Hymne à l'amour

Édith Piaf

The lyrics were written by Piaf and the music by Marguerite Monnot. It was written to Piaf's lover and the love of her life, the French boxer, Marcel Cerdan. 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 (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

"Hymne à l'amour" was translated into English by Piaf's protégé Eddie Constantine 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's 2003 album At Last.

It was also adapted into English as "If You Love Me (Really Love Me)" with lyrics by Geoffrey Parsons. Kay Starr brought fame to this version in 1954, with her version reaching No. 4 on Billboards charts of Best Sellers in Stores and Most Played by Jockeys. Starr's version was ranked No. 20 on Billboards ranking of 1954's Most Popular Records According to Retail Sales and No. 20 on Billboards ranking of 1954's Most Popular Records According to Disk Jockey Plays.

Donna Loren released a version of "If You Love Me (Really Love Me)" in 1963. Mary Hopkin 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

• Édith Piaf
• Scott Price |

Canadian singer Celine Dion 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 Paris. It was her first public performance since 2020 and the first since her 2022 diagnosis of stiff-person syndrome. Dion's version was released as a single on 10 October 2024, the 61st anniversary of Edith Piaf's death. It topped the chart in Quebec and reached number four on the Canadian Digital Song Sales chart. In France, "Hymne à l'amour" peaked at number 65. "Hymne à l'amour" was nominated for Song of the Year at the Félix Awards in 2025.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.

• Celine Dion – performer
• Denis Savage – production, recording engineer, mixing engineer
• Scott Price – production, arrangement, piano
• Philippe Dunnigan – concert master, orchestra

Charts

Certifications

Japanese versions

"Hymne à l'amour" was adapted into Japanese in 1951 as "Ai no Sanka", by singer Fubuki Koshiji, featuring lyrics by Tokiko Iwatani. 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 Ai Shōka.

"Hymne à l'amour" was covered by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada in 2010, under the name "Hymne à l'amour (Ai no Anthem)". 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 Billboard Adult Contemporary Airplay, No. 7 on Billboard Japan Hot 100, and No. 19 on RIAJ Digital Track Chart Top 100.

Singer-actress Atsuko Maeda performed the Japanese version of the song in the 2019 film To the Ends of the Earth. The lyrics also give the film its title. The song was performed by Milet 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's 1996 autobiographical novel **, which won the Prix Maurice Genevoix that year.

References

References

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2. Cramer, Alfred W.. (2009). "Musicians and Composers of the 20th Century". Salem Press.
3. {{Discogs release. 1655215. Édith Piaf – La Vie En Rose / Édith Piaf Sings In English
4. {{Discogs release. 1661879. Cydndi Lauper – At Last
5. "[https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/50s/1954/Billboard%201954-06-05.pdf The Billboard Music Popularity Charts: Popular Records]", ''[[Billboard (magazine). Billboard]]''. 5 June 1954. p. 32. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
6. Billboard]]''. 25 December 1954. p. 17. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
7. (7 March 2009). "Donna Loren "If You Love Me (Really Love Me)"".
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10. Dickerson, Claire Gilbody. (27 July 2024). "Celine Dion makes spectacular comeback with Eiffel Tower performance at Paris Olympics opening ceremony".
11. "Le grand vote". ADISQ.
12. (10 October 2024). "Hymne à l'amour (Live aux Jeux Olympiques de Paris 2024 / Live from the Olympic Games Paris 2024) / Céline Dion". [[Tidal (service).
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16. link. Fuji TV
17. (10 December 2014). "★6年ぶりのオリジナル・アルバム「愛唱歌」本日12/10発売! オリジナルの大内義昭とデュエットしたミリオン・セラー・ソングのカバー「愛が生まれた日」のビデオ公開!". [[Warner Music Group.
18. (11 December 2014). "「愛唱歌」発売記念イベント・レポート". Kei-Office.
19. "先行デジタルシングルHymne à l'amour 〜愛のアンセム〜". EMI.
20. (20 October 2010). "Japan Billboard Adult Contemporary Airplay".
21. (20 October 2010). "Japan Billboard Hot 100".
22. (15 October 2010). "レコード協会調べ 2010年10月06日〜2010年10月12日<略称: レコ協チャート(「着うたフル(R)」)>". [[Recording Industry Association of Japan]].
23. [[Peter Bradshaw]]. (12 November 2020). "''To the Ends of the Earth'' review – dreamlike vision of clashing cultures". [[The Guardian]].
24. (23 February 2023). "J-pop singer Milet is excited for her first overseas performance at Hong Kong Clockenflap".
25. "Site de la ville de Garches – Les lauréats (1985–2007)". Sortir à Garches & Equipements culturels.