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hymne A L'amour 1950 singles 1950 songs 2024 singles Celine Dion songs Commemoration songs Édith Piaf songs Mary Hopkin songs Milet (singer) songs Pathé-Marconi singles Songs with lyrics by Édith Piaf Songs with lyrics by Geoffrey Parsons (lyricist) Songs with music by Marguerite Monnot