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.

L'amour c'est comme un jour
Charles Aznavour Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Le soleil brille à pleins feux
Mais je ne vois que tes yeux
La blancheur de ton corps nu
Devant mes mains éperdues
Viens, ne laisse pas s'enfuir
Les matins brodés d'amour
Viens, ne laisse pas mourir
Les printemps, nos plaisirs

L'amour c'est comme un jour
Ça s'en va, ça s'en va l'amour
C'est comme un jour de soleil en ripaille
Et de lune en chamaille
Et de pluie en bataille
L'amour c'est comme un jour
Ça s'en va, ça s'en va l'amour

C'est comme un jour d'un infini sourire
Une infinie tendresse
Une infinie caresse

L'amour c'est comme un jour
Ça s'en va mon amour

Notre été s'en est allé
Et tes yeux m'ont oublié
Te souviens-tu de ces jours
Où nos coeurs parlaient d'amour
Nous n'avons pu retenir
Que des lambeaux de bonheur
S'il n'y a plus d'avenir
Il nous reste un souvenir

L'amour c'est comme un jour
Ça s'en va, ça s'en va l'amour
C'est comme un jour de soleil en ripaille
Et de lune en chamaille
Et de pluie en bataille
L'amour c'est comme un jour
Ça s'en va, ça s'en va l'amour

C'est comme un jour d'un infini sourire
Une infinie tendresse
Une infinie caresse

L'amour c'est comme un jour
Ça s'en va mon amour

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Charles Aznavour's song "L'amour c'est comme un jour" depict the transience of love, that it is fleeting like a day. The first stanza describes how even though the sun is shining, the singer only sees the eyes of their lover. They also touch on the physical aspect of the relationship, with hands yearning to touch the whiteness of their partner's naked body. The chorus likens love to a day, with all its sunny, moonlit, and rainy moments. The use of the word "ripaille" expertly creates a sense of indulgence, that love is like a day of feasting. The following lines talk about the infinite smile, tenderness, and caresses that love can bring.

The second stanza reflects on the end of a summer romance, where the singer feels that their partner has forgotten them. Despite this, they reminisce about the days that their hearts spoke of love. The last line of the stanza sums up the theme of the song, that even though love may be fleeting, memories remain.

Overall, the lyrics of "L'amour c'est comme un jour" speak to the romantic melancholy that comes with accepting the impermanence of love. While love may not be forever, it is more precious because of its ephemerality.

Line by Line Meaning

Le soleil brille à pleins feux
The sun shines brightly

Mais je ne vois que tes yeux
But I only see your eyes

La blancheur de ton corps nu
The whiteness of your naked body

Devant mes mains éperdues
In front of my lost hands

Viens, ne laisse pas s'enfuir
Come, don't let them get away

Les matins brodés d'amour
The love-filled mornings

Viens, ne laisse pas mourir
Come, don't let them die

Les printemps, nos plaisirs
The springs, our pleasures

L'amour c'est comme un jour
Love is like a day

Ça s'en va, ça s'en va l'amour
Love goes away, it goes away

C'est comme un jour de soleil en ripaille
It's like a day of sun in revelry

Et de lune en chamaille
And of moon in strife

Et de pluie en bataille
And of rain in battle

C'est comme un jour d'un infini sourire
It's like a day of infinite smile

Une infinie tendresse
An infinite tenderness

Une infinie caresse
An infinite caress

Ça s'en va mon amour
It goes away, my love

Notre été s'en est allé
Our summer is gone

Et tes yeux m'ont oublié
And your eyes have forgotten me

Te souviens-tu de ces jours
Do you remember those days

Où nos coeurs parlaient d'amour
When our hearts spoke of love

Nous n'avons pu retenir
We could not hold on to

Que des lambeaux de bonheur
Only shreds of happiness

S'il n'y a plus d'avenir
If there is no future

Il nous reste un souvenir
We still have a memory

Lyrics © EDITIONS MUSICALES DJANIK, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, O/B/O DistroKid, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JESSE RAE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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