1964 song by Charles Aznavour
"
Hier encore
", whose original
French
title translates to "
Just yesterday
" or "
Not so long ago
", is a song composed by
Georges Garvarentz
and written by
Charles Aznavour
and released in September 1964.
[1]
History
[
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]
It was subsequently released in
English
as "
Yesterday, When I Was Young
", in
Italian
as "
Ieri Si
", in Danish as "
Hvor tiden gar
", in Japanese ?り?ぬ?春 ("
Kaeri Konu Seishun
"), in
Spanish
as "
Ayer aun
", "
Eilen kun ma tiennyt en
" in Finnish, "
Kdy? jsem ja byl tenkrat kluk
" in Czech and "
Μ?λι? χθε?
" 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
[
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]
In the United States, the best-known version was recorded by country musician
Roy Clark
. 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.
[2]
In Canada, the song reached number seven on the singles chart, as well as reaching number two on the country chart, and number one AC.
Chart performance
[
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]
Other notable cover versions
[
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]
Charles Aznavour
had a European hit single with his version in 1970. Later he performed this song with
Patrick Bruel
in a live performance. This version can be heard on Aznavour's
40 chansons d'or
album.
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
,
Shirley Bassey
,
Dusty Springfield
,
Roy Clark
,
Mel Torme
,
Jack Jones
,
Lena Horne
,
Andy Williams
,
Bebe Buell
,
Jimmy Durante
,
[6]
Bobby Bare
,
Al Martino
,
The Peanuts
,
Glen Campbell
,
Julio Iglesias
, Tony Kenny,
Eddy Mitchell
,
Dean Reed
,
[7]
Johnny Mathis
,
Marc Almond
,
Patricia Kaas
,
Matt Monro
,
Lena Martell
,
Nora Aunor
,
Willie Nelson
,
Elina Duni
,
Milva
, etc., and an uptempo version by
Blossom Dearie
. According to
Billboard
, more than 90 versions of the song were recorded before 1972.
[8]
In 2008, Aznavour and
Elton John
performed "Yesterday When I Was Young" for Aznavour's
Duos
album.
[9]
In 2018, Ghassan Yammine released a version on MTV in his "Musical" show.
In 2020,
Willie Nelson
released a version on his album
First Rose of Spring
.
Detroit
rapper GlockBoyz Teejae sampled the song in his track "Wack Jumper".
In 2023,
Bad Bunny
sampled the song in "
Monaco
" off of his album
Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Manana
.
Charts
[
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]
Charles Aznavour version
[
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]
Chart (1970?71)
|
Peak
position
|
Netherlands
|
3
|
Belgium
[10]
|
6
|
Tony Kenny version
[
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]
Chart (1974)
|
Peak
position
|
Ireland (
IRMA
)
[11]
|
12
|
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Catalog of copyright entries - Volume 10, Part 1, Issue 1 - 1967, p. 232
- ^
Falkner, David (December 14, 1995).
"The Last Days of Mickey Mantle"
. Dallas Observer
. Retrieved
December 12,
2015
.
- ^
"Toutes les Chansons N° 1 des Annees 70"
(in French). InfoDisc
. Retrieved
11 March
2019
.
- ^
Whitburn, Joel
(2002).
Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001
. Record Research. p. 57.
- ^
Whitburn, Joel
(2004).
The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition
. Record Research. p. 81.
- ^
Billboard 8 Jul 1972
- ^
Porque yo te amo, SHS
- ^
Billboard 8 Jul 1972
- ^
Charles Aznavour & Elton John - Yesterday When I Was Young, UltraTop
- ^
Song artist 689 - Charles Aznavour, TSORT
- ^
"
The Irish Charts ? Search Results ? Yesterday When I Was Young"
.
Irish Singles Chart
. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
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