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.
Mon Amour
Demis Roussos Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Agitez mes fleurs
C'est la vie d'une fille
Qui se lève toujours
Mais l'avenir est formidable
Et mes fleurs sont fraîches et aimables
Car je vais te trouver, mon amour, oui toi
Tout le monde m'assistera
Tout le monde connaît
Et tout le monde voit
La cerise du marché
Et sa boutique de fleurs
Mademoiselle, tu es formidable
Quand viens tu chez moi ?
Mon amour, tu es ma rose
Que ne va jamais passer
Je t'adore de jour en jour
Mademoiselle d'amour
Mon amour, tu es ma rose
Que ne va jamais passer
Je t'adore de jour en jour
Mademoiselle d'amour
One day, I went to the market place
And I saw she had disappeared
I asked everybody :
Have you seen the flower girl ?
No one… No one knew where she was
And I was desperate
One day I saw her to ?
And then : Catherine ! C'est toi !
Oui ! Mon amour !
Ma petite fleur !
Car je vais te trouver mon amour
Oui toi, tout le monde m'assistera
Mon amour, tu es ma rose
Que ne va jamais passer
Je t'adore de jour en jour
Mademoiselle d'amour
Mon amour, tu es ma rose
Que ne va jamais passer
Je t'adore de jour en jour
Mademoiselle d'amour
The song "Mon Amour" by Demis Roussos is about a girl who wakes up every day and faces the world with a positive attitude, despite her struggles. She asks for her legs and flowers to be shaken as she goes about her day. She believes that the future is bright and her flowers are fresh and kind. She expresses her hope to find her true love, the one who will assist her in all her endeavors, and declares that everyone knows and sees the best qualities in her. The singer, presumably the one who will be her love, admires the girl’s character and asks where she is when he cannot find her at the marketplace. He eventually finds her and calls her “Ma petite fleur” or “my little flower” as he professes his love for her.
Line by Line Meaning
Agitez mes jambes. Voilà !
Move my legs. There! (As though dancing)
Agitez mes fleurs
Move my flowers (As though dancing with them)
C'est la vie d'une fille Qui se lève toujours
It's the life of a girl who always rises (Gets up each day)
Mais l'avenir est formidable Et mes fleurs sont fraîches et aimables Car je vais te trouver, mon amour, oui toi Tout le monde m'assistera
But the future is amazing and my flowers are fresh and kind because I will find you, my love, yes you, everyone will help me
Tout le monde connaît Et tout le monde voit La cerise du marché Et sa boutique de fleurs Mademoiselle, tu es formidable Quand viens tu chez moi ?
Everyone knows and everyone sees the cherry blossom at the market and her flower shop. Miss, you are amazing. When are you coming to my place?
Mon amour, tu es ma rose Que ne va jamais passer Je t'adore de jour en jour Mademoiselle d'amour
My love, you are my rose that will never fade away. I adore you day by day, Miss of love
One day, I went to the market place And I saw she had disappeared I asked everybody : Have you seen the flower girl? No one… No one knew where she was And I was desperate One day I saw her to? And then : Catherine ! C'est toi !
One day, I went to the market place and saw that she had disappeared. I asked everyone if they had seen the flower girl but no one knew where she was, leaving me desperate. Then one day I saw her again and exclaimed: Catherine! It's you!
Oui ! Mon amour ! Ma petite fleur ! Car je vais te trouver mon amour Oui toi, tout le monde m'assistera
Yes! My love! My little flower! Because I will find you, my love, yes you, everyone will help me
Contributed by Josiah F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.