La Bohème is a song written by French lyricist

Jacques Plante Joseph Jacques Omer Plante (; January 17, 1929 – February 27, 1986) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. During a career lasting from 1947 to 1975, he was considered to be one of the most important innovators in hockey. He played ...

and

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

musician

Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...

. It is Aznavour's

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, as well as one of the most popular

-language songs and a staple of French

chanson A (, , french: chanson française, link=no, ; ) is generally any lyric-driven French song, though it most often refers to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval and Renaissance music. The genre had origins in the monophonic so ...

Lyrics

A painter, recalling his younger years in

Montmartre Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...

, remembers his artistic life and the years when he was hungry but happy. According to Aznavour, this song is a farewell to the last days of

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

Montmartre. He also recorded

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, and

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versions, as well as a rare

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recording. It was performed at virtually every one of his concerts.

International charts

The song was first recorded by Aznavour in 1965. It became an international hit song in 1965 and was in TOP10 charts of

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(No. 3), Brazil (especially

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

(No. 5)), France (No. 1) and other countries.

Cover versions

Gigliola Cinquetti Gigliola Cinquetti (; born Giliola Cinquetti on 20 December 1947) is an Italian singer, songwriter, and television presenter. Life and career Gigliola Cinquetti was born into a wealthy family in Verona. From the ages of 9 to 13, she studied and ...

recorded a version of the song in Italian in 1966. The Greek Cypriot singer

Anna Vissi Anna Vissi ( el, Άννα Βίσση, , ; born 20 December 1957), is a Greek Cypriot singer and songwriter. She studied music at conservatories and performed locally before moving to the professional scene in Athens, in 1973, where she signed ...

recorded a version of the song in Greek for her 1981 self-titled album. The song was called "Kséhasé me" (''Ξέχασέ με'', Forget me); Greek lyrics by

Yiannis Parios Yiannis Parios ( el, Γιάννης Πάριος) is a Greek singer, with a career spanning five decades. Biography Yiannis Parios was born Ioannis Varthakouris (Ιωάννης Βαρθακούρης) on the island of Paros. He made his firs ...

. It was later done in English by

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, who included their version as a filler track for the release of their single "No More Talk". In 1983, serbian singer Dragan Stojnic recorded a version of La Bohéme in Serbian on his album ''C' est la vie''

In 2004, Jason Kouchak recorded a version of this song for Aznavour's 80th birthday . In 2005, Mafalda Arnauth, a Portuguese

fado Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a music genre that can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado was ...

singer recorded a version of this song for her fourth album

Diário ''Diário'' is the fourth album by Portuguese fado singer Mafalda Arnauth Mafalda Arnauth (born October 1974) is a Portuguese fado singer. Life and career Arnauth was born in Lisbon, Portugal, in October 1974, and her career began in 1995 ...

. A re-interpretation was also done by electronic musician

Nicolas Jaar Nicolas Jaar (; ; es, Nicolás; born January 10, 1990) is a Chilean-American composer and recording artist based in New York. Among his notable works are the albums '' Space Is Only Noise'' (2011), ''Sirens'' (2016), and '' Cenizas'' (2020). H ...

, who used it in many of his live sets.

Kendji Girac Kendji "Girac" Jason Maillié (; born July 3, 1996), also known mononymously as Kendji, is a French singer-songwriter. He is the winner of season 3 of the music competition '' The Voice: la plus belle voix'' as part of Team Mika. He has release ...

's interpretation of the song, heavily influenced by Spanish and Romani culture, appeared on the 2014 tribute album '' Aznavour, sa jeunesse''. It reached number 61 on the French SNEP singles chart. The African-Spanish singer Buika recorded a version of the song in Spanish, called "La Bohemia," for her 2008 album, ''Niña de Fuego''. Angelina Jordan recorded an English version of the song on her 2018 album ''It's Magic''. Armenian jazz singer

Elvina Makarian Elvina may refer to: Places *Elviña, Spain, town where the Battle of Corunna took place *Castro de Elviña, ruined site in Galicia, Spain *Elvina Bay, New South Wales, bay in northern Sydney, Australia People * Elvina M. Hall (1818-1889), Americ ...

covered the song on her album ''International''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boheme (Charles Aznavour song) Songs about nostalgia Songs about Paris Charles Aznavour songs French songs Songs written by Charles Aznavour 1965 songs 1965 singles Barclay (record label) singles Montmartre Bohemianism

Lyrics

International charts

Cover versions

See also

References