Charles Magnante (December 7, 1905 – December 30, 1986) was an American pia… Read Full Bio ↴Charles Magnante (December 7, 1905 – December 30, 1986) was an American piano-accordionist, arranger, composer, author and educator. His artistry helped raise the image of the accordion from an instrument considered suitable only for folk music to an instrument accepted in many music genres.

Magnante's father was a well-known amateur musician, and performed at Italian wedding receptions and other dance venues. Charles sang along with his father beginning at the age of five years, and at the age of seven, he secretly learned to play his father's accordion. At the age of sixteen his reputation as an accordionist had grown so much he was receiving many offers to join tours with stage bands, which he declined due to his continuing musical studies.

Charles Magnante started his professional career playing in Italian restaurants and on the Staten Island Ferry. However, he wanted to break free from the O Sole Mio image of the stereotypical Italian-American accordionist which his audiences expected to hear. In the 1940s, he was the leader of a successful trio with guitarist Tony Mottola and organist George Wright, and played regularly on NBC radio broadcasts. He worked also as a sought-after studio musician. At the peak of his career, he played 30 live radio broadcasts (including The Jack Berch Show[3]) and eight studio sessions each week. He performed also as a solo concert musician, and once performed a solo concert at the Civic Stadium of Buffalo, New York for an audience of 40,000.

Magnante was one of the twelve founding members of the American Accordionists' Association (founded in 1938), and also served as this organization's president for three terms .

Magnante wrote method books for accordion players and numerous arrangements of contemporary popular standards, schlagers and classical pieces. Many of his arrangements can still be found in the standard repertoire of accordionists throughout the world. His most famous original composition is probably the novelty Accordiana. His arrangements and compositions stretch across a number of musical genres, including easy listening, jazz and boogie-woogie, and light classical pieces.

C'est Si Bon
Charles Magnante and His Orchestra Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

C'est si bon,
De partir n'I'm porte ou,
Bras desus bras dessous,
En chantant des chansons,

C'est si bon,
De se dir' desmots doux,
Des petite rien do tout,

Mais qui en dissent long.

C'est si bon,
Lovers say that in France,
When they thrill to romance,
It means that it's so good.

C'est si bon,
So I say it to you,
Like the French people do,
Because it's oh, so good.

Every word, every sigh,
Every kiss, dear,
Leads to only one thought,
And it's this, dear,
Nothing else can replace,
Just your slightest embrace,
And if you only would be my own,
For the rest of my days,

I will whisper this phrase,
My darling, C'est si bon!

Overall Meaning

The song "C'est Si Bon" by Charles Magnante and His Orchestra is a romantic and cheerful French love song that talks about the beauty of love and how it feels to be in love. The lyrics talk about how wonderful it is to walk arm in arm with someone special, singing songs and sharing intimate and loving moments. The song also emphasizes the importance of simple, sweet words and gestures, which convey profound emotions and speak volumes about a person's love and devotion to their partner. The lyrics are a perfect example of how beautiful and magical love can be, and how it brightens up every moment of one's life, making everything seem perfect and wonderful.

Line by Line Meaning

C'est si bon,
It's so good

De partir n'I'm porte ou,
To leave without knowing where to go

Bras desus bras dessous,
Arm in arm

En chantant des chansons,
Singing songs

De se dir' desmots doux,
To say sweet words to each other

Des petite rien do tout,
Little things of everything

Mais qui en dissent long.
But which say a lot.

Lovers say that in France,
Lovers say that in France

When they thrill to romance,
When they experience romance

It means that it's so good.
It means that it's so good.

So I say it to you,
So I'll say it to you