Raymond Asso (2 June 1901 – 24 October 1968) was a French

lyricist A lyricist is a writer who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income derives ...

Early life

Born in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, his parents separation saw him leave for

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

at the age of 15. After his arrival he tried numerous professions, including:

shepherd A shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations; it exists in many parts of the globe, and it is an important part of Pastoralism, pastoralist animal husbandry. ...

, factory worker, chauffeur and

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

manager. Between 1916 and 1919 he enlisted as a

Spahi Spahis () were light cavalry, light-cavalry regiments of the French army recruited primarily from the Arab and Berber populations of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. The modern French Army retains one regiment of Spahis as an armoured unit, w ...

(a member of a North African cavalry regiment in the French army), being deployed in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. After a lack of success and satisfaction with these occupations, he eventually turned to writing in 1933, working on his own lyrics and poetry.

Career

Chanson

He began working in

chanson A (, ; , ) is generally any Lyrics, lyric-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval music, medieval and Renaissance music or to a specific style of ...

but success eluded him until he met

Édith Piaf Édith Giovanna Gassion (19 December 1915 – 10 October 1963), known as Édith Piaf (), was a French singer and lyricist best known for performing songs in the cabaret and modern chanson genres. She is widely regarded as France's greatest popu ...

in 1935. The

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

chanteuse Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern Eng ...

became his lover and

muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

. Asso's writing became focused on providing lyrics for his new partner, penning numerous lyrics inspired by her. Asso became more than a partner to Piaf, acting as her mentor and teaching her how to dress and write well. This liberated her from the scandal involving the murder of her manager,

Louis Leplée Louis Leplée (7 April 1883 – April 6, 1936) was a French nightclub owner who discovered French entertainer Édith Piaf, who was singing on a Paris street corner in 1935. Leplée starred Piaf at the popular Parisian nightspot Le Gerny's as "La ...

. Asso's songs from this era were put to the music of

Marguerite Monnot Marguerite Monnot (28 May 1903 – 12 October 1961), was a French songwriter and composer best known for having written many of the songs performed by Édith Piaf ("Milord", "Hymne à l'amour") and the music for the stage musical ''Irma La Douc ...

, who became the regular composer for '' la Môme''. During this period, Asso also wrote songs for

Marie Dubas Marie Dubas (3 September 1894 – 21 February 1972) was a French music-hall singer, diseuse and comedian. Biography Born in Paris, France, Marie Dubas began her career as a stage actress but became famous as a singer. Using the great Yvette Gui ...

including "

Le Fanion de la Légion 'Le Fanion de la Légion' (The Flag of the Legion), is a French song created in 1936 by Marie Dubas, with lyrics from Raymond Asso and music from Marguerite Monnot, and which was later taken up by Edith Piaf and became identified with her. The ...

" ("The Legion's Flag") and "

Mon légionnaire "Mon légionnaire" is a French song introduced in 1936 by vocalist Marie Dubas, with lyrics by Raymond Asso and music by Marguerite Monnot. Marie Dubas toured the United States with this song in 1939. Édith Piaf started performing "Mon légionna ...

" ("My Legionnaire").

Post-Piaf

In August 1939, Asso was called up to the French army due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and his collaborations with Piaf were brought to an end. Asso was succeeded by Paul Meurisse as Piaf's wordsmith. After his service in the war Asso went on to write lyrics for other artists including

Lucienne Delyle Lucienne Delyle (16 April 1913 – 10 April 1962) was a French singer. After the success of ''Mon amant de Saint-Jean'' (my lover from Saint-Jean), in 1942, Lucienne Delyle became one of the most popular French female singers of the 1950 ...

Marcel Mouloudji Marcel André Mouloudji (16 September 1922 – 14 June 1994) was a French singer and actor who was born in Paris and died in Neuilly-sur-Seine. He sang songs written by Boris Vian and Jacques Prévert. Personal life Mouloudji was born to Algeria ...

and

Renée Lebas Renée (without the accent in non-French speaking countries) is a French feminine given name and surname. Renée is the female form of René, with the extra "e" making it feminine according to French grammar. The name Renée is the French for ...

. The 1950s were a prolific period for the writer and he also found commercial success with songs such as "Y’a tant d’amour" (sung by Renée Lebas) and "Un petit coquelicot" which was written for

. Asso wrote songs for many of the French stars of the era: *

Yves Montand Ivo Livi (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), better known as Yves Montand (), was an Italian-born French actor and singer. He is said to be one of France's greatest 20th-century artists. Early life Montand was born Ivo Livi in Stignano, a ...

("Ninon, ma ninette") *

Catherine Sauvage Catherine Sauvage (; 26 May 1929 – 20 March 1998) was a French singer and actress. Early life Born Marcelle Jeanine Saunier in Nancy, France, she moved with her family in 1940 to the Free Zone in Annecy. After high school, she turned to the ...

("Berceuse pour demain", "Mon coeur battait", "Mon ami m’a donné", "Mais les vrais amoureux") *

Jean Bretonnière Jean Bretonnière (; 22 October 1924 – 13 March 2001) was a French actor and singer.Goble p.36 He was married to the actress Geneviève Kervine. Selected filmography * '' Under the Sky of Paris'' (1951) * '' The Green Glove'' (1952) * ''It Ha ...

("C’est tant pis, c’est tant mieux") *

Odette Laure Odette Laure (born Odette Yvonne Marie Dhommée; 28 February 1917–10 June 2004) was a French actress and cabaret singer. She appeared in more than 50 films and television shows between 1950 and 2001. She was nominated for the César Award ...

("Je suis nerveuse") *

Tino Rossi Constantin "Tino" Rossi (29 April 1907 – 26 September 1983) was a French singer and film actor of Corsican origin. Born in Ajaccio, Corsica, Rossi was gifted with a voice well suited for opera. He became a tenor in the French cabaret style. ...

("Mon printemps", "O ma mie o ma Mireille") *

André Dassary André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries, as well in Portugal, ...

("Des pays merveilleux") In addition to his work as a

lyricist, Asso also recorded some albums of musical stories for children such as ''La légende du Père-Noël'' (The Legend of Father Christmas). Towards the end of his life Asso moved away from writing lyrics and between 1962 and 1968 he was administrator of the

Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique The Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music or SACEM () is a French professional association collecting payments of artists’ rights and distributing the rights to the original songwriters, composers, and music publisher A mus ...

(SACEM). He died in 1968.

Bibliography and discography

*''Évangiles'', Asso, Raymond - artwork by

Jean Boullet Jean Boullet (December 12, 1921-November 2, 1970) is a French painter, draftsman, illustrator, film critic and writer. Biography Jean Boullet was the son of a cat fur trader on the Avenue d'Italie, Henri Boullet, who committed suicide by hangi ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Éditions du Trois-Mâts (1947) *''Le Sixième évangile'', Asso, Raymond, C. R. Denoel,

(1950) *''Récréation'', Asso, Raymond, Paris, Nouvelles éditions Méridian (1952) *''Silhouettes'' (1952) *''Chansons d'hier et d'aujourd'hui'' (Songs of Yesterday and Today) (1953) *''Le joli Noël du petit ressort de montre'' (Merry Christmas of the Watch Spring) (1959) *''La légende du Père-Noël - conte : Livre-disque'', Written by: Asso; Told by: Asso,

Pierre Larquey Pierre Larquey (10 July 1884 – 17 April 1962) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1913 and 1962. Born in Cénac, Gironde, France, he died in Maisons-Laffitte at the age of 77. Selected filmography * ''P ...

; Music by Claude Valéry, France Adès; Released by Le Petit ménestrel (1965)

Works

*"Mon amant de la Coloniale" (1936) *"

" (1937) *"Un jeune homme chantait" (1937) *"J'entends la sirène" (1937) *"Le Chacal" (1937) *"Le contrebandier" (1937) *"Le mauvais matelot" (1937) *"Partance" (1937) *"Tout fout l'camp (1937) *"

" (1938) *"Paris-Méditerranée" (1938) *"C’est lui que mon cœur a choisi (avec Paul Colline)" (1938) *"Le grand voyage du pauvre nègre" (1938) *"Les marins ça fait des voyages" (1938) *"Madeleine qu'avait du coeur" (1938) *"Elle fréquentait la rue Pigalle" (1939) *"Je n’en connais pas la fin" (1939) *"Le petit monsieur triste" (1939) *"Les deux copains" *"Browning" *"On danse sur ma chanson" (1940) *"C’est l’histoire de Jésus" *"La java du bonheur du monde" *"Y’a tant d’amour" (1950) *"Comme un petit coquelicot" (1952) *"Ninon, ma ninette" (1954) *"C’est tant pis, c’est tant mieux" (1954) *"Berceuse pour demain" (1955) *"Je suis nerveuse" (1955) *"Mon cœur battait" (1956) *"Mon printemps" (1956) *"Mon ami m’a donné" *"Mais les vrais amoureux" *"O ma mie o ma Mireille" *"Des pays merveilleux" *"Un petit bouquet de violettes" *"La chanson du Marsupilami" (1960) *"Si les tambours" (1963)