This is a request from my friend Paul who has these lyrics on his fridge. Hier Encore “Only yesterday” was written in 1961 and has subsequently been released in English with the title “Yesterday when I was young”, and, according to Wikipedia, Italian and Spanish.
Videos for both the French and English versions are given here. As we’ve mentioned before, when a song is translated from another language with the intention of actually creating a credible song it is necessary, in order to retain the flavour of the poetry, to restructure parts of the song. Indeed, the English release is a rewrite/reinterpretation of the original rather than a translation.
My translation differs, as usual, from the released English translation for this reason, in that we want here to explain the French lyrics which will then allow the listener to enjoy the poetry in the original language.
I think my translation has come out well with more poetry than I would have expected. A whole bunch of interesting verbs in this one!
Verbs
| Caresser | To stroke, caress, cherish, play |
Hier encore j’avais vingt ans, je caressais le temps et jouais de la vie | |
Only yesterday I was twenty years old, I played with time and played with life | |
| Fonder | To found, create, establish |
J’ai fait tant de projets qui sont restés en l’air, j’ai fondé tant d’espoirs qui se sont envolés | |
I made so many plans which hung in the air, I created so many hopes which flew away | |
| Gaspiller | To waste, squander |
Hier encore j’avais vingt ans, je gaspillais le temps en croyant l’arrêter | |
Only yesterday I was twenty years old, I wasted time while believing I could stop it | |
| Devancer | To be ahead of, to anticipate |
Et pour le retenir même le devancer, je n’ai fait que courir et me suis essoufflé | |
And in order to keep it, even outrun it, I did nothing but run and lost my breath | |
| Essouffler | To be out of breath |
Et pour le retenir même le devancer, je n’ai fait que courir et me suis essoufflé | |
And to keep it, even outrun it, I did nothing but run and lost my breath | |
| Conjuguer | To conjugate, combine |
Ignorant le passé conjuguant au futur je précédais de moi toute conversation | |
Unaware of the past joining with the future I put myself at the centre of every conversation | |
| Précéder | To go in front of, to precede |
Ignorant le passé conjuguant au futur je précédais de moi toute conversation | |
Unaware of the past joining with the future I put myself at the centre of every conversation
| |
| Gâcher | To throw away |
Par ma faute j’ai fait le vide autour de moi et j’ai gâché ma vie et mes jeunes années | |
It's my fault that I created this emptiness around me and I wasted my life and my youth | |
| Figer | To thicken, solidify |
Du meilleur et du pire en jetant le meilleur j’ai figé mes sourires et j’ai glacé mes pleurs | |
For better or for worse, while throwing out the best, I set my smiles in stone and froze my tears | |
Vocabulary
| La désinvolture | Casual manner |
Et donnais mon avis que je voulais le bon pour critiquer le monde avec désinvolture | |
And gave my opinion that I felt I was the one to criticize the world so easily | |
Phrases / Idioms
| Compter sur | To count on, to rely on |
Je vivais la nuit sans compter sur mes jours qui fuyaient dans les temps | |
I lived at night, having no need for my days which fled so quickly | |
| Dans les temps | Timely, early |
Je vivais la nuit sans compter sur mes jours qui fuyaient dans les temps | |
I lived at night, having no need for my days which fled so quickly | |
| Mis en terre | Buried (as opposed to mis à terre - “knocked down”) |
Les yeux cherchant le ciel mais le cœur mis en terre | |
My eyes looking to the sky but my heart buried in the ground | |
| Perdre les temps | To waste time |
Hier encore j’avais vingt ans mais j’ai perdu mon temps a faire des folies | |
Only yesterday I was twenty but I wasted my time doing silly things | |
Hier encore - Charles Aznavour | Only yesterday (translation of Hier encore by Charles Aznavour) |
| Hier encore | Only yesterday | |
| J'avais vingt ans | I was twenty years old | |
| Je caressais le temps | I played with time | |
| Et jouais de la vie | And played with life | |
| Comme on joue de l'amour | As one plays with love | |
| Et je vivais la nuit | And I lived at night | |
| Sans compter sur mes jours | Having no need for my days | |
| Qui fuyaient dans les temps | Which fled so quickly | |
| J'ai fait tant de projets | I made so many plans | |
| Qui sont restés en l'air | Which hung in the air | |
| J'ai fondé tant d'espoirs | I created so many hopes | |
| Qui se sont envolés | Which flew away | |
| Que je reste perdu | So I stayed lost | |
| Ne sachant où aller | Not knowing where to go | |
| Les yeux cherchant le ciel | My eyes looking to the sky | |
| Mais le cœur mis en terre | But my heart buried in the ground | |
| Hier encore | Only yesterday | |
| J'avais vingt ans | I was twenty years old | |
| Je gaspillais le temps | I wasted time | |
| En croyant l'arrêter | Believing I could stop it | |
| Et pour le retenir | And in order to keep it | |
| Même le devancer | Even outrun it | |
| Je n'ai fait que courir | I did nothing but run | |
| Et me suis essoufflé | And lost my breath | |
| Ignorant le passé | Being unaware of the past | |
| Conjuguant au futur | Joining with the future | |
| Je précédais de moi | I put myself at the centre | |
| Toute conversation | Of every conversation | |
| Et donnais mon avis | And gave my opinion | |
| Que je voulais le bon | That I wanted to be the one | |
| Pour critiquer le monde | To criticize the world | |
| Avec désinvolture | With ease | |
| Hier encore | Only yesterday | |
| J'avais vingt ans | I was twenty years old | |
| Mais j'ai perdu mon temps | But I wasted my time | |
| A faire des folies | Doing silly things | |
| Qui ne me laissent au fond | Which leave me in the end with | |
| Rien de vraiment précis | Nothing very much | |
| Que quelques rides au front | Except a few wrinkles | |
| Et la peur de l'ennui | And the fear of boredom | |
| Car mes amours sont mortes | For my loves have died | |
| Avant que d'exister | Before they existed | |
| Mes amis sont partis | My friends have left | |
| Et ne reviendront pas | And will not return | |
| Par ma faute j'ai fait | It's my fault that I created | |
| Le vide autour de moi | This emptiness around me | |
| Et j'ai gâché ma vie | And I wasted my life | |
| Et mes jeunes années | And my youth | |
| Du meilleur et du pire | For better or for worse | |
| En jetant le meilleur | While throwing out the best | |
| J'ai figé mes sourires | I set my smiles in stone | |
| Et j'ai glacé mes pleurs | And I froze my tears | |
| Où sont-ils à présent | And where are they now | |
| A présent mes vingt ans? | Now, my twenty years? |
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Just beautiful. makes you want to shed a tear. awsom mood.
ive only just discovered monsieur aznavour and im in the process of buying ALL his albums-i love his voice so much and play the tunes constantly.
and wow, the difference in songs! you`re right about the poetry aspect being lost in translation and although i like them both, personally i prefer the french version.
thanks for the translation.
lovely site.
hurrah! found you again on my new hardware and thats good!
i was actually looking for a translation to another charles Aznavour song- Et Bailler Et Dormir, but no worries-have the gist of it, i think he`s very tired. lol
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