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.
La Bohème
Charles Aznavour Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Que les moins de vingt ans
Ne peuvent pas connaître
Montmartre en ce temps-là
Accrochait ses lilas
Jusque sous nos fenêtres
Et si l'humble garni
Ne payait pas de mine
C'est là qu'on s'est connu
Moi qui criait famine
Et toi qui posais nue
La bohème, la bohème
Ça voulait dire
On est heureux
La bohème, la bohème
Nous ne mangions
Qu'un jour sur deux
Dans les cafés voisins
Nous étions quelques-uns
Qui attendions la gloire
Et bien que miséreux
Avec le ventre creux
Nous ne cessions d'y croire
Et quand quelques bistros
Contre un bon repas chaud
Nous prenait une toile
Nous récitions des vers
Groupés autour du poêle
En oubliant l'hiver
La bohème, la bohème
Ça voulait dire
Tu es jolie
La bohème, la bohème
Et nous avions tous du génie
Souvent il m'arrivait
Devant mon chevalet
De passer des nuits blanches
Retouchant le dessin
De la ligne d'un sein
Du galbe d'une hanche
Et ce n'est qu'au matin
Qu'on s'asseyait enfin
Devant un café-crème
Épuisés mais ravis
Fallait-il que l'on s'aime
Et qu'on aime la vie
La bohème, la bohème
Ça voulait dire
On a vingt ans
La bohème, la bohème
Et nous vivions de l'air du temps
Quand au hasard des jours
Je m'en vais faire un tour
À mon ancienne adresse
Je ne reconnais plus
Ni les murs, ni les rues
Qui ont vu ma jeunesse
En haut d'un escalier
Je cherche l'atelier
Dont plus rien ne subsiste
Dans son nouveau décor
Montmartre semble triste
Et les lilas sont morts
La bohème, la bohème
On était jeunes
On était fous
La bohème, la bohème
Ça ne veut plus
Rien dire du tout
"La Bohème" is a song by Charles Aznavour released in 1965. It reminisces about the times of youth and artistic ambitions, painting a picture of a group of struggling artists living in Montmartre. The lyrics describe the time when the singer was living there with his partner. They both were starving, and their apartment was nothing to brag about, but they were happy because they were young and in love. They were living a bohemian lifestyle, indulging in art, literature, and conversations about glory and success. The singer mentions spending nights retouching paintings, reciting poems, huddled around the stove in the company of friends, forgetting about the winter, and hunger. But time has passed, and when the singer returns to Montmartre, he doesn't recognize the place anymore. The memories of youth fade away with the changing times.
"La Bohème" became one of Aznavour's most popular songs, reflecting his own bohemian experience as a young artist struggling in Paris. It's a timeless tribute to youth, love, and artistic passions. The melancholic tone captures the bittersweet memories of a former life that can never be recreated.
Line by Line Meaning
Je vous parle d'un temps
I'm talking about a time
Que les moins de vingt ans
That those under twenty
Ne peuvent pas connaître
Cannot know
Montmartre en ce temps-là
Montmartre in those days
Accrochait ses lilas
Hung its lilacs
Jusque sous nos fenêtres
Up to our windows
Et si l'humble garni
And if the humble boarding house
Qui nous servait de nid
That served as our nest
Ne payait pas de mine
Was nothing special
C'est là qu'on s'est connu
It's where we met
Moi qui criait famine
Me, who was starving
Et toi qui posais nue
And you, who posed naked
La bohème, la bohème
The bohemian life, the bohemian life
Ça voulait dire
It meant
On est heureux
We are happy
Nous ne mangions qu'un jour sur deux
We only ate every other day
Dans les cafés voisins
In the neighboring cafes
Nous étions quelques-uns
We were a few
Qui attendions la gloire
Who waited for glory
Et bien que miséreux
And although we were poor
Avec le ventre creux
With empty stomachs
Nous ne cessions d'y croire
We never stopped believing in it
Et quand quelques bistros
And when some bistros
Contre un bon repas chaud
In exchange for a hot meal
Nous prenait une toile
Would show us a canvas
Nous récitions des vers
We recited poetry
Groupés autour du poêle
Gathered around the stove
En oubliant l'hiver
Forgetting the winter
La bohème, la bohème
The bohemian life, the bohemian life
Ça voulait dire
It meant
Tu es jolie
You are pretty
Et nous avions tous du génie
And we all had genius
Souvent il m'arrivait
Often it happened to me
Devant mon chevalet
Before my easel
De passer des nuits blanches
To spend sleepless nights
Retouchant le dessin
Touching up the drawing
De la ligne d'un sein
Of the line of a breast
Du galbe d'une hanche
Of the curve of a hip
Et ce n'est qu'au matin
And it was only in the morning
Qu'on s'asseyait enfin
That we finally sat down
Devant un café-crème
In front of a café au lait
Épuisés mais ravis
Exhausted but delighted
Fallait-il que l'on s'aime
We must have loved each other
Et qu'on aime la vie
And loved life
La bohème, la bohème
The bohemian life, the bohemian life
Ça voulait dire
It meant
On a vingt ans
We are twenty years old
Et nous vivions de l'air du temps
And we lived off the time
Quand au hasard des jours
When in the randomness of days
Je m'en vais faire un tour
I go for a walk
À mon ancienne adresse
To my old address
Je ne reconnais plus
I no longer recognize
Ni les murs, ni les rues
Neither the walls nor the streets
Qui ont vu ma jeunesse
That saw my youth
En haut d'un escalier
At the top of a staircase
Je cherche l'atelier
I look for the studio
Dont plus rien ne subsiste
Of which nothing remains
Dans son nouveau décor
In its new decor
Montmartre semble triste
Montmartre seems sad
Et les lilas sont morts
And the lilacs are dead
La bohème, la bohème
The bohemian life, the bohemian life
On était jeunes
We were young
On était fous
We were crazy
La bohème, la bohème
The bohemian life, the bohemian life
Ça ne veut plus rien dire du tout
It doesn't mean anything at all anymore
Lyrics © EDITIONS MUSICALES DJANIK, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Charles Aznavour, Jacques Plante
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@chloebusin
Je vous parle d'un temps
Que les moins de vingt ans
Ne peuvent pas connaître
Montmartre en ce temps-là
Accrochait ses lilas
Jusque sous nos fenêtres
Et si l'humble garni
Qui nous servait de nid
Ne payait pas de mine
C'est là qu'on s'est connu
Moi qui criait famine
Et toi qui posais nue
La bohème, la bohème
Ça voulait dire
On est heureux
La bohème, la bohème
Nous ne mangions qu'un jour sur deux
Dans les cafés voisins
Nous étions quelques-uns
Qui attendions la gloire
Et bien que miséreux
Avec le ventre creux
Nous ne cessions d'y croire
Et quand quelque bistro
Contre un bon repas chaud
Nous prenait une toile
Nous récitions des vers
Groupés autour du poêle
En oubliant l'hiver
La bohème, la bohème
Ça voulait dire
Tu es jolie
La bohème, la bohème
Et nous avions tous du génie
Souvent il m'arrivait
Devant mon chevalet
De passer des nuits blanches
Retouchant le dessin
De la ligne d'un sein
du galbe d'une hanche
Et ce n'est qu'au matin
Qu'on s'asseyait enfin
Devant un café-crème
Épuisés mais ravis
Fallait-il que l'on s'aime
Et qu'on aime la vie
La bohème, la bohème
Ça voulait dire
On a vingt ans
La bohème, la bohème
Et nous vivions de l'air du temps
Quand au hasard des jours
Je m'en vais faire un tour
À mon ancienne adresse
Je ne reconnais plus
Ni les murs, ni les rues
Qui ont vu ma jeunesse
En haut d'un escalier
Je cherche l'atelier
Dont plus rien ne subsiste
Dans son nouveau décor
Montmartre semble triste
Et les lilas sont morts
La bohème, la bohème
On était jeunes
On était fous
La bohème, la bohème
Ça ne veut plus rien dire du tout
@pommedeter7407
I will attempt a rough translation to english because I think it’s worth it. Here goes nothing :
« I am talking about a time, that the less than twenty can not know,
Monmartes in that time used to hang its Lilacs just below our windows.
And while the humble hostel, which we took as our nest, was far from fancy,
It is the place we met, me who was starving, and you who was posing nude.
The bohemian, the bohemian,
It meant, we were happy.
The bohemian, the bohemian
We would eat once every two days.
In nearby cafes, a few of us were waiting for glory.
And while we were in misery, with an empty stomach,
We wouldn’t stop believing in it.
And when some bar, in exchange for a warm meal
took us a canvas, we would recite verses,
Snuggled around the stove, forgetting the winter.
The bohemian, the bohemian,
It meant, you are pretty
The bohemian the bohemian,
And we all had some genius is us.
Often I found myself, in front of my easel,
Pulling an all-nighter.
Refining the drawing,
of the line of a breast, or the motion of a hip.
And it was only in the morning,
That we would finally sit down,
In front of a coffee with cream.
Exhausted but delighted, needed we
To love each other and to love life.
The bohemian, the bohemian
It meant, we are twenty
The bohemian, the bohemian
And we lived out of the air of the time.
When, by chance one day,
I go for a walk, towards my old address,
I don’t recognize anymore,
Nor the walls or the streets who had seen my youth.
On top of a staircase, I look for my workshop,
From which nothing still remains.
In its new scenery Monmartes looks sad,
And the Lilacs are dead.
The bohemian, the bohemian,
We were young, we were fools
The bohemian, the bohemian
It doesn’t mean anything at all anymore. »
Once translated, the song loses a lot, especially in rhythmic symmetry and other construction, but the core message is still visible. It’s a very sad song about how with time, the love that made beauty, art and creation possible, fades away and leaves you with both regret and frustration.
@Cristianoriginel
Beaucoup de personnes disent que c'est pour les vieux
Alors qu'il n'y a pas d'âge pour écouter telle musique
Reposer en paix monsieur Aznavour
Vous êtes une légende
Dite bonjour à Johnny de ma part
@oups-981
A toutes les personnes qui viennent écouter cette légende de la chanson: je vous aime vous avez du goût peu importe votre age❤️
@anniebeney1789
On vous aime messieurs
@yohantherese5835
du love <3
@domnul_igor
Merci!
I don't know French well enough to reply in it but understood all your comment and definetely support <3
@oups-981
Igor Isaev That’s fine! I can answer in english too! Your comment is soo cute! Coming right to my heart thanks ❤️
@melonman44
Et bien finalement, malgré mon âge, d'autres personnes, comme moi se sentent attirées par cette chanson.
Merci pour ton commentaire. :D
@jeanrivemyfelix5886
Qui écoute encore en 2024 ?
J'ai 22 ans pourtant j'adore 😊
Merci monsieur Charles pour ce chef-d'oeuvre 🙏🙇♂️
@albert-lk4vo
Moi
@tube.brasil
Moi en Brésil
@Dr.ThunderStorm2007
Du haut de mes 16 ans je l'écoute encore. Ces dernières décennies, très peu de musiques ont su égaler les classiques français et les écouter me rend toujours mélancolique, mais joyeux.