The_Poor_People_Of_Paris
The Poor People of Paris
1956 US pop instrumental hit song
"The Poor People of Paris" is a US pop song that became a number-one instrumental hit in 1956. It is based on the French language song "La goualante du pauvre Jean" ("The Ballad of Poor John"), with music by Marguerite Monnot and words by René Rouzaud.[1] Edith Piaf had one of her biggest hits with the original French version.
The song was adapted in 1954 by American songwriter Jack Lawrence, who wrote English lyrics that are considerably different from the original French ones. The English language title arises in part from a misinterpretation of the French title, as "pauvre Jean" was taken for the same-sounding "pauvres gens", which translates as "poor people."[2][3]
Lawrence's lyrics, which pronounce "Paris" as "PaREE" in the French style, are seldom heard, as most of the popular recordings of the song in the English-speaking world have been instrumentals.