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.
Liberte
Charles Aznavour Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Qu'as-tu fait liberté
De ceux là qui voulaient te défendre
Les voilà tes amis
Ils étaient trop petits
Et déjà le bourreau va les pendre
Ils aimaient bien leurs enfants
Ils aimaient bien leurs parents
Mais quelque chose manquait
Qu'ils ne pouvaient expliquer
Et c'était toi liberté des beaux jours
Avec une rose au chapeau
Bien plus jolie qu'un drapeau
Droit devant eux un jour s'en sont allés
Mais ils n'ont pas fait quatre pas
Que les sergents étaient là
Qui les tenaient au bout des pistolets
N'as-tu pas de visage, liberté:
L'un joyeux l'autre grave?
Liberté, liberté,
Qu'as-tu fait liberté
De ceux-là qui t'ont crue sur parole
Ils ne t'ont jamais vu
Ils ne te verront plus
Liberté fameux rêve des hommes
Ils ne rêvaient que de toi
Ils ne vivaient que par toi
Et c'est pour toi qu'ils prieront dans le ciel
Rien n'a changé dans leur coeur
Ils n'ont pas froid, n'ont pas peur
C'est toujours toi liberté leur soleil
Et quand on les a condamnés
Ils ont salué sans pleurer
Et l'un l'autre ils se sont embrassés
Ils ont crié: "Vive le roi,
Vive la reine et la loi,
Mais vive aussi, vive la liberté"
Charles Aznavour's song Liberté is a poignant anthem that captures the struggles and sacrifices made in the pursuit of freedom. The song laments the betrayal of the ideals of liberty and the heavy price paid by those who fought for it. The song begins with a question posed to Liberty, asking what she has done with those who sought to defend her. Aznavour goes on to describe the fate of Liberty's friends who were too small and powerless to stand up against the oppressor. The image of the hangman's noose is a powerful metaphor for the ultimate price of their loyalty to freedom. Despite their love of family, wine, and romance, the yearning for Liberty was still palpable, something that they could not explain in words.
Aznavour's lyrics then turn to those who believed in and trusted in the promise of Liberty. They had never seen her but believed in her nonetheless. The promises of freedom were so powerful that they were willing to die for it. Even after their condemnation, they still celebrated the idea of Liberty and shouted "Vive la liberté" along with the king, queen, and the law. The irony here is that Liberty was not there for them in their moment of need. They never got to see her, and now they never will.
Overall, Liberté is a powerful and emotional song that speaks to the heart of human struggles to gain freedom. Aznavour's lyrics touch upon the sacrifices made by people and how their faith in Liberty is often left unrewarded. The song is a timeless tribute to the power of freedom and the cost of being denied it.
Line by Line Meaning
Liberté, liberté,
Oh liberty, liberty,
Qu'as-tu fait liberté
What have you done, liberty?
De ceux là qui voulaient te défendre
What have you done, liberty, to those who wanted to defend you?
Les voilà tes amis
There they are, your friends
Ils étaient trop petits
They were too small
Et déjà le bourreau va les pendre
And the executioner is already going to hang them
Ils aimaient bien leurs enfants
They loved their children
Ils aimaient bien leurs parents
They loved their parents
Et pas qu'un peu le vin rouge et l'amour
And not just a little bit of red wine and love
Mais quelque chose manquait
But something was missing
Qu'ils ne pouvaient expliquer
Something they couldn't explain
Et c'était toi liberté des beaux jours
And it was you, liberty, of the beautiful days
Avec une rose au chapeau
With a rose on your hat
Bien plus jolie qu'un drapeau
Much prettier than a flag
Droit devant eux un jour s'en sont allés
One day they went straight ahead
Mais ils n'ont pas fait quatre pas
But they didn't take four steps
Que les sergents étaient là
And already the sergeants were there
Qui les tenaient au bout des pistolets
Holding them at gunpoint
N'as-tu pas de visage, liberté:
Don't you have a face, liberty?
L'un joyeux l'autre grave?
One cheerful, the other serious?
Liberté, liberté,
Oh liberty, liberty,
Qu'as-tu fait liberté
What have you done, liberty?
De ceux-là qui t'ont crue sur parole
What have you done, liberty, to those who believed in you on your word?
Ils ne t'ont jamais vu
They never saw you
Ils ne te verront plus
They will never see you again
Liberté fameux rêve des hommes
Liberty, the famous dream of men
Ils ne rêvaient que de toi
They dreamed only of you
Ils ne vivaient que par toi
They lived only for you
Et c'est pour toi qu'ils prieront dans le ciel
And it is for you that they will pray in heaven
Rien n'a changé dans leur coeur
Nothing has changed in their heart
Ils n'ont pas froid, n'ont pas peur
They are not cold, not afraid
C'est toujours toi liberté leur soleil
It's always you, liberty, their sun
Et quand on les a condamnés
And when they were condemned
Ils ont salué sans pleurer
They saluted without crying
Et l'un l'autre ils se sont embrassés
And they embraced each other
Ils ont crié: "Vive le roi,
They shouted: "Long live the king,
Vive la reine et la loi,
Long live the queen and the law,
Mais vive aussi, vive la liberté"
But also long live liberty!"
Contributed by Camden S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Morrigan Ravenchild
Powerful! Thanks.
Colin Barbarin
Au revoir grand homme.
Au-revoir Aznavour, tu aura laissé derrière toi bien des gens en deuil.
Mister skills
HAYEM LAVNA BON