Jean Gabin from the 1930s printed his blue eyes and his formidable face on film rolls. Jean Moncorgé, alias Gabin, a complete artist, you had to know how to play and sing before the war, Mistinguett, Carette, Arletty. Everyone pushed the song with this wonderful accent of Parisian titi, Gabin first.
We are in 1936, in full popular front. The French then discovered paid holidays, 3 weeks, we still did not go to the end of the world by charter, the Parisians simply left a few kilometers at the edge of the water, on the edge of the Marne. On the program: joy of living, picnics, swimming, and guinguettes to dance, “When we walk along the water’s edge, how beautiful everything is”… What a revival… “Paris in the distance seems to us a prison, we have a heart full of songs”.
Musette waltz composed by Maurice Yvain, words written by the director of the film Julien Duvivier, “When we walk along the water’s edge” definitively launches Gabin’s career. He will reign for 40 years on French cinema, from the young leader of the “beautiful team” to the old gangster of the “Clan des Siciliens.
“On Sundays we quickly go to Nogent, then suddenly, everything seems charming”. And it is true that this song is charming. Almost 90 years on the clock and often recovery over time by, among others, Jean Jacques Debout or Patrick Bruel.