played a key role in Monnot's first encounter with Édith Piaf in 1936. Annette Lajon had sung the song originally, and Piaf wanted to acquire the rights to perform it. The publisher, Maurice Decruck, denied her request, however, because a singer had exclusive rights to a song for a six-month period. So Piaf learned it by heart and sang it at Le Gerny's, the nightclub where she was performing at the time. When Annette Lajon appeared in the audience at Gerny's one night, Piaf is said to have apologized to her for "stealing" her song. Lajon apparently accepted the apology graciously and introduced Piaf to its composer, Marguerite Monnot, who had accompanied her to the nightclub. The same year, Monnot met the lyricist Raymond Asso, with whom she was to collaborate for many years. He was a former Foreign Legionnaire, and he cut a romantic and exotic figure with his cape and boots. The first of Asso's songs for which Monnot wrote the music was "Mon légionnaire", which was to become an international standard, published in seven languages. This song, together with another inspired by the same colonial theme, "Le fanion de la Légion", written in 1938, established Monnot and Asso as a successful songwriting team. This was the era of such songs as "Morocco coeurs brulées" and the films of Jean Gabin featuring soldiers in North Africa. Some years later, during a trip to Sidi Bel Abbes, Algeria, Monnot and Asso were awarded decorations by the Foreign Legion. Monnot and Piaf became close friends and began collaborating on songs in the early 1940s. Many of these would become part of Piaf's repertoire for years to come. The two women were certainly the first successful female songwriting team of the era. Their songs were performed not only by Piaf, but by many of the most famous female singers of the day, including Damia, Mona Goya, and Line Viala. These include the songs from the film Montmartre-sur-Seine ("Tu es partout", "Un coin tout bleu", "Y’en a un de trop", "Où sont-ils mes petits copains?"), "Mon amour vient de finir" (Damia), and "C’était un jour de fête." Monnot devoted the next twenty-five years almost exclusively to writing extraordinarily successful songs for Piaf. Monnot's friendship was extremely important in Piaf's life. In her biography, Piaf calls Monnot her best friend and the woman she most admired in the whole world. She also refers