Charles Aznavour
J’ai appris alors lyrics with English translation
- Language
- French
- Level
- Intermediate
- Released
- 1957
- Genre
- French Pop, Ballad
- Length
- 2:04
Je n'ai jamais connu mon père
I've never known my father
Étant né de père inconnu
Born of an unknown dad
Aussi j'ai grandi sans manière
So I grew up without a care
Sans que personne ne m'ait reconnu
Without anyone ever knowing me
Tout petit je fauchais aux étalages
As a little one, I stole from the stands
Ce que ma mère ne pouvait acheter
What my mother couldn't buy
Il faut bien manger à tout âge
One must eat well at every age
J'ai appris alors à tricher
I learned then how to cheat
À 16 ans au marché au puces
At sixteen at the flea market
J'ai reçu un grand choc au cœur
I received a great shock to my heart
D'une fille qu'avait 15 ans au plus
Of a girl who was barely 15
Qui était roulée comme le bonheur
Who was wrapped up like happiness
Je la guettais au coin de la rue
I watched her at the corner of the street
Rien que pour la regarder passer
Just to see her walk by
Elle avait la mine ingénue
She had an innocent look
J'ai appris alors à rêver
I then learned how to dream
Un jour fatigué de la suivre
One day, tired of following her
Je lui ai parlée simplement
I spoke to her simply
En ces cas-là ce qui arrive
In these cases, what happens
Est arrivé évidemment
Happened, obviously
On s'est fait des milliers de promesses
We made each other thousands of promises
Se jurant de toujours s'aimer
Swearing to always love one another
Quand j'ai cueilli sa jeunesse
When I gathered her youth
J'ai appris alors à chanter
I learned then to sing
Mais elle est partie sans rien dire
But she left without saying a word
Un matin, je ne sais pourquoi
One morning, I don't know why
Je suis resté là à sourire
I stayed there smiling
Dieu que l'on est bête parfois
God, how foolish we can be sometimes
Jour après jour, heure après heure
Day after day, hour after hour
J'ai appris ce qu'était pleurer
I learned what it meant to cry
Et comme son souvenir demeure
And as her memory lingers
Il faut que j'apprenne à oublier
I must learn to forget
Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com
Key vocabulary
- jour
- dayA1
- là
- thereA1
- manger
- eatA1
- manière
- wayA1
- marché
- marketA1
- matin
- morningA1
- suivre
- followA1
- toujours
- alwaysA1
- tout
- allA1
- grandi
- grow upB1
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About this song
Charles Aznavour was a French-Armenian singer and actor whose music blended French chanson with Eastern European folk, American jazz, tango, and Middle Eastern influences. He was known for a long-running career marked by thousands of recordings and his songwriting, composing or co-composing over a thousand songs for himself and other artists.