Can't Help Falling in Love was popularized by Elvis Presley in the mid-twentieth century and recorded on his album Blue Hawaii (1961). The lyrics Elvis sang were set to a song entitled Plaisir d'amour (Pleasures of love), a French song composed by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini (1741–1816) over 200 years ago.
Red Hawaii | Plaisir d'amour was featured as Can't Help Falling in Love in Elvis Presley's blocker buster movie, Blue Hawaii (1961).
Plaisir d'amour, AKA, Can't Help Falling in Love, is among the most challenging selections in this chapter.
Plaisir d'amour Musings
The longevity of Plaisir d'amour is nothing short of amazing. Martini composed this song in 1784 to some acclaim, but instead of fading into the mists, it lived on for centuries, reworked time and again by musicians great and small. Romantic composer Hector Berlioz recast it for symphony orchestra (H134) in 1859. It even turned up as a Christian hymn, My God Loves Me, and graced movie soundtracks from Blue Hawaii (1961) to Batman (1966).
Here's a translation of Plaisir d'amour's lyrics:
Plaisir d'amour
The pleasure of love lasts only a moment,
The grief of love lasts a lifetime.
I gave up everything for ungrateful Sylvia,
She is leaving me for another lover.
The pleasure of love lasts only a moment,
The grief of love lasts a lifetime.
"As long as this water will run gently
Towards this brook which borders the meadow,
I will love you," Sylvia told me repeatedly.
The water still runs, but she has changed.
The pleasure of love lasts only a moment,
The grief of love lasts a lifetime.
Sylvia was a real heart breaker! Of course, love lost is a universal human woe we can all related to.
Study Tips
Quarter Note Triplet
Plaisir d'amour features a new rhythm, the quarter note triplet, indicated with a bracket across three quarter notes:
Three Against Two | The quarter note triplet requires playing three quarter notes evenly across two beats. In other words, three notes against two toe taps.
Playing three quarter notes across two beats may seem tricky, but most students play it correctly because they've heard the song. Indeed, the best way to learn this rhythm is to imitate the sound of the audio recording.
Strum
For the chords, I suggest a simple flat-four strum: four down strum per measure.
Listen to the Track
Begin your studies by listening to the audio track:
Plaisir d'amour (Can't Stop Falling in Love) | Peter Kun Frary, ʻukulele
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Plaisir d'amour Musings
Study Tips
Strum
Listen to the Track
