"Parlez-moi d'amour" is a

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

written by Jean LenoirJean Lenoir
at

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

in 1924 originally intended for

Mistinguett Jeanne Florentine Bourgeois (5 April 1873 – 5 January 1956), known professionally as Mistinguett (), was a French actress and singer. She was at one time the highest-paid female entertainer in the world. Early life The daughter of Antoine Bo ...

Lucienne Boyer Lucienne Boyer (18 August 1901 – 6 December 1983) was a French diseuse and singer, best known for her song " Parlez-moi d'amour". Her impresario was Bruno Coquatrix. According to the New York Times, she "reigned as queen of Paris nightlife du ...

was the first singer to record the song in 1930, and she made it very popular in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, America, and the rest of the world. An English translation was written by

Bruce Sievier The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...

(1894,

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 ...

– 1953) and is known as "Speak to Me of Love" or "Tell Me About Love". It was also recorded by

Dalida Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida (, ; ), was an Italian naturalized French singer and actress. Leading an international career, Dalida has sold over 140 million records worldwide. Some ...

in 1961, and it features her 1961 album, '' Garde-moi la dernière danse''.

Caterina Valente Caterina Germaine Maria Valente (14 January 1931 – 9 September 2024) was an Italian-French multilingual singer, guitarist, and dancer. She spoke six languages and sang in 13. While she was best known as a performer in Europe, Valente spent pa ...

recorded it in 1960, but she sang it with a very special timbre.

Film soundtracks

The song is sung by

Constance Bennett Constance Campbell Bennett (October 22, 1904 – July 24, 1965) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress and producer. She was a major Cinema of the United States, Hollywood star during the 1920s and 1930s; during the early 193 ...

on a film set in ''

What Price Hollywood? ''What Price Hollywood?'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by George Cukor and starring Constance Bennett with Lowell Sherman. The screenplay by Gene Fowler, Rowland Brown, Jane Murfin and Ben Markson is based on a story by ...

'' (1932). It is heard in one of the early scenes of ''

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

'' (1942), played on Sam's piano when

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, Bergman is often regarded as one of the most influential screen figures in cin ...

first appears in Rick's Cafe. It also appears in '' One Way Passage'' (1932) as an orchestration on the soundtrack as a steward brings drinks to Frank McHugh and Aileen McMahon in their cabin. The song also appears as an instrumental played by Sean Penn's character Emmet Ray on guitar in Woody Allen's "Sweet and Lowdown" (1999). "Speak to Me of Love" was recorded by Barbra Streisand on her 1966 "Je M'Appelle Barbra" LP, using both French and English lyrics. A modern arrangement by

Mark Isham Mark Ware Isham (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician and composer. A trumpeter and keyboardist, Isham works in a variety of genres, including jazz and electronic music, electronic. He is also a prolific and acclaimed composer of Film ...

is featured in the

Alan Rudolph Alan Steven Rudolph (born December 18, 1943) is an American film director and screenwriter. Early life Rudolph was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Oscar Rudolph (1911–1991), a television director and actor, and his wife. Care ...

film, ''

The Moderns ''The Moderns'' is a 1988 film by Alan Rudolph, which takes place in 1926 Paris during the period of the Lost Generation and at the height of modernist literature. The film stars Keith Carradine, Linda Fiorentino, John Lone, and Geneviève Bujo ...

'' (1988); it is sung by CharlElie Couture. The song is featured prominently in the 1998 American film '' The Impostors'' and in

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

's ''

Midnight in Paris ''Midnight in Paris'' is a 2011 fantasy comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. Set in Paris, the film follows Gil Pender (Owen Wilson), a screenwriter and aspiring novelist, who is forced to confront the shortcomings of his relationsh ...

'' (2011).

Lyrics

Parlez moi d'amour
Redites-moi des choses tendres
Votre beau discours
Mon coeur n'est pas las de l'entendre
Pourvu que toujours
Vous répétiez ces mots suprêmes:
Je vous aime Vous savez bien
Que dans le fond je n'en crois rien
Mais cependant je veux encore
Ecouter ces mots que j'adore
Votre voix aux sons caressants
Qui les murmure en frémissant
Me berce de sa belle histoire
Et malgré moi je veux y croire Il est si doux
Mon cher trésor d'être un peu fou
La vie est parfois trop amère
Si l'on ne croit pas aux chimères
Le chagrin est vite apaisé
Et se console d'un baiser
Du Coeur on guerit la blessure
Par un serment qui le rassure

References

1930 songs French songs Lucienne Boyer songs Caterina Valente songs Jeanette MacDonald songs {{pop-standard-stub