| Les Trois Cloches | |
| Type: | single |
| Released: | 1946 |
| Recorded: | July 1946 |
| Genre: | Folk, chanson |
| Length: | 4:08 |
| Label: | Columbia |
"" (in French pronounced as /le tʁwɑ klɔʃ/) is a Swiss song written in French by Jean Villard.[1] Edith Piaf recorded the song a cappella with the French vocal group Les Compagnons de la chanson in July 1946.[2] [3] The song became one of Édith Piaf's biggest hits, and when Piaf toured the US with Les Compagnons de la chanson, they introduced this song to an American audience. Tina Arena also recorded a hit version in 2000.
The song has also been recorded in many other languages. It was recorded by the Browns in 1959 in English as "The Three Bells" (with words adapted by Bert Reisfeld)."[4]
The song was written by Swiss songwriter Jean Villard, also known as Gilles, in the folk idiom. He was an acquaintance of Edith Piaf and had performed with her before, and when Piaf went to Lausanne in 1945, he offered the song to her.[5] The song narrates the life of someone named Jean-François Nicot who lived in a small village at the bottom a valley, starting with his birth, followed by his marriage to Élise and ending with his death, events all marked by ringing of the church bells.[6]
Piaf suggested that the French vocal group Les Compagnons de la chanson perform the song, which the group rejected until Piaf proposed singing with them. Les Compagnons performed traditional folk songs in close harmony, and Piaf, who first met the group in 1944, became interested in promoting their career. They started performing together after WWII in 1946, an unexpected collaboration because they came from different musical traditions. They performed "" on 11 May 1946 at the Club des Cinq. Jean Cocteau who was in attendance at their show wrote of them: "The miracle has happened that these two solitudes joined together to create a sound artefact which so expresses France that the tears start to flow."[7]
Piaf and Les Compagnons recorded the song a cappella with an arrangement by group member Marc Herrand in July 1946. The tenor of the group Fred Mella started with the verses while Piaf sang the chorus.[8] Piaf performed the song in the 1948 film Neuf Garçons, un cœur.
Piaf and Les Compagnons went to New York in October 1947, where they introduced the song to an American audience.[9] Two versions with English lyrics were then created: "The Three Bells" and "While the Angelus Was Ringing". Les Compagnons later recorded "The Three Bells" without Piaf, and it reached No. 14 in the United States in 1952,[10] although the Browns had a greater hit with the song in 1959 (No. 1 in Canada for 3 weeks).[11] Other versions in other languages were also produced.
| Les 3 Cloches | |
| Cover: | Les_trois_cloches_Tina_Arena_artwork.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Tina Arena |
| Album: | In Deep |
| Genre: | Pop |
| Length: | 3:50 |
| Label: | Sony |
| Producer: | Christophe Battaglia, J. Kapler |
| Prev Title: | Aller plus haut |
| Prev Year: | 1999 |
| Next Title: | Live (For the One I Love) |
| Next Year: | 2000 |
Australian singer Tina Arena released her version of the song as a single from her 1997 album In Deep. The song became a huge hit in Belgium (Wallonia) where it topped the chart for three weeks and remained in the top 40 for 20 weeks, and in France, where it charted in the top ten for 13 weeks and peaked at number 4 for 2 weeks. The single was certified gold by the SNEP. The single version was different from the album version in that it featured only two of the three original verses, omitting the last one.
| Chart (2000) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[12] | 17 | |
| French Singles Chart[13] | 28 |
]
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