From Edith Piaf to 'If Love Is All'

Unknown Speaker

Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode of Life Lyrics Podcast, the space where we dive into the stories behind the songs. I’m Emily, and today—oh my gosh, I’m honestly so excited—we’re sitting with Paul from Life Lyrics to talk about one of his most haunting, most romantic songs: If Love Is All.....

Unknown Speaker

Okay, so we have to start with that absolutely dreamy Paris morning, Paul. I feel like your fans might imagine you conjuring up songs at midnight with a glass of red, but this actually started in a café with Edith Piaf, right?

Paul

Yeah, it wasn’t quite midnight for once. It was just… a regular Paris morning. There were cups clinking, strangers chatting, and then, without warning, Piaf’s ‘Hymne à l’amour’ floated out of the speakers, like she’d just slipped into the room. I’m sitting there, half-awake, coffee in hand, and—you know—her voice just kind of cuts through everything. It’s almost… is ‘timeless’ too cliché?

Unknown Speaker

No, never too cliché! Piaf is the definition of timeless. I totally get what you mean, though. There’s something about her—raw, fearless, like, that voice just dares you to feel everything.

Paul

Exactly. Her song isn’t just music—it’s a vow. She’s saying she’d defy the universe for love. And for a second, I just thought: if someone had to write that kind of hymn now, what would it sound like? What do we give up for love today? That was, well, the seed for If Love Is All.”

Unknown Speaker

Omg, I love that. And you know what’s wild? Last spring, I met a bride here in Paris who literally quoted Piaf in her vows. She said, ‘Je donnerais tout pour toi’—I’d give you everything. It’s like the old stories and the new ones keep echoing. Do you feel like this song is your way of… answering Piaf with a modern hymn?”

Paul

Maybe, yeah. I wasn’t trying to copy her, but the honesty hit me. So the lyrics started with that question: what would I give up for love? And then it was a mix of old and new, tangled right in the middle of Paris.”

Unknown Speaker

“Let’s talk about those lyrics. ‘I would trade the sky for just one more kiss.’ That’s—ugh—that’s everything. Was that exaggeration, or did you really feel like you’d give up anything?”

Paul

“Honestly, in that moment, it didn’t feel exaggerated at all. When you’re in love—or when you’ve lost it—‘the sky’ feels like a fair trade. And the line ‘Give up forever for a night like this’—that’s exactly what Piaf wrestled with too: love over eternity. When emotions are that big, rationality… just doesn’t get a say.”

Unknown Speaker

“Right? Ohhh, I feel that. And then you go, ‘They say the heart forgets in time, but mine just waits—a stubborn crime.’ Is that patience or stubbornness?”

Paul

“Ha—oh, total stubbornness. It’s about not wanting to let go even when you probably should. Love costs you that. And then the chorus: ‘If love is all, then let it break me, let it scar and let it save me.’ That contradiction—that’s what fascinates me. Love scars, but it also heals.”

Unknown Speaker

“Omg, those lines… they always give me chills. ‘Let it scar and let it save me.’ It’s surrender and survival all in one. Didn’t a listener once write to you saying that chorus helped her heal from heartbreak?”

Paul

“Yeah. She’d lost someone, and she said the song made her see her scars differently—not just wounds, but proof that she survived, and could still love again. That message really… ahh, it stayed with me.”

Unknown Speaker

That’s, honestly, what I love about your writing. You don’t shy away from the ache or the aftermath. And the chorus, with those lines about being hollow, about giving it all up, it’s so raw. But it never feels hopeless—it’s almost freeing, like surrender is its own kind of victory.

Unknown Speaker

“Okay, let’s talk about the ghosts. ‘I see your ghost in passing trains, your laugh still lingers in the rain.’ Omg, that one just hurts. Are these your ghosts, or are you writing for all of us?”

Paul

“A bit of both. It started personal—I lost someone, not to death, but distance. I’d be on trains and suddenly hear a laugh that sounded like hers, and for a second—it felt like she was right there. But yeah, I think everyone who’s loved deeply has their ghosts. This song’s a confession, but also maybe a collective ghost story.”

Unknown Speaker

“Wow. And then—ugh—‘Let me die loving you too much.’ Is that you saying love shouldn’t be safe?”

Paul

“Exactly. If love’s worth anything, it won’t fit in safe little boxes. I’d rather feel too much and remember it all, than hold back and regret. Even if it haunts me. And the bridge—‘They can bury all we were, but never what we meant’—that’s for anyone carrying love that isn’t visible anymore, but still alive inside.”

Unknown Speaker

I love that !!!. And in the end, you sing ‘If love is all, then it’s enough.’ Did writing that feel like letting go, or holding on?”

Paul

“Both. It’s about surrendering what you can’t keep, but holding onto what you felt. If love is all, then even after everything—you still have the echo, the memory, the courage to fall again.”

Unknown Speaker

Omg, Paul… that’s beautiful. ‘If love is all… then it’s my soul.’ We just lived every line with you tonight. Thank you for sharing this story.”

Paul

“Merci. Au revoir, Emily. And goodbye to everyone listening. Keep loving bravely—until next time.”