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.
Une Vie D'amour
Charles Aznavour Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Que l’on s’était jurée
Et que le temps a désarticulée
Jour après jour
Blesse mes pensées
Tant de mots d’amour
En nos coeurs étouffés
Dans un sanglot l’espace d’un baiser
À tout, mais n’ont rien changé
Car un au revoir
Ne peut être un adieu
Et fou d’espoir
Je m’en remets à Dieu
Pour te revoir
Et te parler encore
Et te jurer encore
Une vie d’amour
Remplie de rires clairs
Un seul chemin
Déchirant mes enfers
Allant plus loin
Que la nuit
La nuit des nuits
Une vie d’amour
Que l’on s’était jurée
Et que le temps a désarticulée
Jour après jour
Blesse mes pensées
Tant de mots d’amour
Que nos coeurs ont criés
De mots tremblés, de larmes soulignées
Derniers recours
De joies désharmonisées
Des aubes en fleurs
Aux crépuscules gris
Tout va, tout meurt
Mais la flamme survit
Dans la chaleur
D’un immortel été
D’un éternel été
Une vie d’amour
Une vie pour s’aimer
Aveuglément
Jusqu’au souffle dernier
Bon an mal an
Mon amour
T’aimer encore
Et toujours
In Charles Aznavour's song Une vie d'Amour, the singer reflects on a love that was meant to last a lifetime but was slowly dismantled by time. He mourns the loss of the deep love they once shared and the painful memories that linger. The lyrics evoke a sense of longing and hope for a reunion with his lost love.
From the beginning, Aznavour mentions the vows they made to each other, vows that were broken by the passage of time. He describes how the love they shared has slowly disintegrated over time, leaving behind only memories. Despite this, the memory of their love continues to haunt him, and he still holds out hope for a reunion with his former love, even if it is just to talk and reflect on the past.
Throughout the song, Aznavour reveals the deep pain and emotions that he has experienced since the love of his life left him. He describes how the words of love they once shared are now just distant echoes, barely audible above the sound of his own heart breaking. Although he tries to accept the fact that their love has ended, he still clings to the hope that he will be reunited with his love one day.
Overall, Une vie d'Amour is a poignant reflection on lost love and the pain that comes with it. Aznavour's emotive lyrics and soulful delivery make this song a timeless classic that strikes a chord with anyone who has ever experienced heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
Une vie d’amour
This is a song about a life filled with love
Que l’on s’était jurée
The lovers had made a promise
Et que le temps a désarticulée
However, time has caused their love to fall apart
Jour après jour
This has been happening gradually every day
Blesse mes pensées
The pain is still fresh in the singer's mind
Tant de mots d’amour
So many words of love have been said
En nos coeurs étouffés
But they have been left unsaid and unacknowledged
Dans un sanglot l’espace d’un baiser
Their only moment of intimacy has been reduced to just one desperate, tearful kiss
Sont restés sourds
However, these actions didn't change anything
À tout, mais n’ont rien changé
Despite everything, their love remains unfulfilled
Car un au revoir
Because saying goodbye
Ne peut être un adieu
Does not have to mean forever
Et fou d’espoir
The singer is hopeful
Je m’en remets à Dieu
That they will see each other again
Pour te revoir
And they will be able to talk and love each other as before
Et te jurer encore
Just like they had promised
Une vie d’amour
This life is a love story filled with clear laughter
Remplie de rires clairs
Despite going through hell, the lovers still walked down the same path
Un seul chemin
Going beyond the darkest of nights
Déchirant mes enfers
Towards that one life filled with love
Allant plus loin
That love remains unfulfilled, however it is still present
Que la nuit
In that one perfect night
La nuit des nuits
Their love- which has fallen apart now- used to be grand
Que l’on s’était jurée
It's all about that same love promise they made earlier
Et que le temps a désarticulée
As time passed by, that promise turned into shattered pieces of memory
Jour après jour
This process of their love falling apart was not sudden but a daily ritual
Blesse mes pensées
The pain is still very fresh in the musician's mind
Tant de mots d’amour
So many words of love had filled their hearts
Que nos coeurs ont criés
These words of love yearned to be released
De mots tremblés, de larmes soulignées
But they were never spoken, and only suppressed with tears
Derniers recours
These words came out to be their last resort
De joies désharmonisées
But it was all in vain since the love didn't come in harmony
Des aubes en fleurs
The beginning of everything was full of hope and life
Aux crépuscules gris
But slowly, their love was heading towards an ending darkness
Tout va, tout meurt
Everything; living or non-living, does come to an end
Mais la flamme survit
But some things still remain- like the love that existed between them
Dans la chaleur
It exists somewhere, where everything is warm
D’un immortel été
Where summer never ends
D’un éternel été
Where it stays forever summer
Une vie d’amour
This was a life spent loving each other
Une vie pour s’aimer
A life spent loving each other's love
Aveuglément
They were blindly in love
Jusqu’au souffle dernier
Committed to love, even till their dying breath
Bon an mal an
Through good times and bad
Mon amour
My love
T’aimer encore
I will never stop loving you
Et toujours
Forever and always
Lyrics © MELODIUM MUSIC
Written by: Charles AZNAVOUR, Georges GARVARENTZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@user-ty2gj1fq7w
Une vie d'amour
Que l'on s'était jurée
Et que le temps a désarticulée
Jour après jour
Blesse mes pensées
Tant de mots d'amour
En nos cœurs étouffés
Dans un sanglot, l'espace d'un baiser
Sont restés sourds
À tout, mais n'ont rien changé
Car un au revoir
Ne peut être un adieu
Avec l'espoir
Je m'en remets à Dieu
Pour te revoir
Et te parler encore
Et te jurer encore
Une vie d'amour
Remplie de rires clairs
Un seul chemin
Déchirant nos enfers
Allant plus loin
Que la nuit
La nuit, la nuits
Une vie d'amour
Que l'on s'était jurée
Et que le temps a désarticulée
Jour après jour
Blesse mes pensées
Tant de mots d'amour
Que nos cœurs ont criés
De mots tremblés, de larmes soulignées
Dernier recours
De joies désharmonisées
Des aubes en fleurs
Aux crépuscules gris
Tout va, tout meurt
Mais la flamme survit
Dans la chaleur
D'un immortel été
D'un éternel été
Une vie d'amour
Une vie pour s'aimer
Aveuglément
Jusqu'au souffle dernier
Bon an mal an
Mon amour
T'aimer encore
Et toujours
@gsmedia9195
A toutes les personnes qui viennent écouter cette légende de la chanson: je vous aime vous avez du goût peu importe votre age❤
@teresacristina998
O que nos une na vida, no mundo, é a música.
Pois ela, é nossa língua universal
Daqui do Brasil 🇧🇷🇧🇷
Emocionante este dueto ❤❤❤
@DeniseDebroye
Vous avez bien raison la musique est universelle pas de guerre mais de l'amour pour tous, merci à tous ces chanteurs qui nous donnent tant de joies et de plaisir...
@yurprach
Из России с любовью 🎉❤
@mayiskirakosyan717
😢
@user-mh7yj4eg7n
❤😢❤😢❤😢❤❤❤❤😢🎉
@user-zv9bj2ku2i
Вот это исполнение, вот это любовь и уважение слушателей.. Ни один из современных певунов и рядом не стоял. И не вешают себе ярлыков - императриц, королей, примадонна и т. д ВОТ НАРОДНАЯ ЛЮБОВЬ И ПЕНИЕ ЖИВЫМ ГОЛОСОМ!
@user-sp8tx5ke5z
Мда, слов нет. Прекрасно, волшебно. Кто любит тот поймет.....
@olgamarkova8500
@@user-sp8tx5ke5z я говорю без акцента голубей не люблю
@olgamarkova8500
@@user-sp8tx5ke5z moi je comprends pas ce que vous voulez dire)