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.
Hier Encore
Charles Aznavour Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
J'avais vingt ans
Je caressais le temps
Et joué de la vie
Comme on joue de l'amour
Et je vivais la nuit
Sans compter sur mes jours
Qui fuyaient dans le temps
J'ai fait tant de projets
Qui sont restés en l'air
J'ai fondé tant d'espoirs
Qui se sont envolés
Que je reste perdu
Ne sachant où aller
Les yeux cherchant le ciel
Mais le cœur mis en terre
Hier encore
J'avais vingt ans
Je gaspillais le temps
En croyant l'arrêter
Et pour le retenir
Même le devancer
Je n'ai fait que courir
Et me suis essoufflé
Ignorant le passé
Conjuguant au futur
Je précédais de moi
Toute conversation
Et donnais mon avis
Que je voulais le bon
Pour critiquer le monde
Avec désinvolture
Hier encore
J'avais vingt ans
Mais j'ai perdu mon temps
À faire des folies
Qui ne me laissent au fond
Rien de vraiment précis
Que quelques rides au front
Et la peur de l'ennui
Car mes amours sont mortes
Avant que d'exister
Mes amis sont partis
Et ne reviendront pas
Par ma faute
J'ai fait le vide
Autour de moi
Et j'ai gâché ma vie
Et mes jeunes années
Du meilleur et du pire
En jetant le meilleur
J'ai figé mes sourires
Et j'ai glacé mes pleurs
Où sont-ils à présent?
À présent
Mes vingt ans
The lyrics in Charles Aznavour's song Hier Encore (which translates to Yesterday When I Was Young) reflect on the regrets of a man who has recently turned 40 and is looking back at his younger years. The lyrics describe his youth, where he assumed that he had all the time in the world and lived hedonisticly. He was reckless, and his life consisted of partying, chasing girls, and trying to figure out who he was. But now, as he's older and more experienced, he's looking back with some regret. He realizes that he did not take the time to appreciate the present and was too focused on the future. He also acknowledges that his choices and actions have led to a life that is not what he envisioned.
The song highlights the theme of lost time and opportunities, the realization that one's youth is fleeting, and the acceptance that the past cannot be changed. The lyrics illustrate how easy it is to live in the moment and not think about the long-term consequences of one's actions, and how the choices we make have profound implications for our future.
Overall, Hier Encore is a poignant reflection on the regrets of a man who is now in the twilight of his life. The song encourages listeners to take the time to appreciate and enjoy the present moment and to live a life without regrets.
Line by Line Meaning
Hier encore, j'avais vingt ans, je caressais le temps
I was young and full of hope, dreaming of the future
J'ai joué de la vie
I played with life, taking risks and living on the edge
Comme on joue de l'amour et je vivais la nuit
Like one plays with love, I lived my life at night
Sans compter sur mes jours qui fuyaient dans le temps
I didn't value my time, and it passed me by too quickly
J'ai fait tant de projets qui sont restés en l'air
I made many plans that never came to fruition
J'ai fondé tant d'espoirs qui se sont envolés
I had so many hopes that were shattered
Que je reste perdu, ne sachant où aller
Now, I'm lost and don't know where to go
Les yeux cherchant le ciel, mais le cœur mis en terre
I look to the sky, but my heart is heavy with regret
Hier encore, j'avais vingt ans, je gaspillais le temps
When I was young, I wasted my time
En croyant l'arrêter
Thinking I could stop time
Et pour le retenir, même le devancer
Trying to outrun it, and hold onto it
Je n'ai fait que courir et me suis essoufflé
All I did was run and tire myself out
Ignorant le passé, conjuguant au futur
Ignoring the past, only thinking about the future
Je précédais de moi toute conversation
I dominated every conversation with my opinions
Et donnais mon avis que je voulais le bon
I thought my opinion was the only correct one
Pour critiquer le monde avec désinvolture
I criticized the world, with a careless attitude
Hier encore, j'avais vingt ans mais j'ai perdu mon temps
When I was twenty, I wasted my time
À faire des folies
Living recklessly
Qui me laissent au fond rien de vraiment précis
Leaving me with nothing of real value
Que quelques rides au front et la peur de l'ennui
Just some wrinkles on my forehead, and the fear of being bored
Car mes amours sont mortes avant que d'exister
My relationships ended before they even began
Mes amis sont partis et ne reviendront pas
My friends have left and won't come back
Par ma faute j'ai fait le vide autour de moi
It's my fault that I pushed people away
Et j'ai gâché ma vie et mes jeunes années
I wasted my life and my youth
Du meilleur et du pire en jetant le meilleur
I threw away the best of both worlds
J'ai figé mes sourires et j'ai glacé mes pleurs
I've become emotionless, and unable to express myself
Où sont-ils à présent?
Where are they now?
À présent
Now
Mes vingt ans
My twenties
Lyrics © EDITIONS MUSICALES DJANIK
Written by: Charles Aznavour
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@lucasesteban3342
Ce fut un réel honneur de réaliser tout ça de mes petites mains, encore merci Monsieur Aznavour pour cette magnifique œuvre. 🇷🇪♥️
@thomasyogayoiii3759
Gg
@renantchalikian
trabalho magnífico, parabéns!
@axelfoley8764
MAGNIFIQUE ! Le plus bel hommage à Charles Aznavour depuis sa disparition j’ai envie de dire il était temps , vraiment magnifique tout y est , la môme,new york, l’esprit bohème etc etc ,graphiquement c’est juste sublime très très touchant je pense que sa famille,ses proches et nous les fans doivent être très touchés par ce cadeau qui sort tout droit de votre cœur on ressent tout l’amour dans votre travail et qui honnore ce grand monsieur. MERCI.
@ritvakoivu6153
@@thomasyogayoiii3759🎉😢😮😅😂❤
@ritvakoivu6153
@@axelfoley87642:37
@RealGFastlaner
I don't understand French but I almost cried and my jaw is at the floor
@skanderkechih2433
Yesterday was my birthday of turning 20 I listened to this song thinking I should do my best to enjoy my 20’s.
Today I am 35 and I don’t know really what happened to a decade and a half.
I will see you soon Aznavour ❤
@cesium419
Hopefully, not too soon. You still have life to live. You are blessed.
@Someone-de7wf
35 is too young, relax buddy