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.

Jezebel
Charles Aznavour Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Jézébel, Jézébel, Jézébel, Jézébel

Jézébel!
Jézébel!

Ce démon qui brûlait mon cœur
Cet ange qui séchait mes pleurs
C'était toi

Jézebel c'était toi
Ces larmes transpercées de joie
Jézebel c'était toi
Jézebel c'était toi
Mais l'amour est anéanti
Tout s'est écroulé sur ma vie
Écrasant piétinant
Emportant mon cœur
Jézebel, mais pour toi
Je ferai le tour de la terre
J'irai jusqu'au fond des enfers
Où es-tu?
Jézebel où es-tu?
Mes souvenirs que l'on croit fanés
Sont des êtres vivants
Avec des yeux de mort
Vibrant encore
De passer
Et mon cœur est crevé d'obsessions
Il bat en répétant
Tout au fond de moi-même
Ce mot que j'aime
Ton nom (Jézabel)
Jézabel!
Mais l'amour est anéanti
Tout s'est écroulé sur ma vie
Écrasant, piétinant
Emportant mon cœur
Jézebel mais pour toi
Je ferai le tour de la terre
J'irai jusqu'au fond des enfers
En criant
Sans répit
Jour et nuit
Jézebel (Jézabel)

Jézebel (Jézabel)
Jézebel!

Overall Meaning

The song "Jezebel" by Charles Aznavour describes a man's obsessive love for a woman named Jezebel who has left him, causing him great pain and suffering. He describes her as a demon who once burned his heart but then became an angel who dried his tears. However, their love has been destroyed, and he feels as though his life has collapsed. He is consumed by his memories of her and cannot escape the obsession that he feels, repeating her name over and over again. Despite everything, he declares that he will go to the ends of the earth and even to hell to find her and cries out for her ceaselessly.

The lyrics of the song express the intensity of the emotions that the man is feeling after losing the love of his life. He is haunted by memories of happier times with Jezebel but is unable to move on from the pain of their separation. His obsession with her is all-consuming, and he is willing to risk everything to find her and be with her again. The song captures the feeling of deep longing and desperation that often comes with the end of a passionate relationship.

Line by Line Meaning

Jézébel, Jézébel, Jézébel, Jézébel
Repeating the name of the person the song is dedicated to, expressing the strong emotions and obsession the singer has towards her.

Ce démon qui brûlait mon cœur
Describing the intense passion and love the singer had for Jézébel, comparing it to a burning demon.

Cet ange qui séchait mes pleurs
Referring to Jézébel as an angel who would comfort the singer when he was sad or crying.

C'était toi
Acknowledging that Jézébel was the source of both intense love and comfort.

Ces larmes transpercées de joie
Describing how Jézébel brought happiness and joy to the singer, even through tears.

Mais l'amour est anéanti, Tout s'est écroulé sur ma vie, Écrasant piétinant, Emportant mon cœur
Explaining how the love between the singer and Jézébel ended, leaving the singer feeling crushed and heartbroken.

Jézebel, mais pour toi, Je ferai le tour de la terre, J'irai jusqu'au fond des enfers, Où es-tu?
Expressing the desperation of the singer to find Jézébel, stating that he would search the entire world and even the depths of hell to be with her again.

Mes souvenirs que l'on croit fanés, Sont des êtres vivants, Avec des yeux de mort, Vibrant encore
Describing how memories of Jézébel that the singer thought had faded away are vivid and alive in his mind, like the eyes of the dead that still seem to move.

De passer, Et mon cœur est crevé d'obsessions, Il bat en répétant, Tout au fond de moi-même, Ce mot que j'aime, Ton nom (Jézabel)
Admitting that the obsession with Jézébel still consumes the singer, causing his heart to ache and his mind to repeat her name over and over again.

Jézabel! Mais l'amour est anéanti, Tout s'est écroulé sur ma vie, Écrasant, piétinant, Emportant mon cœur
Repeating the fact that the love between the singer and Jézébel has ended, leaving him feeling crushed and broken.

Jézebel mais pour toi, Je ferai le tour de la terre, J'irai jusqu'au fond des enfers, En criant, Sans répit, Jour et nuit
Reiterating the singer's desperation to find Jézébel, stating that he would search tirelessly, day and night, without rest.

Jézebel (Jézabel), Jézebel (Jézabel), Jézebel!
Repeating Jézébel's name one last time, emphasizing the obsession and strong emotions the singer has towards her.

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Wayne Shanklin

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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