• Skip to main content
  • My Training Programs
  • Articles and Tutorials
    • The Fitness Index
    • Nutrition Index
    • Inspirational Index
    • Science Index
  • About Antranik
    • About Antranik
    • Online Coaching
  • Members Area
    • Login
    • Account
    • Quick and Effective Strength
    • Smart Core
    • Work From Home Fitness
    • Hypertrophy
    • Rings Routine
    • Easy Hamstrings
    • Hip Flexibility
    • Shoulders & Upper Back
    • Front Splits Fast

Antranik.org

Strength & Flexibility Expert

Like! Follow! Subscribe!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Homage to Timeless [French] Music

Even though I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, I was raised as an Armenian first.  This means several things to me, but when it comes to music specifically, it means my ears were constantly exposed to a very wide range of international music regularly including Armenian, Russian, French, Arabic, Spanish, Italian and Greek music.

Here is a French song I would like to introduce to you: La Bohéme by Charles Aznavour.  In the video below, a very young Charles Aznavour is performing this song at the Olympia in Paris, France in 1968 with English captions.

Click here to see the French lyrics and English translation of La Boheme. This is a fun way to learn French, if you're into that!

French

La boheme

Je vous parle d’un temps
Que les moins de vingt ans ne peuvent pas connaître
Montmartre en ce temps-là accrochait ses lilas
Jusque sous nos fenêtres et si l’humble garni
Qui nous servait de nid ne payait pas de mine
C’est là qu’on s’est connu
Moi qui criait famine et toi qui posais nue

La bohème, la bohème. Ça voulait dire on est heureux
La bohème, la bohème. Nous ne mangions qu’un jour sur deux

Dans les cafés voisins
Nous étions quelques-uns
Qui attendions la gloire et bien que miséreux
Avec le ventre creux
Nous ne cessions d’y croire et quand quelque bistro
Contre un bon repas chaud
Nous prenait une toile, nous récitions des vers
Groupés autour du poêle en oubliant l’hiver

La bohème, la bohème. Ça voulait dire tu es jolie
La bohème, la bohème et nous avions tous du génie

Souvent il m’arrivait
Devant mon chevalet
De passer des nuits blanches
Retouchant le dessin
De la ligne d’un sein
Du galbe d’une hanche et ce n’est qu’au matin
Qu’on s’asseyait enfin
Devant un café-crème
Epuisés mais ravis
Fallait-il que l’on s’aime et qu’on aime la vie

La bohème, la bohème. Ça voulait dire on a vingt ans
La bohème, la bohème et nous vivions de l’air du temps

Quand au hasard des jours
Je m’en vais faire un tour
A mon ancienne adresse
Je ne reconnais plus
Ni les murs, ni les rues
Qui ont vu ma jeunesse
En haut d’un escalier
Je cherche l’atelier
Dont plus rien ne subsiste
Dans son nouveau décor
Montmartre semble triste et les lilas sont morts

La bohème, la bohème. On était jeunes, on était fous
La bohème, la bohème. Ça ne veut plus rien dire du tout

English

La boheme

I am telling you about a time
That people under twenty years old would not know.
Montmartre at the time was hanging its lilacs
Up under our windows, and even if our modest furnished (room)
That we used as a nest did not look great,
This is where we met,
Me starving and you posing nude.

La boheme, la boheme, it meant we are happy.
La boheme, la boheme, we only ate every other day.

In the coffee shops nearby
We were a few
Waiting for glory, and although poor
With our empty bellies
We would not stop believing, and when some bistro
For a nice warm meal
Would take a painting, we recited verses,
Gathered around the stove while forgetting the winter.

La boheme, la boheme, it meant you are pretty.
La boheme, la boheme, and we were all talented.

Often I would,
In front of my easel,
Spend sleepless nights
Altering the drawing,
Of the line of a breast,
Of the curve of a hip, and only in the morning,
We would finally sit,
In front of a coffee with milk,
Exhausted but delighted.
We must have loved each other and loved life.

La boheme, la boheme, it meant we are twenty years old.
La boheme, la boheme, we lived from the air of the time [basically feeding ourselves from the floating trend, the present time].

When on a random day
I go for a walk
To my old address
I no longer recognize
Neither the walls, nor the streets
That witnessed my youth.
At the top of a stairway,
I look for the studio
Of which nothing remains.
In its new setting,
Montmartre seems sad and the lilacs are dead.

La boheme, la boheme. We were young, we were foolish.
La boheme, la boheme. It doesn’t mean anything anymore.

——————

History of La Bohéme

Turin, Piedmont, Italy

La Bohéme was originally a song called “Porta Pila” by Piedmontese singer Gipo Farassino in 1960 referring to his city of Turin in Piedmont.

Piedmont is a large mountainous region in northwestern Italy where over 2 million people speak Piedmontese.

Interestingly, piedmontese is not a dialect of Italian, but an endangered Romance language, of which there are 31 in Italy alone.

Charles Aznavour and Jacques Plante took the music of “Porta Pila” and created their own French version.  This is a classic of French chanson and Aznavour’s signature song. He later recorded Italian, Spanish, English and German versions as well.

 

If you liked the Aznavour version, you may also enjoy this French version sung by the beautiful Portuguese fado singer, Mafalda Arnauth:

Click here to find out what is Portuguese fado music!

Fado is a rich music genre from Portugal and it’s portuguese for destiny or fate.   There are two kinds of fado music.  They both incorporate the Portuguese guitar and may also be called saudade (for which there is no perfect translated word in English). One is from Lisbon and the other from Coimbra (both are cities of Portugal).  The Lisbon style is the most popular, while Coimbra’s is the more classic style.

Carlos Paredes is my favorite artist of the classic fado style.  He helped make the Portuguese guitar known all around the world. Here is the melancholic and lovely Canção verdes anos by Carlos Paredes:

 

Also check out “Sa Jeunesse” by Charles Aznavour below which roughly translates to “One’s Youth.”

Click here to see the French lyrics and the English translation of the above song as well!

French

Sa jeunesse

Lorsque l’on tient
Entre ses mains
Cette richesse
Avoir vingt ans
Des lendemains
Pleins de promesses
Quand l’amour sur nous se penche
Pour nous offrir ses nuits blanches

Lorsqeu l’on voit
Loin devant soi
Rire la vie
Brodée d’espoir
Riche de joies
Et de folies
Il faut boire jusqu’à l’ivresse
Sa jeunesse

Car tous les instants
De nos vingt ans
Nous sont comptés
Et jamais plus
Le temps perdu
Ne nous fait face
Il passe

Souvent en vain
On tend les mains
Et l’on regrette
Il est trop tard
Sur son chemin
Rien ne l’arrête
On ne peut garder sans cesse
Sa jeunesse

Avant que de sourire et nous quittons l’enfance
Avant que de savoir la jeunesse s’en fuit
Cela semble si court que l’on est tout surpris
Qu’avant que le comprendre on quitte l’existence

Lorsque l’on tient
Entre ses mains
Cette richesse
Avoir vingt ans
Des lendemains
Pleins de promesses
Quand l’amour sur nous se penche
Pour nous offrir ses nuits blanches

Lorsque l’on voit
Loin devant soi
Rire la vie
Brodée d’espoir
Riche de joies
Et de folies
Il faut boire jusqu’à l’ivresse
Sa jeunesse

Car tous les instants
De nos vingt ans
Nous sont comptés
Et jamais plus
Le temps perdu
Ne nous fait face
Il passe

Souvent en vain
On tend les mains
Et l’on regrette
Il est trop tard
Sur son chemin
Rien ne l’arrête
On ne peut garder sans cesse
Sa jeunesse…

English

His Youth

His youth
When one holds
Between his hands
This wealth
Of being twenty
Tomorrows
Full of promises
When love leans on us
To give us its sleepless nights

When we see
Far ahead
Laugh at life
Embroidered with hope
Rich of choice
And craziness
We have to drink ’til drunkenness
Our youth

Because every moment
from our twenties
Are counted
And never again
Will the time lost
Face us again
It goes by

Often in vain
We hold out our hands
And we regret
It is too late
On its way
Nothing stops it
We can’t constantly keep
Our youth

Before smiling and we leave childhood
Before knowing youth runs away
It seems so short that we’re all surprised
Before understanding it we leave existence

When one holds
Between his hands
This wealth
Of being twenty
Tomorrows
Full of promises
When love leans on us
To give us its sleepless nights

When we see
Far ahead
Laugh at life
Embroidered with hope
Rich of choice
And craziness
We have to drink ’til drunkenness
Our youth

Because every moment
from our twenties
Is counted
And never again
Will the time lost
Face us again
It goes by

Often in vain
We hold out our hands
And we regret
It is too late
On its way
Nothing stops it
We can’t constantly keep
Our youth

That’s all folks!

Want To Get Strong and Flexible? 💪 Check Out My Programs!

Front Splits Fast Program

This program will help you achieve the front splits in such a simple and straightforward manner that you will be blown away! You will find great elegance in its … [Read More]

The Quick and Effective Workout Program

Looking for a simple and straightforward bodyweight-oriented strength training routine that doesn't take too much time? You're not the only one! A survey I … [Read More]

Antranik’s Work From Home Fitness Program

In this day and age most people are working from home and struggling to find the balance between stagnation and moving to stay fit. This program was developed … [Read More]

Antranik’s Smart Core Program

I don't know about you but nothing gets me fired up more than working on my abs. It's a unique muscle group that is utilized in every exercise and making it … [Read More]

Shoulder & Upper Back Flexibility Program

For anyone who wants better shoulder health, shoulder flexibility, a looser upper back and improved posture, this program takes all the guess work out of it to … [Read More]

The Ultimate Flexibility Bundle

I have three premium flexibility programs that I offer and many of you have been clamoring for a bundle-package, so here it is! You could now buy the … [Read More]

Antranik’s Hip Flexibility Program

I've created this hip flexibility program for those that would like to improve their flexibility in an efficient manner, with a follow along video that only … [Read More]

Antranik’s Easy Hamstrings Program

For those who have poor flexibility, tight hamstrings and want a simple program that will help them to get looser in a gentle, non-painful manner. In this … [Read More]

Contact · Login

Start Training Smarter.

Join my newsletter and you'll get my strength training guide for free, exclusive discounts, and my latest insights!

Invalid email address
I promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing! Please check your email for the special offer.