In 1952 she married juggler Erik van Aro (Gerd Eric Horst Scholz). He recognized her talent and accompanied her in her initial years of worldwide success, although they later divorced. In 1953, she made her first recordings with Kurt Edelhagen. Soon afterwards she achieved great success with songs like "Malagueña", "The Breeze and I", and "Dreh dich nicht um" with the Werner Müller orchestra. In 1955 she was featured on the "Colgate Comedy Hour" with Gordon MacRae. Between 1966 and 1972 she was a frequent guest on the Dean Martin Show. In 1972, she married the British pianist Roy Budd; they had a son, Alexander, but they divorced in 1979.
In Germany she was a major performer of Schlager music. There she recorded Cole Porter's "I love Paris" i.e. "Ganz Paris träumt von der Liebe", which sold more than 500,000 copies in (1954.) Like in other countries where she was popular, some in Germany mistakenly consider her a German singer.
Over the years, she has recorded or performed with many international stars, including Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Ella Fitzgerald, Woody Herman, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Buddy Rich, Sy Oliver, Claus Ogerman, and Chet Baker.
In 2001, she released a new album Girltalk with harpist Catherine Michel. She is also the mother of singer Eric van Aro, Jr.
Je n'avais pas compris
Caterina Valente Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Quand tu es parti
Que je n'pourrais pas
Vivre loin de toi
J'avais décidé
Que je t'oublierais
J'avais oublié
Que je t'adorais
On n'se l'disait plus
Il me semblait que
On ne s'aimait plus
Devant la vérité
J'étais toute petite
Car je t'adorais
Bien plus que la vie
Mais oui
Bien plus que la vie
Chéri
J'n'avais rien compris
Le temps a passé
Et j'ai tout tenté
J'ai même essayé
De te remplacer
Mais quand il parlait
Je n'l'entendais pas
Et quand il riait
J'me demandais pourquoi
Il était surement
Bien plus beau que toi
Mais c'était troublant
Je ne le voyais pas
Quand à nos étreintes
Je n'en parlerai pas
Ses soupirs ses plaintes
C'était toujours toi
Quand à nos étreintes
Je n'en parlerai pas
Ses soupirs ses plaintes
C'était toujours toi
Pourquoi?
Ne reviens-tu pas
Si tu passes par là?
The song "Je n'avais pas compris" by Caterina Valente is a beautiful French ballad about a woman who didn't realize the depth of her love for her partner until he left her. The song is characterized by its slow tempo and emotive delivery, making it a classic song in French pop music. The song begins with the singer admitting that she didn't understand the reality of her love for her partner, and that she had convinced herself that she could forget him after he left. She had forgotten how much she adored him, and it was only after he was gone that she realized she couldn't live without him.
As the song progresses, the singer talks about how she tried to replace her partner with someone else, but failed. She couldn't hear what her new partner was saying, and his laughter didn't make her happy. She acknowledges that her partner may not have been as physically attractive, but she was still drawn to him in a way she couldn't explain. Even as she tried to replace him, she admits that her partner was still the one who she thought about during intimate moments, despite not being with her.
The chorus reiterates the singer's regret and confusion, asking why her partner won't come back to her. The song ends on a melancholy note, with the singer lamenting the loss of the love she didn't realize she had until it was too late.
Overall, "Je n'avais pas compris" is a poignant and emotionally charged song that speaks to the universal experience of love and loss. It is a testament to the power of love to blind us to the reality of our feelings, and the pain that can come from realizing what we have lost.
Line by Line Meaning
J'n'avais pas compris
I didn't understand
Quand tu es parti
When you left
Que je n'pourrais pas
That I couldn't
Vivre loin de toi
Live without you
J'avais décidé
I had decided
Que je t'oublierais
That I would forget you
J'avais oublié
I had forgotten
Que je t'adorais
That I adored you
C'était peut-être parce que
Maybe it was because
On n'se l'disait plus
We didn't say it to each other anymore
Il me semblait que
It seemed to me that
On ne s'aimait plus
We didn't love each other anymore
Devant la vérité
Faced with the truth
J'étais toute petite
I felt so small
Car je t'adorais
Because I adored you
Bien plus que la vie
More than life itself
Mais oui
But yes
Bien plus que la vie
More than life itself
Chéri
My dear
J'n'avais rien compris
I had understood nothing
Le temps a passé
Time has passed
Et j'ai tout tenté
And I tried everything
J'ai même essayé
I even tried
De te remplacer
To replace you
Mais quand il parlait
But when he spoke
Je n'l'entendais pas
I didn't hear him
Et quand il riait
And when he laughed
J'me demandais pourquoi
I wondered why
Il était surement
He was probably
Bien plus beau que toi
More handsome than you
Mais c'était troublant
But it was troubling
Je ne le voyais pas
I didn't see him
Quand à nos étreintes
As for our embraces
Je n'en parlerai pas
I won't talk about them
Ses soupirs ses plaintes
His sighs, his complaints
C'était toujours toi
It was always you
Pourquoi?
Why?
Ne reviens-tu pas
Why don't you come back
Si tu passes par là?
If you happen to be around?
Writer(s): bruno coquatrix
Contributed by Anna B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
deoleocap
Merveilleuse!
Ombres et Lumières
Encore de beaux souvenirs, mais ce sont ceux là qui font parfois le plus de mal...Caterina Valente était à l'époque une grande star, normal, étant donné son immense talent...Nous avions aussi le plaisir de voir au Maroc, à Casablanca, lorsque ma sœur et moi étions adolescents, ses films musicaux...
FredlBabedl
Unvergleichlich - uncomparable - für immer!