Charles Aznavour (Shahnour Vaghenag Aznavourian, Armenian: Շահնուր Վաղինակ … Read Full Bio ↴Charles Aznavour (Shahnour Vaghenag Aznavourian, Armenian: Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրյան, Paris, France, 22 May 1924 - 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor, public activist and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his unique tenor voice: clear and ringing in its upper reaches, with gravelly and profound low notes. In a career spanning over 70 years, he recorded more than 1,200 songs interpreted in eight languages. For himself and others, he has written or co-written more than 1,000 songs. He was one of France's most popular and enduring singers. He has sold 180 million records and has been dubbed France's Frank Sinatra, while music critic Stephen Holden has described Aznavour as "French pop deity." He was also arguably the most famous Armenian of his time. In 1998, Aznavour was named Entertainer of the Century by CNN and users of Time Online from around the globe. He was recognized as the century's outstanding performer, with nearly 18% of the total vote, edging out Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan.
Aznavour has sung for presidents, popes and royalty, as well as at humanitarian events. In response to the 1988 Armenian earthquake, he founded the charitable organization Aznavour for Armenia along with his long-time friend impresario Levon Sayan. In 2009, he was appointed ambassador of Armenia to Switzerland, as well as Armenia's permanent delegate to the United Nations at Geneva. On 24 August 2017, Aznavour was awarded the 2,618th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On 17 September 2018, his last concert took place in NHK Hall, Tokyo.
Charles Aznavour died on 1 October 2018.

Charles Aznavour was perhaps the best-known French music hall entertainer in the world -- renowned the world over for the bittersweet love songs he has written and sung, which seem to embody the essence of French popular song, and also for his appearances on screen in such wildly divergent fare as Shoot the Piano Player, Candy, and The Tin Drum. His status as the quintessential French popular culture icon is something of an irony for a man who identifies himself most closely with his Armenian heritage. His father was a singer and sometime-restaurateur, while his mother was an actress and part-time seamstress. His father's singing, done in a notably impassioned style, heavily influenced Aznavour's approach to singing as a boy. Although he had a voracious appetite for music, he also had a serious impediment growing up, in the form of a paralyzed vocal cord that gave his voice a raspy quality. He channeled some of his energy into theater, making both his stage and screen debuts at age nine, in 1933, in the theater piece Un bon petit diable and in the film La guerre des gosses. As an adolescent, he danced in nightclubs and sold newspapers, as well as touring with theatrical companies, and he wrote a nightclub act in partnership with Pierre Roche -- Aznavour wrote the lyrics to their songs and it was through that material that he began his singing career. Early on, he learned to overcome his fears about his vocal limitations, in part with help from singing legend Édith Piaf, for whom he worked as a chauffeur, among other capacities; with her help, he developed a style that suited his capabilities and played to his strengths and also continued writing songs in earnest, some of which were performed by Piaf.

His success came very slowly, however. Aznavour at first found some difficulty being accepted as a composer in France or anywhere else. His compositions, although considered tame by any modern standard, were regarded as too risqué for French radio and were banned from the airwaves for a decade or more, from the late '40s through the end of the 1950s; American publishers seemed equally reticent about them, as he discovered on a visit to New York in 1948. That trip did yield his first performing engagement in the city, however, at the Cafe Society Downtown in Greenwich Village. For the next decade, Aznavour made his living as a performer in second-tier clubs and middle- or bottom-of-the-bill berths on three continents. His mix of daringly original and frank love songs, coupled with a limited but very expressive singing style, left audiences somewhat bewildered at first.

His breakthrough came in 1956, during a vaudeville engagement in Casablanca, where the audience reaction was so positive that Aznavour was moved to headliner status. After this, it became easier for the singer to find better engagements in France; by 1958 he even had a recording contract. He made his screen debut that same year in a dramatic role, playing an epileptic in George Franju's La tête contre les murs. He also composed music for Alex Joff's Du rififi chez les femmes in 1958; From there, he moved on to bigger roles in better movies, including Jean Cocteau's Testament of Orpheus and Francois Truffaut's Shoot the Piano Player. The latter movie turned Aznavour into a screen star in France and opened the way for his breakthrough in America. He sang at Carnegie Hall in the early '60s and followed this up in 1965 with a one-man show, The World of Charles Aznavour, at the Ambassador Hotel in New York, which drew rave notices from audiences and critics alike. By that time, the once-struggling singer had secured his first American LP release with the similarly titled album The World of Charles Aznavour on Reprise Records, the label founded and run by Frank Sinatra.

Aznavour would be the last to compare himself with those whom he regards as truly gifted vocalists, such as Sinatra and Mel Tormé, preferring to think of himself as a composer who also happens to sing. His style of performing has been compared variously to Maurice Chevalier and Sinatra and has remained enduringly popular for four decades. Almost all of Aznavour's songs deal with love and its permutations, running the gamut from upbeat, joyous pieces such as Après l'amour and J'ai perdu la tête to the dark-hued J'en déduis que je t'aime and Bon anniversaire. A teetotaler and a racing car enthusiast, Aznavour has been married three times and has four children.

Adieu
Charles Aznavour Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Adieu, tout ce qui fut nous
Ce qui fut notre vie
Adieu, ce monde un peu fou
Que le bonheur nous avait bâti
Adieu, il me faut partir
Le destin sépare les êtres
Que Dieu voulait réunir
Mais on se reverra peut-être

Ici ou ailleurs
Demain ou jamais
Avec dans nos coeurs
Des remords, des regrets
Tu veux retenir le temps
Mais il est plus fort que tout
Plus fort que nos coeurs d'enfant
Le temps, chérie, est contre nous

Adieu, ils étaient trop beaux
Les printemps de nos rires
Adieu, tout ce qui bientôt
Ne sera plus que souvenirs
Adieu, il faut écraser
Les raisins verts de la jeunesse
Pour mieux, au vin du passé
Plus tard, en retrouver l'ivresse
Que nous reste-t-il
De nos jours heureux ?

Quelques mots futiles
Et le temps d'un adieu
Tes yeux seront noyés de pleurs
Ta main reste dans ma main

Ma mie, viens contre mon coeur
Je ne partirai que demain

Overall Meaning

The song Adieu by Charles Aznavour is a heartfelt farewell to a past love and the life they shared together. The first verse begins with an emotional goodbye to everything that made up their life together, including the world they built for themselves filled with happiness. The chorus holds a sense of hope, as Aznavour suggests that they may meet again - either "ici ou ailleurs" (here or elsewhere), "demain ou jamais" (tomorrow or never) - but with a tinge of sorrow as they carry with them "remords, des regrets" (remorse, regret).

The second verse speaks to the inevitability of time, and how even the strongest desire to hold onto the moments that pass by won't be enough. Aznavour sings "tu veux retenir le temps / mais il est plus fort que tout" (you want to hold onto time / but it is stronger than everything), highlighting the need for acceptance of time's power. The farewell continues with a recognition of the beauty of their past experiences, and how they will soon become only memories. Aznavour ends with the notion that only "quelques mots futiles / et le temps d'un adieu" (a few meaningless words / and the time for goodbye) remain, but with a longing to hold onto the present moment just a bit longer.

Overall, Aznavour delivers a poignant message about the acceptance of saying goodbye to what was once cherished, but with a glimmer of hope for a future reunion.

Line by Line Meaning

Adieu, tout ce qui fut nous
Farewell to everything that was us

Ce qui fut notre vie
That which was our life

Adieu, ce monde un peu fou
Goodbye, this somewhat crazy world

Que le bonheur nous avait bâti
That happiness had built for us

Adieu, il me faut partir
Goodbye, I must leave

Le destin sépare les êtres
Fate separates beings

Que Dieu voulait réunir
That God wanted to unite

Mais on se reverra peut-être
But perhaps we will see each other again

Ici ou ailleurs
Here or elsewhere

Demain ou jamais
Tomorrow or never

Avec dans nos coeurs
With in our hearts