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.
Les Deux Guitares
Charles Aznavour Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ranimant du fond des nuits toute ma mémoire
Sans savoir que roule en moi un flot de détresse
Font renaître sous leurs doigts ma folle jeunesse
E khê raz, is cho raz
Is chê mênaga mênaga raz
E khê raz, is cho raz
Jouez tziganes, jouez pour moi avec vos deux flammes
Afin de couvrir la voix qui dit à mon âme
Où as-tu mal? Pourquoi as-tu mal, ah?
T'as mal à la tête mais
Bois un peu moins aujourd'hui
Tu boiras plus demain
Et encore plus après demain
E khê raz, is cho raz
Is chê mênaga mênaga raz
E khê raz, is cho raz
Is cho mênaga mênaga raz
Je veux rire, je veux chanter
Et saouler ma peine
Pour oublier le passé qu'avec moi je traîne
Allez, apportez-moi du vin fort
Car le vin délivre
Oh, versez, versez m'en encore
Pour que je m'enivre
E khê raz, is cho raz
Is chê mênaga mênaga raz
E khê raz, is cho raz
Is cho mênaga mênaga raz
Deux guitares en ma pensée jettent un trouble immense
M'expliquant la vanité de notre existence
Que vivons nous? Pourquoi vivons nous?
Quelle est la raison d'être?
Tu es vivant aujourd'hui, tu seras mort demain
Et encore plus après demain
La la la ekh
Enê is chê, is chê, is chê mênaga mênaga mênaga eh
Enê is chê raz, chê mênaga mênaga raz
Quand je serais ivre mort
Faible et lamentable
Et que vous verrez mon corps rouler sous la table, alors
Alors vous pourrez cesser vos chants qui résonnent
Mais en attendant, jouez
Jouez j'ordonne
E khê raz, is cho raz
Is chê mênaga mênaga raz
E khê raz, is cho raz
Is cho mênaga mênaga raz
E khê raz, is cho raz
Is chê mênaga mênaga raz
E khê raz, is cho raz
Is cho mênaga mênaga raz
E khê raz, is cho raz
Is chê mênaga mênaga raz
E khê raz, is cho raz
Is cho mênaga mênaga raz
The lyrics of Charles Aznavour's "Les deux guitares" convey a sense of longing and nostalgia for the past. The song is about two Gypsies playing their guitars and stirring up memories in the singer's mind. The singer is tormented by his own memories and seeks respite by drinking and forgetting his troubles.
The opening lines describe the Gypsies playing their guitars relentlessly, bringing back the singer's memories of youth and passion. They are oblivious to the singer's anguish and manage to rekindle his youthful exuberance with their music.
The chorus "E khê raz, is cho raz, Is chê mênaga mênaga raz" is in Romani language and it urges the Gypsies to play their guitars with all their hearts, to cover up the voice that speaks to the singer's soul, asking why he hurts. The singer is advised to drink less and forget his past pain but to drink more in the future to soothe his troubles.
Throughout the song, the guitars represent both the past and present - they are a reminder of the singer's past and the fleeting nature of life. The Romani lyrics give the song a sense of authenticity, evoking the Gypsy culture of music and storytelling.
Line by Line Meaning
Deux tziganes, sans répit, grattent leurs guitares
Two Gypsies tirelessly strum their guitars, reviving from the depths of the night all of my memories
Sans savoir que roule en moi un flot de détresse
Unaware that inside me rolls a wave of distress
Font renaître sous leurs doigts ma folle jeunesse
They make my crazy youth come alive again under their fingers
Jouez tziganes, jouez pour moi avec vos deux flammes
Play, Gypsies, play for me with your two flames
Afin de couvrir la voix qui dit à mon âme
In order to cover the voice that speaks to my soul
Où as-tu mal? Pourquoi as-tu mal, ah?
Where does it hurt? Why does it hurt, ah?
T'as mal à la tête mais Bois un peu moins aujourd'hui Tu boiras plus demain Et encore plus après demain
You have a headache, but drink a little less today, you'll drink more tomorrow, and even more the day after
Je veux rire, je veux chanter Et saouler ma peine Pour oublier le passé qu'avec moi je traîne
I want to laugh, I want to sing and drown my sorrows, to forget the past that I carry with me
Allez, apportez-moi du vin fort Car le vin délivre Oh, versez, versez m'en encore Pour que je m'enivre
Come on, bring me strong wine, because wine sets me free, oh pour, pour me more so I can get drunk
Deux guitares en ma pensée jettent un trouble immense M'expliquant la vanité de notre existence
Two guitars in my thoughts are causing immense confusion, explaining to me the vanity of our existence
Que vivons nous? Pourquoi vivons nous? Quelle est la raison d'être?
What are we living for? Why are we living? What is the reason for being?
Tu es vivant aujourd'hui, tu seras mort demain Et encore plus après demain
You are alive today, you will be dead tomorrow, and even more so the day after
Quand je serais ivre mort Faible et lamentable Et que vous verrez mon corps rouler sous la table, alors Alors vous pourrez cesser vos chants qui résonnent Mais en attendant, jouez Jouez j'ordonne
When I am dead drunk, weak and pitiful, and you see my body roll under the table, then you can stop your echoing songs. But for now, play! Play, I order you
Lyrics © RAOUL BRETON EDITIONS
Written by: Charles Aznavour
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@domy0983
(Deux tziganes sans répit
Grattent leur guitare
Ranimant du fond des nuits
Toute ma mémoire
Sans savoir que roule en moi
Un flot de détresse
Font renaître sous leurs doigts
Ma folle jeunesse
Ekh raz yechtcho raz yechtcho mnogo mnogo raz x2 ( Russe ) ( Une fois, encore une fois, la deuxième fois, encore tant de fois.)
Jouez tziganes jouez pour moi
Avec plus de flamme
Afin de couvrir la voix
Qui dit à mon âme
Où as-tu mal, pourquoi as-tu mal
Ah t'as mal à la tête
Mais bois un peu moins aujourd'hui tu boiras plus demain
Et encore plus après-demain
Ekh raz yechtcho raz yechtcho mnogo mnogo raz x2
Je veux rire et chanter
Et soûler ma peine
Pour oublier le passé
Qu'avec moi je traîne
Apportez-moi du vin fort
Car le vin délivre
Oh versez, versez-m'en encore
Pour que je m'enivre
Ekh raz yechtcho raz yechtcho mnogo mnogo raz x2
Deux guitares en ma pensée
Jettent un trouble immense
M'expliquant la vanité
De notre existence
Que vivons-nous, pourquoi vivons-nous
Quelle est la raison d'être
Tu es vivant aujourd'hui, tu seras mort demain
Et encore plus après-demain
Ekh raz yechtcho raz yechtcho mnogo mnogo raz x2
Quand je serais ivre-mort
Faible et lamentable
Et que vous verrez mon corps
Rouler sous la table
Alors vous pourrez cesser
Vos chants qui résonnent
En attendant jouez
Jouez je m'abandonne
Ekh raz yechtcho raz yechtcho mnogo mnogo raz x2
@walterzonneveldt3226
Grande, grande, grandissimo e indimenticabile.
@libanscult
🤌🏿 ❤🤌🏿
@annickpicat8183
Peut-être petit en taille. Grandiose en talents et disant la Vérité sans peur de personne ne craignant personne et sa liberté d 'expression était intact sans peur des mécréants Monsieur CHARLES AZNA VOUR.
@imanezerhouni1964
i love you charles aznavour ♥️
@thibauddurieux1521
Vous êtes amoureux 💑 de lui ?
@nicocarpanini5621
J écoutes son texte accompagné d'une larme de whisky et celles de mes yeux, contre mes joues glissent toute la nuit...texte profond, un homme bon et grand ce Mr Aznavour...que dieu si il existe, vous garde pour l'éternité cher Monsieur...
@petibosco
légerement sur le sky, pour votre santé, pour la poésie, no-probleme, amitiés
@francoisserve-catelin3022
tout doux sur le kiki mais a fond le Grand charles amitiés
@relka3572
A écouté enivrer par le sky oui Mr
@philippeboivin584
Dieu n'existe pas. Et s'il existe, n'est pas moins responsable des horreurs que des beautés de la vie ... Un type infréquentable, donc.