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 ...
title translates to "Just yesterday" or "Not so long ago", is a song composed by
Georges Garvarentz
Georges Diran Garvarentz ( hy, Ժորժ Տիրան Կառվարենց, 1 April 1932 - 19 March 1993) was an Armenian- French composer, noted for his music for films and Charles Aznavour's songs.
Biography
Georges Garvarentz was born in Athens, G ...
It was subsequently released in English as "Yesterday, When I Was Young", in Italian as "Ieri Si", in Danish as "Hvor tiden går", in Japanese 帰り来ぬ青春 ("Kaeri Konu Seishun"), in Spanish as "Ayer aún", "Eilen kun mä tiennyt en" in Finnish, "Když jsem já byl tenkrát kluk" in Czech and "Μόλις χθες" in Greek. It is considered one of Aznavour's greatest hits.
The English-language lyrics, written by Herbert Kretzmer, tell of someone reflecting on his life, recalling how he had wasted his younger years on hedonistic pursuits, and now that he is older, he is unable to do everything that he had planned; the lyrical implication is that the person may be close to impending death.
Roy Clark version
In the United States, the best-known version was recorded by country musician
Roy Clark
Roy Linwood Clark (April 15, 1933 – November 15, 2018) was an American singer and musician. He is best known for having hosted ''Hee Haw'', a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969 to 1997. Clark was an important and influen ...
. His version, under the English title "Yesterday When I Was Young," became his biggest hit up to that time on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart, peaking at No. 9 in August 1969, and indeed, it became his only top 40 pop hit, peaking at No. 19. Clark performed the song at Mickey Mantle's funeral in 1995, at Mantle's personal request. In Canada, the song reached number seven on the pop chart, number two on the country chart, and number one AC.
Chart performance
Other notable cover versions
Charles Aznavour had a European hit single with his version in 1970. Later he performed this song with
Patrick Bruel
Patrick Benguigui (; born 14 May 1959), better known by his stage name Patrick Bruel (), is a French singer-songwriter, actor and professional poker player.
Biography
Early life
Patrick is the son of Pierre Benguigui and Augusta Kammoun, d ...
in a live performance. This version can be heard on Aznavour's
40 chansons d'or
''40 chansons d'or'' is a double- CD by Charles Aznavour, released in 1994 on EMI Records. It was reissued in 1996 with a different track listing.Amanda Lear recorded her personal version for her 2001 album '' Heart.''
The song has been performed and recorded by many international stars, such as
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
,
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...
Roy Clark
Roy Linwood Clark (April 15, 1933 – November 15, 2018) was an American singer and musician. He is best known for having hosted ''Hee Haw'', a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969 to 1997. Clark was an important and influen ...
Jack Jones Jack Jones may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
*Jack Jones (American singer) (born 1938), American jazz and pop singer
*Jack Jones, stage name of Australian singer Irwin Thomas (born 1971)
*Jack Jones (Welsh musician) (born 1992), Welsh mu ...
,
Lena Horne
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...
,
Andy Williams
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Bebe Buell
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Jimmy Durante
James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced song ...
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Bobby Bare
Robert Joseph Bare Sr. (born April 7, 1935) is an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for the songs "Marie Laveau", " Detroit City" and "500 Miles Away from Home". He is the father of Bobby Bare Jr., also a musician.
Early ca ...
Eddy Mitchell
Claude Moine (; born 3 July 1942), known professionally as Eddy Mitchell, is a French singer and actor. He began his career in the late 1950s, with the group Les Chaussettes Noires (The Black Socks). He took the name ''Eddy'' from the American ...
Johnny Mathis
John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...
Nora Aunor
Nora Cabaltera Villamayor (born May 21, 1953), professionally known as Nora Aunor (), is a Filipino actress, recording artist, and film producer. Aunor has also appeared in several stage plays, television shows and concerts. She is known as Ph ...
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
, more than 90 versions of the song were recorded before 1972.
In 2008, Aznavour and
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
First Rose of Spring
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.'' Detroit rapper GlockBoyz Teejae sampled the song in his track "Wack Jumper".