What is love? What does it feel like? Against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the City of Love, Céline Dion gave the world a taste of it. With a powerful yet tender rendition of those immortal words by Edith Piaf, she ended the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics 2024 with Hymne à l’ Amour, hymn to love. In case you have never read the lyrics before, here they are in French and English. I defy you not to feel inspired. This is what we all live and hope for… love eternal. You can hear her sing it here on the BBC website starting at 1 minute 57 secs.
L’Hymne à l’Amour
Le ciel bleu, sur nous, peut s’effondrer
Et la Terre peut bien s’écrouler
Peu m’importe si tu m’aimes
Je me fous du monde entier
Tant qu’l’amour inondera mes matins
Que mon corps frémira sous tes mains
Peu m’importent les grands problems
Mon amour, puisque tu m’aimes
J’irai jusqu’au bout du monde
Je me ferais teindre en blonde
Si tu me le demandais
J’irai décrocher la Lune
J’irais voler la fortune
Si tu me le demandais
J’irai loin ma patrie
Je renierais mes amis
Si tu me le demandais
On peut bien rire de moi
Je ferais n’importe quoi
Si tu me le demandais
Si un jour, la vie t’arrache à moi
Si tu meurs, que tu sois loin de moi
Peu m’importe si tu m’aimes
Car moi, je mourrai aussi
Nous aurons pour nous l’éternité
Dans le bleu de toute l’immensité
Dans le ciel, plus de problems
Mon amour, crois-tu qu’on s’aime ?
Dieu réunit ceux qui s’aiment
Hymn to Love
The sky above us can melt away
and the earth can fall away,
nothing matters, if you love me.
I don’t care about the rest of the world
so long as love floods my mornings
and my body quivers under your hands.
The big problems don’t matter,
my love, since you love me.
I will go to the ends of the earth,
I will dye my hair blond,
if you would ask me to.
I will draw down the moon,
I would steal a fortune,
if you would ask me to.
I will go far from home
My own friends I would disown,
if you would ask me to.
People can laugh at me
I would do anything
if you asked it of me.
If one day, life tears you away from me,
if you die, and you’d be far away from me
it won’t matter, if you love me.
For I will die too.
We will have eternity on our side
in the blue of all the immensity
in the sky, no more problems.
My love, do you believe that we love each other?
God reunites those who love each other.”
We like to remind readers that finding and keeping love, and overcoming the obstacles to it, is what The Reward Foundation is all about. We are delighted that the organisers of the Paris Olympics 2024 reminded us all that that is what we are here for. Bravo!
