Throughout his childhood he was influenced by the musics that were coexisting in Egypt. The sound of Arabic music entered into his life at that time and has continued until today as one of his biggest influences. At the age of ten, he was intrigued by Jazz and learnt to play the trumpet. As a young boy he also attended the choir of the Greek Byzantine church of Alexandria and sang for five years as a soloist.
However, when Artemios reached the age of fifteen, his life changed. It was the time of the Suez Canal crisis. His family left Egypt and immigrated to their homeland Greece. Artemios then had to work to support his family. During the day he attended school and, at night, he played the trumpet in various clubs in Athens. Two years later, his first band, "The Idols" was formed. Artemios played the Bass Guitar and sang backing vocals as well. One day, as the lead singer needed to rest, he asked Artemios to replace him for a few songs. That night, when Artemios sang "The House Of The Rising Sun" and "When A Man Loves A Woman" the audience was amazed. From then on Artemios was asked to sing again and again.
Within a short period, Artemios was making a sound reputation. It was at this time that he met the man who would later become one of his most successful composer, Lakis Vlavianos. From that meeting a new band was born, the "We Five", with Artemios as the lead singer.
In 1968 Artemios’s journey crossed the road of two other top Greek musicians, Vangelis Papatanassiou and Loukas Sideras. Their associationbecame one of the biggest musical events of the seventies in the form of "Aphrodite’s Child". This ambitious band decided to travel to the United Kingdom for better commercial prospects. Artemios--who had now shortened his name to Demis--would be the singer and the bass player, Vangelis the main composer as well as the keyboard player, and Loukas would play the drums.
However, they were refused entry to the United Kingdom for lack of a work permit. Instead, Aphrodite's Child travelled to Paris, arriving just as the city was going through the May 68 revolution. After a few concerts in some trendy Parisian clubs, a major company offered to record a song of theirs, one that was inspired by Pachelbel‘s canon called "Rain And Tears". This first album of Aphrodite’s Child sold over a million copies in France alone.
Nine months later, as Demis first daughter, Emily, was born, "Rain And Tears" was the top single all over Europe and a top 20 single in the United Kingdom. The band experienced a huge success for three years.
They then released their legendary last album “666”, after which, for various reasons, Aphrodite's Child decided to split up.
Since Demis was one of the main elements of the band, the record company offered him a chance to recorded his first solo single, "We Shall Dance", which was released on the album "On the Greek Side of My Mind". This album and the single jumped into the top five of all the national hit parades of Italy, Spain, France, Holland, Germany and Scandinavia.
Some months later, Demis met with his old friend of the "We Five", Lakis Vlavianos. Lakis was then going through an inspired period and wrote many songs which Demis recorded; these turned into a string of number one hits all over the world, including: "Forever And Ever", "My Friend the Wind", and "Velvet Morning".
After his second child, Cyril, was born in 1975, Demis toured the globe for eight years with his second wife and child. In Brazil, he packed a stadium of 150 000 people--an event that was achieved in that particular stadium twice only. (The other previous artist was Frank Sinatra.) In fact, Demis sold enough records to gain a name in the Guinness Book of records among the personalities of show business in the 70’s and the eighties. He was awarded more than a hundred golden, platinum, and diamond albums and cassettes.
His unique dressing style was often considered eccentric but Demis was following his instinct which told him that the music he was performing should match with the combination of looks between the glorious Byzantine Empire and the Arabic Caftan.
In 1978 his instinct told him again that he should retire for a while, thinking of new things concerning his career and life. And so he took his family to an area of the world where he was unknown, Malibu Beach, California. There, Demis lost over 50 kilograms. He returned to Europe and lived a quieter life between England and Greece, alone with his son, Cyril.
On June 14 1985, wile he was travelling from Athens to Rome, a decisive event occurred. Demis’s TWA airplane was hijacked by terrorists. After two days in that plane praying, Demis was held three days in the prison of Beyrouth with his third wife. Like many other survivors, he went through the shock of a traumatic experience. After that, Demis said he had never understood so well the importance of the nations living in peace and how precious life is when you see death so close. He felt more than ever that his contribution for a better tomorrow could be via music and so decided to return to the recording and performance scene.
He recorded twenty songs and compiled an album called "The story of Demis Roussos". With this album, Demis started to world tour again and found a nostalgic audience who had missed his magic voice. In 1986 Demis toured the USSR for three weeks and was invited to join important scientists, writers and artists at the forum for peace and disarmament in Moscow, during February 1987.
Later that year, during a tight TV schedule in Chile, Demis insisted on fitting in a visit to the Earth summit in Rio to get a clearer picture of the environmental problems, which were a main concern for Demis.
Since then Demis had been a regular visitor of the charts with singles such as "Quand je t’aime" and "On écrit sur les murs", and albums such as "Voice and Vision" and "Immortel".
Since 2008, Demis had been living in Greece by the sea. After being one of the most talented singers of his century, Demis was still working on more magical offerings, with the blessing of music and God.
He died aged 68, on the Hygeia Hospital in Athens on January 25, 2015.
Après la fin du monde
Demis Roussos Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Le ciel aura deux fois mille ans
Les poissons seront caravelles
Les oiseaux, poissons d'océan
L'avenir sera éternel
Et les fantômes seront vivants
La lune rejoindra le soleil
Dans une explosion de diamants
Après la fin du monde
Il restera seulement
Dans l'éclat d'une bombe
Les larmes d'un enfant
Après la fin du monde
Il restera caché
Dans le fond d'une tombe
Le souvenir brûlant des jours passés
La terre se changera en ciel
Le ciel aura deux fois mille ans
Les poissons seront caravelles
Les oiseaux, poissons d'océan
L'avenir sera éternel
Et les fantômes seront vivants
La lune rejoindra le soleil
Dans une explosion de diamants
Après la fin du monde
Il restera peut-être
Un sentiment de honte
Un homme à sa fenêtre
Après la fin du monde
Il restera en bleu
Dans le fond d'une tombe
Le souvenir brûlant des jours heureux
Après la fin du monde
Il renaîtra un jour
L'idée de refaire l'amour
Un poème d'Aragon
La cathédrale de Reims
Quelques pages du Petit Prince
Après la fin du monde
La musique de Mozart
Jouera dans les galaxies
Et les villas de Rome
Paris et ses boulevards
Seront des photographies
Après la fin du monde
Il restera quand même
Une peinture de Picasso
Une chanson de Trenet
Une dernière baleine,
Le Christ à Corcovado
Après la fin du monde
Il renaîtra un jour
L'idée de refaire l'amour
Il y aura d'autres hommes
Pour aimer d'autres femmes
Dans un monde toujours plus beau
Après la fin du monde
Il renaîtra un jour
L'idée de refaire l'amour
Un poème d'Aragon
La cathédrale de Reims
Quelques pages du Petit Prince.
The lyrics of "Après la fin du monde" describe the world after the end of the world as we know it. The first verse describes a beautiful and eternal future where the Earth turns into the sky, fish become ships, and birds become ocean fish. This description of the afterlife is very poetic and otherworldly, indicating the idea of a paradise beyond our current comprehension. There is also a hopeful tone in the descriptions, which suggests that even after the end of the world, there is something beautiful and lasting.
The second verse is more melancholic and describes what is left after the apocalypse. A child's tears from the explosion are the only remnants of the past, and memories kept safe in a tomb are all that remains of happier days. The third verse is a contrast between the previous two verses, with its uplifting message about rebirth and renewal. It suggests that some things can survive even after the end of the world, like the idea of love, art, and beauty, and that these things will continue to inspire us.
Overall, the song presents a thought-provoking perspective on the end of the world, painting a picture of a new beginning full of hope and promise.
Line by Line Meaning
La terre se changera en ciel
The earth will transform into heaven
Le ciel aura deux fois mille ans
The sky will last for two thousand years
Les poissons seront caravelles
Fish will become like ships
Les oiseaux, poissons d'océan
Birds will turn into ocean fish
L'avenir sera éternel
The future will be eternal
Et les fantômes seront vivants
Ghosts will come to life
La lune rejoindra le soleil
The moon will merge with the sun
Dans une explosion de diamants
In an explosion of diamonds
Après la fin du monde
After the end of the world
Il restera seulement
There will be only
Dans l'éclat d'une bombe
In the light of a bomb
Les larmes d'un enfant
The tears of a child
Il restera caché
It will remain hidden
Dans le fond d'une tombe
In the depths of a tomb
Le souvenir brûlant des jours passés
The burning memory of days gone by
Il restera peut-être
Perhaps there will still be
Un sentiment de honte
A feeling of shame
Un homme à sa fenêtre
A man at his window
Il restera en bleu
It will remain blue
Le souvenir brûlant des jours heureux
The burning memory of happy days
Il renaîtra un jour
It will be reborn one day
L'idée de refaire l'amour
The idea of making love again
Un poème d'Aragon
A poem by Aragon
La cathédrale de Reims
The Reims Cathedral
Quelques pages du Petit Prince
A few pages from The Little Prince
La musique de Mozart
The music of Mozart
Jouera dans les galaxies
Will play throughout the galaxies
Et les villas de Rome
And the villas of Rome
Paris et ses boulevards
Paris and its boulevards
Seront des photographies
Will be photographs
Il restera quand même
There will still be
Une peinture de Picasso
A painting by Picasso
Une chanson de Trenet
A song by Trenet
Une dernière baleine,
One last whale,
Le Christ à Corcovado
Christ the Redeemer at Corcovado
Il y aura d'autres hommes
There will be other men
Pour aimer d'autres femmes
To love other women
Dans un monde toujours plus beau
In a world that's always more beautiful
Contributed by Kylie Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Leila Zanatta Giordani
Sempre maravilhoso ouvir Demis😍❤🙏
nicolemussy
très jolie vidéo belles images avec cette superbe chanson!
X05Radar
Hi Nicole,I remember you from long time ago
Maria Georgina Silva
Maravilhosa voz única e rouquinha. Amooooo este romântico grego. Bálsamo para a alma.
Michela Blanco
J'ADORE,j'taime DEMIS ROUSSUS GRAND'HOMME💖🌹
Ana Salomão
Deus o pôs no mundo perfeito com o dom de cantar i encantar o levou para completar ti com um par de.Asas pois tu.es anjo 😇💥💥💥
Maria Azenaide Ferreira Rodrigues
Bela voz
Anna Mazzucchelli
Adoro Demis qualsiasi canzone canti... Per il motivo che le canta tutte bene sono belle..... Lui le canta con tutto sé stesso ci mette passione amore... Ci invoglia all'ascolto un artista unico
Ana Salomão
Quando Deus criou Ti. Ele não deixo nada a desejar tu es perfeito.esseto
Talal Ahmed
What a great singer Demis Roussos was