Before listening to the podcast above, please play the video below, while reading the lyrics in French and English underneath it. Let it play a couple of times and listen carefully to his pronunciation of the individual words. Once you know the song and its meaning, my commentary will be much more interesting. In the podcast, I will pick some words from the text to explain and comment. Hopefully this will help you to more easily remember them and learn to recognize them in spoken French.
Charles Aznavour is perhaps the most famous French singer who ever lived. He wrote and sang more than thousand songs. I am very fond of his voice, and also of the fact that many of his songs are like very touching short stories. This song is a good example. It tells of a man who has vowed to always love a woman (you can tell it is a woman by the female inclination of the verb venue, with an e at the end). They are about to get married. He is waiting for her in the church but she does not come. He is heartbroken, but vows again he will always love her, regardless of the pain she has caused him.
Sur ma vie
Written en performed by Charles Aznavour
| Sur ma vie | On my life |
| Je t’ai juré un jour | I have sworn to you one day |
| De t’aimer jusqu’au dernier jour de mes jours | To love you until the last day of my days |
| Et le même mot | And the same word |
| Devait très bientôt | Would very soon |
| Nous unir devant Dieu et les hommes | unite us before God and man |
| Sur ma vie je t’ai fait le serment | On my life I swore to you (I have made the sermon) |
| Que ce lien tiendrai jusqu’à la fin des temps | That this bond would hold until the end of time |
| Ainsi nous vivions | So we lived |
| Ivres de passion | Drunk with passion |
| Et mon cœur voulait t’offrir mon nom | And my heart wanted to offer you my name |
| Près des orgues qui chantaient | By the organs that were singing |
| Face à Dieu qui priait | Facing God who prayed |
| Heureux je t’attendais | Happily I was waiting for you |
| Mais les orgues se sont tues | But the organs fell silent |
| Et Dieu a disparu | And God disappeared |
| Car tu n’es pas venue | For you did not come (venir) |
| Sur ma vie | On my life |
| J’ai juré que mon cœur | I have sworn that my heart |
| Ne battrait jamais pour aucun autre cœur | Would never beat for any other heart |
| Et tout est perdu | And all is lost |
| Car il ne bat plus | For it beats no more |
| Mais il pleure mon amour déçu | But it weeps for my disappointed love |
| Sur ma vie | On my life |
| Je t’ai juré un jour | I have sworn to you one day |
| De t’aimer jusqu’au dernier jour de mes jours | To love you till the last day of my days |
| Et même à présent | And even now (at the present) |
| Je tiendrai serment | I’ll keep my oath |
| Malgré tout le mal que tu m’as fait | Despite all the wrong you’ve done to me |
| Sur ma vie | On my life |
| Chérie | Darling |
| Je t’aimerais | I will love you |
Words
| La vie | the life (viable, vive la France) |
| Jurer | swear (jury, juror) |
| Jour | day (journal) |
| Dernier | last |
| Très | very (très bon) |
| Unir | Unite (unique, make one – une) |
| Le serment | The sermon, here : the promise |
| Lien | Bond, link (the bank has a lien on our property) |
| La Fin | the end (final, finite, finish) |
| Passion | Passion |
| Cœur | Heart (cordial) Letter œ is a ligature of o and e. amœba and œstrogen. Here’s how to type it. |
| Offrir | Offer |
| Mon nom | my name (le nom) |
| Dieu | God (deity, Dieudonné, Mon Dieu !) |
| Mais | But |
| Disparu | Disappeared (to appear = apparaître -> dis(a)parraître) |
| Venue | (have) come (venir, venue, a place to show up) |
| Jamais | Never |
| Bat | Beats (battre = to beat) battle, batter, drum kit – batterie |
| À present | at present, now |
| Le mal | Bad of evil, malediction, malpractice, Malfoi (bad faith) |