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.
Partir
Charles Aznavour Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Alors que rien ne vous retient
Partir
Avant d'étouffer sa jeunesse
Avant que l'âge nous caresse
Pour nous soumettre au quotidien
Partir
Courir de frontière en frontière
Pour rencontrer la vérité
Partir
Échapper au destin sommaire
Qui du berceau au cimetière
N'est souvent qu'un chemin tracé
Partir
Comme un vagabond, un bohème
Pour voir le monde et s'étonner
Partir
Tourner le dos à ses problèmes
Pour se trouver face à soi-même
Au lieu de vivre à s'ignorer
Partir
Ne pas rester comme une tache
Dépasser le coin de la rue
Partir
Pour, n'ayant plus de port d'attache
Voir ce que les montagnes cachent
Aux sédentaires à courtes vue
Sous d'autres cieux, voir d'autres races
Toucher les choses de la main
Prendre le premier vent qui passe
Mettre de l'air et de l'espace
Entre hier et le jour qui vient
Tenter cette chaude aventure
Qu'est l'existence libérée
Se faire une vie sur mesure
Doublée de peau à sa pointure
Et prendre le temps de rêver
Partir
Partir
Ne plus avoir de clefs, de montre
De comptes à rendre chaque jour
Partir
Sans peser le pour et le contre
Pour se jeter à la rencontre
Du doux visage de l'amour
Partir
Se porter au devant de l'être
Qui nous est encore inconnu
Partir
Se rencontrer, se reconnaître
Pour un jour revenir peut-être
Et raconter ce qu'on a vu
The lyrics of "Partir" by Charles Aznavour express a deep longing for the freedom of leaving and seeing the world. Before regret can settle in and routine grips us, leaving is seen as the way to escape the predetermined path from birth to death. Running from border to border to find truth and escaping a fate that is often pre-determined from birth to death. Leaving is a way to become wanderers, bohemians, and explorers who see the world and wonder about it. Leaving is the way to see different ways of living and meeting new people. Leaving provides a chance to create life on one's own terms, free from the mundanity of everyday life. The song is an ode to the sweet adventure that is life.
"Partir" was written and recorded by French singer and songwriter Charles Aznavour in 1953. The song was written by Aznavour and Georges Garvarentz. The song has been covered by many artists over the years, including The Carpenters, Julio Iglesias, and Lara Fabian.
Aznavour's real name was Shahnour Varenagh Aznavourian. He was born in Paris to Armenian parents. He started singing as a child, and by the time he reached his teens, he was already performing in nightclubs. Aznavour was a prolific songwriter, having written over a thousand songs over the course of his career.
Aznavour was known as "the French Frank Sinatra" and was considered one of France's greatest artists. Aznavour sold more than 180 million records worldwide and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017.
"Partir" is a quintessential example of Aznavour's chanson style, which is a blend of French poetry and pop music. The song is often cited as one of his most beautiful pieces of music.
Aznavour was a staunch advocate for the human rights of people around the world, particularly for those affected by the Armenian Genocide. Throughout his career, he spoke out against oppression and injustice.
In 2018, Aznavour passed away at the age of 94. He was mourned around the world, and his music continues to inspire and touch people from all walks of life.
Chords:
Am G F E Am G E Am.
Key: Am (A minor)
Line by Line Meaning
Avant que les regrets ne naissent
Leaving before regrets arise
Alors que rien ne vous retient
When nothing is holding you back
Partir
To leave
Avant d'étouffer sa jeunesse
Leaving before your youth fades
Avant que l'âge nous caresse
Before old age catches up to us
Pour nous soumettre au quotidien
Submitting to the daily routine
Partir
To leave
Courir de frontière en frontière
Traveling from border to border
Pour rencontrer la vérité
To seek out the truth
Partir
To leave
Échapper au destin sommaire
Escaping a predictable fate
Qui du berceau au cimetière
From the cradle to the grave
N'est souvent qu'un chemin tracé
That is often a predetermined path
Partir
To leave
Comme un vagabond, un bohème
Like a vagabond, a bohemian
Pour voir le monde et s'étonner
To see the world and be amazed
Partir
To leave
Tourner le dos à ses problèmes
To turn one's back on their problems
Pour se trouver face à soi-même
To confront oneself
Au lieu de vivre à s'ignorer
Instead of living in ignorance
Partir
To leave
Ne pas rester comme une tache
Not to remain stagnant
Dépasser le coin de la rue
To go beyond one's street corner
Partir
To leave
Pour, n'ayant plus de port d'attache
To no longer have a home port
Voir ce que les montagnes cachent
To see what the mountains hide
Aux sédentaires à courtes vue
From those with short-sighted views
Sous d'autres cieux, voir d'autres races
To see different races under different skies
Toucher les choses de la main
To touch things with your hands
Prendre le premier vent qui passe
To catch the first passing wind
Mettre de l'air et de l'espace
To create more room and space
Entre hier et le jour qui vient
Between yesterday and tomorrow
Tenter cette chaude aventure
To embark on this hot adventure
Qu'est l'existence libérée
That is a liberated existence
Se faire une vie sur mesure
To create a life that fits
Doublée de peau à sa pointure
To be comfortable in your own skin
Et prendre le temps de rêver
And to take the time to dream
Partir
To leave
Partir
To leave
Ne plus avoir de clefs, de montre
To no longer have keys, a watch
De comptes à rendre chaque jour
No longer being accountable every day
Partir
To leave
Sans peser le pour et le contre
Without weighing the pros and cons
Pour se jeter à la rencontre
To throw oneself into encountering
Du doux visage de l'amour
Of the sweet face of love
Partir
To leave
Se porter au devant de l'être
To go towards another person
Qui nous est encore inconnu
Who we may not yet know
Partir
To leave
Se rencontrer, se reconnaître
To meet and recognize each other
Pour un jour revenir peut-être
To possibly return one day
Et raconter ce qu'on a vu
And to share what one has seen
Lyrics © EDITIONS MUSICALES DJANIK, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Charles AZNAVOUR, Georges GARVARENTZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind