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.
Il faut savoir
Charles Aznavour Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Quand le meilleur s'est retiré
Et qu'il ne reste que le pire
Dans une vie bête à pleurer
Il faut savoir, coûte que coûte
Garder toute sa dignité
Et malgré ce qu'il nous en coûte
Face au destin qui nous désarme
Et devant le bonheur perdu
Il faut savoir cacher ses larmes
Mais moi, mon cœur, je n'ai pas su
Il faut savoir quitter la table
Lorsque l'amour est desservi
Sans s'accrocher l'air pitoyable
Mais partir sans faire de bruit
Il faut savoir cacher sa peine
Sous le masque de tous les jours
Et retenir les cris de haine
Qui sont les derniers mots d'amour
Il faut savoir rester de glace
Et taire un cœur qui meurt déjà
Il faut savoir garder la face
Mais moi, je t'aime trop
Mais moi, je ne peux pas
Il faut savoir mais moi
Je ne sais pas
The lyrics of Charles Aznavour's song "Il Faut Savoir" (It is necessary to know) discuss the challenges of dealing with loss and heartbreak. The song is a powerful exploration of the need to maintain dignity in difficult circumstances. Aznavour describes the importance of hiding one's tears and pain behind a mask of normality. He argues that it is essential to move on without looking back, no matter how difficult that may be.
The song delves into the feelings of heartache and pain that often follow the end of a relationship, when the best days are over and only the worst remain. Aznavour encourages the listener to be strong in the face of adversity and to have the courage to walk away from love when it is no longer serving them. The song is a powerful reminder that even in the darkest of times, there is always hope and a chance for a brighter future.
Line by Line Meaning
Il faut savoir encore sourire
We must keep smiling even when things are at their worst.
Quand le meilleur s'est retiré
When the good has left us.
Et qu'il ne reste que le pire
And only the bad remains.
Dans une vie bête à pleurer
In a life that's boring and depressing.
Il faut savoir, coûte que coûte
We must know, no matter what it takes.
Garder toute sa dignité
To keep our dignity.
Et malgré ce qu'il nous en coûte
Despite how much it costs us.
S'en aller sans se retourner
To leave without looking back.
Face au destin qui nous désarme
When we come to the end of our luck.
Et devant le bonheur perdu
And our happiness is gone.
Il faut savoir cacher ses larmes
We must hide our tears.
Mais moi, mon cœur, je n'ai pas su
But my heart couldn't do it.
Il faut savoir quitter la table
We must know when to leave the table.
Lorsque l'amour est desservi
When love is no longer served.
Sans s'accrocher l'air pitoyable
Without making a scene of ourselves.
Mais partir sans faire de bruit
But to leave quietly.
Il faut savoir cacher sa peine
We must hide our pain.
Sous le masque de tous les jours
Behind the mask we wear each day.
Et retenir les cris de haine
And hold back the screams of hate.
Qui sont les derniers mots d'amour
That are the last words of love.
Il faut savoir rester de glace
We must stay frozen.
Et taire un cœur qui meurt déjà
And silence a heart that's already dying.
Il faut savoir garder la face
We must keep up appearances.
Mais moi, je t'aime trop
But I love you too much.
Mais moi, je ne peux pas
But I can't do it.
Il faut savoir mais moi
We must know, but as for me...
Je ne sais pas
I don't know.
Lyrics © EDITIONS MUSICALES DJANIK
Written by: Charles Aznavour
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@aleshkaemelyanov
Дарительница
🎉❤
Дарила мне мягкость чесночного хлеба
и вкусные формы готовых яиц,
и клетчатый шарф, новогоднее небо
и бюст - чудо-вазу - синоним девиц,
эклеры с корицей, вино и объятья,
желанные ночи, рассветы и дни,
модельное тело для страсти и платья,
мудрейшие речи и славные сны,
печати, сплетенья, поток поцелуев,
вояжи прогулок и веер идей,
кофейные, винные, водные струи,
путёвки в массажный и банный Эдем...
Ты - щедрый даритель, внимающий грёзам,
ведущий к познанию сутей, причуд.
Хочу ещё больше подарочной дозы,
а также весь честный, бездонный сосуд!❤❤❤
@lordannabi4534
" retenir les cris de haine, qui sont les derniers mots d'amour " Jouissif ! Grand Charles, éternellement dans nos cœurs !!!
@sikafouor
Pres de 20 ans que je connais ce chant , mais a chaque nouvelle écoute je découvre les profondeurs des paroles .
Salut l'artiste !!
@marysue1146
j'ai découvert cette chanson il y a 5min et j'en suis déjà toute retournée
@user-hy2rb7hx1l
ha les chansons du siècle dernier avait un sens , les réalités de la vie suivie d'une musique avec un vrai tempo , de nos jours je préfères la fermer , merci Charles pour ces belles chansons comme beaucoup d'autres,
@martialtoutant4377
Quelle belle chanson empreinte de réalité…..
elle fait beaucoup réfléchir 😢
@beatriceberenger2324
Quelles paroles!!y en n a plus comme Aznavour!et quelle voix..❤❤un GRAND !!
@nadbow9398
Quelle belle métaphore !!! une chanson d'amour comme il sait si bien chanter grand Charles de la haut tu nous envoie plein d'amour 🙏🎈💕♥️🌈💙🧡💚❤️💛🌺💋💕
@murielbrongniart2999
Je ne me lasse pas d'écouter ces si belles chansons ! M. AZNAVOUR est immortel pour la chanson française
@lefebvremargaret8693
C est-ce que je vis….et j’ en pleure souvent !!!!
@bglyon2035
Alors on peut se tenir la main Margaret…