La Valse de Paris [English translation]

I'm nostalgic for my childhood days,

For those days long gone, in the heart of France.

With emotion I remember

This one song, this refrain that comes back to me...

It's the waltz that I used to hear

In my neighbourhood in old Paris.

At night the melody rose

Joyously into the grey sky.

On the sidewalks, people smiled.

The Bois de Boulogne was in bloom.

And as long as I shall live,

I shall never forget

The Waltz of Paris.

I remember the wide boulevards,

The hurrying people, the talkative folks.

I see again the Opéra lit in lilac,1

The bridges, La Concorde, and the Seine,

The taxis in front of La Madeleine,

The Louvre, the museums,

And like a rocket,

The light on the Champs Élysées.

It's the waltz that I used to hear

In my neighbourhood in old Paris.

At night the melody rose

Joyously into the grey sky.

On the sidewalks, people smiled.

The Bois de Boulogne was in bloom.

And as long as I shall live,

I shall never forget

The Waltz of Paris.

1. Assuming my research online is correct and the French word here is indeed "lilas," then I assume this refers to the colour of the lighting on the building.

• Artist:Édith Piaf