Milord (song)

"Milord"(French pronunciation:[milɔʁ]) or "Ombre de la Rue"[ɔ̃bʁədəlaʁy]( "Shadow of the Street" ) is a 1959 song (lyrics byGeorges Moustaki,music byMarguerite Monnot), famously sung byÉdith Piaf.

"Milord"
Chilean EP of "Milord", released by the Odeon label.
Song
Language	French
Genre	chanson
Composer(s)	Marguerite Monnot
Lyricist(s)	Georges Moustaki

Background

It is achansonthat recounts the feelings of a lower-class "girl of the port" (fille du port,perhaps a prostitute) who develops a crush on an elegantly attired apparent upper-class British traveller (or "milord"), whom she has seen walking the streets of the town several times (with a beautiful young woman on his arm), but who has not even noticed her. The singer feels that she is nothing more than a" shadow of the street "(ombre de la rue). Nonetheless, when she talks to him of love, she breaks through his shell; he begins to cry, and she has the job of cheering him up again. She succeeds, and the song ends with her shouting "Bravo! Milord" and "Encore, Milord".

In connection with the film about Edith Piaf,La Vie en Rose(2007), Moustaki tells in an interview withLe Nouvel Observateur(14 February 2007) about "Milord":

"It was a song I had left in draft form until one day I found the scribbled sheet next to the typewriter Piaf had given me. I resumed to work with it. When I had written the last word I found Edith sitting on a chair behind the bedroom door. She was waiting for me to finish the text (Marguerite Monnotwas to compose the music). I was barely 24 years old and, for a year that I had been living with Piaf, I had the image of an upstart gigolo. Edith summoned all the press toMaxim'sto introduce me as the author of "Milord". When, at the start of the film, she says: "I'm going to record the big con's song", and she sings "Milord", it's vexing but probable. After I left, she said horrible things about me. She even almost didn't want to record "Milord", even though she was aware of its importance. It is the only song in her repertoire that became an international hit. Her impresarioLoulou Barrierthreatened to stop working with her if she was stupid enough not to record it ".

Thus she recorded "Milord" atCapitol Studios,151W 46th Street,New Yorkon May 8, 1959.

Chart performance

In France "Milord" sold more than 400.000 copies. The song was a #1-hit in Germany in July 1960. In the UK it reached #21 (1960),in Sweden #1 during 8 weeks (15/6-1/8 1960), in Norway #6 (1959). In the United States, the song peaked at #88 in 1961 on theBillboardHot 100.By 1969, Milord has sold 25,000 copies in Austria.

Cover versions

• "Milord" was one of Germany's biggest selling songs of 1960. Aside from Edith Piaf's original French version, there have also beenGermancover versions byDalida,Lale Andersen,andCorry Brokken.Brokken also recorded the song inDutch.An English version was recorded byLolita.
• Teresa Brewerrecorded an English version of the song which reached #74 on theBillboardHot 100 chart in 1961.
• Italianversions were recorded byDalida,Milvaand Isabella Fedeli.
• Swedishversions were cut byAnita Lindblom(Karusell KSEP 3213),Marie Ade(Knäppupp KNEP 117) andBibi Nyström(Telefunken U 5414).
• This song was also covered by male crooner,Bobby Darinin 1964, with slightly altered French lyrics, to account for the fact that Darin was a man (the original lyrics were written to be sung by a woman, in particular Edith Piaf). The song reached #14 on the CanadianRPMcharts and #25 on theCHUM Charts.
• Hana HegerovárecordedCzechversion of "Milord" in 1964, with lyric of Pavel Kopta.
• A reworded English cover was recorded byFrankie Vaughanin which he explains to a man he refers to as Milord that the woman he loves is with someone else and he should forget her, relax, be happy and find another woman.
• Benny Hillproduced a skit modeled on the musicalCabaret,and included the song "Milord," sung — in English — byLouise English,a member of Hill's Angels. It is the closing number in the skit and the refrain is repeated as the patrons toast each other and throwconfetti.
• Chersang an English version of "Milord" on her second solo albumThe Sonny Side of Cherwhich was released in 1966.
• It has also been sung byLiza Minnelliin 1966
• The all-girl punk groupthe Mo-dettesin 1980
• Turkish singerCandan Erçetinin 2003.
• Harpers Bizarrerecorded "Milord" for their 1967 album "Anything Goes."
• Asynth-popversion was recorded by theHungarianband Napoleon Boulevard, and released as a single in 1988.
• In-gridsang a remix of "Milord" in her albumLa Vie en Rosereleased in 2004. The song was edited to have a faster speed than the original.
• Herb Alpertrecorded an instrumental version on the albumHerb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, Volume 2(1963).
• French jazz, soul singer Raquel Bitton performed the song as part of her Piaf tribute show "Piaf: Her Story, Her Songs".
• Paris Saint-Germainsupporters from the Auteuil stand of theParc des Princeshave a chant based on "Milord".
• A GermanSchlagerversion titled "Das rote Pferd (The Red Horse)" was performed by Markus Becker und die Mallorca Cowboys.
• Czech singer Marta Balejová recorded in 2000 other Czech version "Štramák".
• Světlana Nálepkovárecorded other version of this song "Milord" in 2003 with lyrics ofJiří Dědeček.
• English rock bandthe Strutsreleased a cover in 2013.
• Irishsinger-songwriterEleanor McEvoyregularly covers the song in her live shows, releasing it in her 2014 album,STUFF
• Prljavi inspektor Blaža i Kljunovicovered song as a football chant for theWorld Cupin1998.and2018,under the name "Allez Yu" and "Allez Srbija" respectively.

External links

• French lyrics with English translation and video clip