The earliest version of the lyrics of Aranjuez is the French version, "Aranjuez, mon amour," written by French Guy Bontempelli (1940-2014). The song was sung by French pop star Richard Anthony in 1967 and quickly became an international best-selling hit.
The lyricist Guy Bontempelli is a versatile writer. He is also a composer, French translator, pianist, guitarist, singer, and can paint. He wrote songs for many internationally renowned female singers throughout his life, such as Nana Mouskouri of Greece, Brigitte Bardot of France, Dalida of Italy, etc. Another important achievement of his was co-writing the script for the musical "Mayflower" with Eric Charden in 1975. This musical gained him great international fame. Why did Bontempelli fill in the lyrics for Alain Huise's Adagio? So far, I have not heard any relevant statement from him or anyone else. In the 1960s, when Alain Huitz's adapted version, including instrumental arrangements and lyrics, became popular, Rodrigo, the author of the original song, was very disapproving. But there must have been an understanding later. In 1988, Bontempelli's lyrics, along with the musical score, were officially released by Rodrigo Press.
French lyrics and translation of “Aranjuez, Mon Amour”
Mon amour, sur l'eau des fontaines, mon amour
Ou le vent les amènent, mon amour
Le soir tombé, qu'on voit flotté
Des pétales de roses
My love, on the water of fountains, my love
Where the wind carries them, my love
As evening falls, we see drifting
Petals of roses
Mon amour et des murs se gercent mon amour
Au soleil au vent à l'averse et aux années qui vont passant
Depuis le matin de mai qu'ils sont venus
Et quand chantant, soudain ils ont écrit sur les murs du bout de leur fusil
De bien étranges choses
My love, and walls crack, my love
Under the sun, in the wind, in the rain, and as the years pass
Since the May morning when they came
And singing suddenly, they wrote on the walls with the tips of their rifles
Very strange things
Mon amour, le rosier suit les traces, mon amour
Sur le mur et enlace, mon amour
Leurs noms gravés et chaque été
D'un beau rouge sont les roses
My love, the rosebush follows the traces, my love
On the wall and entwines, my love
Their names engraved, and every summer
Beautiful red roses bloom
Mon amour, sèche les fontaines, mon amour
Au soleil au vent de la plaine et aux années qui vont passant
Depuis le matin de mai qu'il sont venus
La fleur au cœur, les pieds nus, le pas lent
Et les yeux éclairés d'un étrange sourire
My love, the fountains dry up, my love
Under the sun, in the wind of the plain, and as the years pass
Since the May morning when they came
With flowers in their hearts, barefoot, with slow steps
And eyes lit with a strange smile
Et sur ce mur lorsque le soir descend
On croirait voir des taches de sang
Ce ne sont que des roses !
And on this wall, as evening descends
One might think they see stains of blood
But they are only roses!
Aranjuez, mon amour
Aranjuez, my love
(Translated by AI)
Bontempelli's lyrics use poetic techniques, including symbols, metaphors, and similes. Some of them are difficult to understand and not easy to translate. For example, "They suddenly wrote many magical things on the wall with the tip of rifles" (maybe not the translation as this). I wonder if there is any allusion. It's hard to understand using this imagery to describe love. I hope friends and experts who understand French can give me some advice.
"Aranjuez, Mon Amour," written by Bontempelli, was first performed on the album of the same name, "Aranjuez, Mon Amour," released in 1967 by Richard Anthony (1938-2015, also known as Ricardo Abraham Btesh). This song created a huge pop trend. It is very popular not only in France but also in European and Latin American countries, and there are also lyrics in different languages. Anthony is often invited to perform this song on live TV shows. He often changes his singing style a little, which may make the song more memorable. In the same year, Anthony also sang "En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor" (With your love in Aranjuez), with Spanish lyrics filled in by others.
Richard Antony was born in Egypt to a Syrian Jewish family. His father was a diplomat. He lived with his father in Egypt and Argentina and also went to school in England. The family settled in Paris in 1951, but after his father died suddenly in 1965, Richard Antony, studying law, had to take on the important task of supporting the family. He worked as a door-to-door salesman during the day and played saxophone in Paris nightclubs at night. That started his music career. He recorded his first album in 1958, and by the early 1960s, he was already a popular pop star in France. He has recorded in French, English, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew, and other languages. He is nicknamed the "Father of Quiet Rock" and the "Bad Boy"; in 2011, Anthony received the Order of the Rose from French officials of arts and literature. He is a very popular legendary singer with a total record sales of more than 12 million records. The album "Aranjuez, Mon Amoiur" may be the representative work that established his international reputation. The title song, which is the same name as the record, is made in French chanson style, and his soft, husky, and soulful voice, coupled with his endearing "bad boy" expression when singing, has been popular for a while. Anthony used this alternative performance method to pay tribute to the original classical work, but the original composer, Rodrigo, opposed the record's release. But the popularity couldn't stop, and the album topped the Billboard box office charts in France and Spain the same year it debuted. It has achieved good rankings in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, and even Greece. Through YouTube videos, you can see Anthony’s style back then:
Anthony has sung and recorded the song "Aranjuez, Mon Amour" many times. Sometimes he sang "En Aranjuez Con tu Amor" in Spanish. We can easily find his singing videos on YouTube. At least until 2012, at 75, he was still singing affectionately on the stage. This classic song was one that he sang, and it became famous all over the world.
Aranjuez, Mon Amour Wonderful Recording Selection
In 1967, Richard Anthony sang "Aranjuez, My Love," which received a great response from the market. Many famous singers sang this French version in the same year and the following year. At the same time, versions of lyrics in other languages and versions adapted for different instruments and orchestras also spring up on the market.
Perhaps we should start by talking about Gloria Lasso (1922-2005), who probably sang the song earlier than Anthony. The Hispanic singer Gloria, who released several records yearly, should have been the goddess of the French music scene in the 1950s. It is said that she was replaced by the rising star Dalida (Dalida, 1933-1987) and then moved to Mexico. Dalida is of Italian descent, has been elected Miss Egypt, and sang the Italian version of Aranjuez. After Gloria moved to Mexico, Musart Records released a French song collection, "Gloria Lasso Canta En Frances," in 1965. Episode 16 included "Concierto de Aranjuez," which is actually " Aranjuez, mon amour." In the same year, there was also a set of "Lo Mejor De Gloria Lasso" (The Best of Gloria), the second episode of which also included "Aranjuez, mon amour." Therefore, it can be said that Gloria may have sung this song earlier than Richard Antony.
(But the information I am based on is from the second-hand record websites Discogs, Amazon, and YouTube. Is there any error in their information? I haven’t obtained the physical records of these records yet, so I can’t say for sure.)
Gloria has recorded this song many times, using different singing styles. Some are lyrical, and some are passionate. They are all very nice and can be found on the YOUTUBE website.
In 1967 and the following years, a long list of singers sang the French version of "Aranjuez, mon amour."
In 1967, Portugal's "Fado Queen" Amália Rodrigues (1920-1999) released an album called "Aranjuez, mon amour". FADO is a kind of Portuguese-style music, often with some melancholy and vicissitudes of life. And Aranjuez, sung by this fado queen, seemed particularly sad even though it was in French. Amalia is an amazing singer and is often considered a representative of Portuguese culture. She sang in many languages throughout her life, released 170 albums bearing her name in 30 countries, and sold over 30 million copies worldwide. She was buried posthumously in the Portuguese National Pantheon along with other outstanding Portuguese figures.
Became the first British singer to win the Eurovision Song Contest with "Puppet On A String." Sandie Shaw (1947-) is one of the most successful British female singers of the 1960s. She has three UK number-one singles, including "Puppet on a String," which was a "gold record" single with sales of over 4 million copies. Sandy was also awarded the highest honor of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). In addition to her singing career, Sandie founded her own Sandie Shaw fashion label in 1968, selling clothing, shoes, and jewelry. The same year, she hosted her own television show, "The Sandie Shaw Supplement," and released an album of the same name. Sandy sang the beautiful melody of "Aranjuez, mon amour" in this record with a girlish and pure voice. Sandy has caught up with the craze of Aranjuez covers in recent years. This album has done well and has been continuously reprinted and distributed worldwide.
Ginette Reno (1946-) is a Canadian writer, composer, singer, and actress. She has received numerous performing arts awards and achieved gold and platinum album sales. On the 1970 album Aimez-Le Si Fort, she sang Aranjuez, Mon Amour in a deeper and sadder way.
Although the singers who sing Aranjuez each have a different style, they are all full of emotion and beautiful to listen to.
Rosy Armen (1939-), a French female singer of Armenian origin who sings in multiple languages, sang Aranjuez, Mon Amour in the 1978 album Les Moulins de mon Coeur (The Windmills of Your Mind). She deliberately retained The Armenian imprint, making this French-language song sound a bit exotic. Rossi sings in French, Armenian, English, German, Spanish, Italian, and Russian, which is amazing!
The singer of the French song "Aranjuez, Mon Amour" is also a heavyweight superstar, the Greek national treasure Nana Mouskouri (1934-). As early as 1968, she sang the German version of Aranjuez-Melodie (Aranjuez Melodie, album of the same name) and later sang the Spanish and French versions. Nana may be the superstar who has sung the most Aranjuez versions, and she may have included this song the most frequently in various anthologies she has released over the years. I will have a particular article to introduce each version of her singing. Since high school, I've loved listening to Nana's songs but didn't pay attention to Aranjuez's music.
Yovanna, a Greek singer born 4 years after Nana, sang "Aranjuez, mon amour" beautifully and movingly with a relatively relaxed rhythm. Yovanna (Ιωάννα Φάσσου-Καλπαξή, Ioanna Fassou Kalpaxi, Giovana, Giovanna, Iovanna, Jeanne Yovanna), born in 1938, is a singer, poet, and novelist with a certain international reputation. I have no information about the time and album when she first sang and released "Aranjuez, mon amour." I can't find much information about her online. There may be more information in Greek. I hope my friends in Greece can help.
There is a collection, "Dancing Hit of the '60s by Greek singers and groups," on Spotify, which contains this song by Yovanna, so it is estimated that it was released in the 1960s, which was the year when Aranjuez's adaptation and cover became popular. This song is included in many nostalgic collections released in Greece, such as "I xrusi dekaetia tou 60 vol.2 (The Golden Decade of the 1960s)". Yovanna's personal collection "Ela Mazi Mou (Follow Me)," released in 2007, contains not only Aranjuez but also Bob Dylan's songs, Greek poetry, and many other pleasant songs, some of which are played with the simple accompaniment of an acoustic guitar. It can better express Yovanna’s excellent voice quality.
A collection, "As 14 Mais Francesas" (14 of the best French songs), was released in Brazil in 1998. I haven't found the information on the singer Bernard's introduction. His singing style will remind people of Richard Antony 30 years ago. So charming!
A YouTuber named Bernard Garby has the entire record on his homepage. According to the introduction, Bernard Garby is a young singer currently rising on the TIK TOK Internet. His homepage contains many of his own songs. He should not have sung the aforementioned selection album released in 1998. But I wonder what the relationship between the two is.
In recent years, the chances of "Aranjuez, Mon Amour" being sung and recorded have been inferior to the Spanish version of "En Aranjuez, Con Tu Amor" (With Your Love in Aranjuez). After all, Aranjuez is Spanish music, and Spanish music covers a wider area.
An excellent French version that can be seen in recent years is Italian soprano Giorgia Fumanti's album "Je Suis" (I Am), released in 2008, which uses bel canto to sing "pop songs," which is very well received. Her bel canto singing style is more relaxed and emotional, which is easier for pop music audiences to accept. In 2013, Giorgia released the Spanish version of "En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor," five years after the French version, and the singing style is very different. In addition, this soprano seems to have a deep affection for China. She has participated in performances at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, and CCTV's Spring Festival Gala.
French jazz singer Raquel Bitton pays homage to famous Latin composers on her hot new French/Latin jazz record “Boleros.”
"Boleros" is Raquel Bitton's seventh record to date. It is sung in French and Spanish and designed by 11-time Grammy Award winner Rafa Sardina. It showcases legendary Latin music, including Armando Manzanero, Consuelo Velasquez, Augustin Lara, Isolina Carillo, and more Composers' music.
Johanna Yukiko Haneda, famous for covering Western songs in Japan, will not miss this song. The digital album released in 2010 has the cover title "Music trip~ Aranjuez~" and is accompanied by the Trio The Trip chamber orchestra. It has a classical flavor, and the French pronunciation is very Japanese. They also have videos of live performances on their YouTube channel.
Another soprano who sang "Aranjuez, mon amour" in classical bel canto, the Canadian born in Haiti, Marie-Josée Lord, included this song on the album "Yo soy Maria" (I am Maria) released in 2012. With this record, Maria takes the listener on a romantic Latin journey with her warm voice - "Yo soy Maria is a musical journey from the sidewalks of Buenos Aires, through the Spanish Aranjuez gardens to the avenues of Portugal. Accompanied by ten players, Marie-Josee Lord sang some of the most beautiful songs in the Latin repertoire: Besame Mucho (Kiss Me Deeply), Granada (Granada), and La flor de la Canela (Cinnamon Flower)." (Record company press release)
In 2018, at a concert in Canada commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, Maria performed "Aranjuez, Mon Amour," accompanied by the orchestra.
In 2012, Fernando Rocha, a singer who mainly sings in Portuguese, released an album titled "Um Brasileiro à Paris" (Brazilians in Paris). The final song, "Aranjuez, mon amour," is sung in French. Rocha uses a relatively pure male voice to perform soft love songs.
Javier Elorrieta, a veteran Spanish singer, film director, composer, and writer, released an album in 2016. The album title is "Aranjuez, Mon Amour". It combines chanson with a cool jazz style and is soft and magnetic. The voice of an old man has fascinated so many people. He also went to Aranjuez Palace and Garden to shoot a landscape film with a plot. This song was both auditory and visually beautiful! However, Javier's lyrics are slightly different from the original work, and he also added a brief narration. The version Javier sings has been used by many YouTubers to accompany different scenes, which shows how charming his voice is!
The French version of “Aranjuez, Mon Amour,” written by Guy Bontempelli, has a wealth of recording and video materials from singers. There will undoubtedly be new discoveries or new recordings in the future. I will organize and share them one after another. Many of the singers who sang Aranjuez were famous and popular superstars at that time. When you listen to their records, you don’t just listen to Aranjuez; many good songs are in the records. This may be an extra enjoyment for me to delve into this music!
In addition to record releases, you can also see many videos of live singing at concerts or TV programs on the Internet. There are also some professional or amateur singers who post videos of their own covers. They are all fans of this charming song and sing it. Not bad! You can take a look at:
In the above video, the Russian classical guitar player Yuliya Lonskaya plays and sings, and the Swiss-Hungarian cellist Victor Plumettaz’s soulful accompaniment makes this 2020 online music event at the Wiesbaden Casino-Gesellschaft in Germany. It will look gorgeous and textured.
Barbara Pravi, who was born in an artistic family, on July 22, 2022, during the "Un Violon sur le Sable" music festival held on the Plage de Royan, France, "Aranjuez, mon amour" was performed in front of an audience of 60,000 people. This performance is accompanied by the "Un Violon sur le Sable" orchestra conducted by Jérôme Pillement and by guitar soloist Thibaut Garcia. At the beginning of the music, the orchestra performed the theme melody of the second movement of Aranjuez for nearly 3 minutes with Garcia's guitar solo. Then Barbara's vicissitudes of female voice took over and performed together. The performance of more than 8 minutes left the audience spellbound. Guitar soloist Garcia released a complete version of the Aranjuez Concerto recording in 2020.
Other excellent singing recordings or videos:
One final addition. There are two more special versions of Aranjuez's singing of French lyrics. One is "Operatica – Shine" in 2002, in which Aranjuez's song is "Mon Amour" in this album. It was also included in the famous electronic mix music anthology "Buddha Bar V" (2003). Another record is a collaboration between two Lebanese musicians, mixed by DJ Said Arad and sung by female singer Mirna Shaker. The album "Esmerim" was released in 2005. Both versions are based on Guy Bontempelli's lyrics but mixed with English lyrics. Both are masterpieces of electronic mixing. Especially "Esmerim" is a remixed version of Arabic Funk rhythm that sounds enjoyable. Although the first and last songs on the album are titled "En Aranjuez, con tu amor" in Spanish, they are based on the French version of the lyrics and Aranjuez's theme melody to create a dynamic feel. The rhythm and the accompaniment of Middle Eastern folk instruments sound like a special regional custom. The last song is mixed with a stronger reggaeton rhythm. I will introduce these two records in detail in separate feature articles.
I've compiled a playlist of "Aranjuez, Mon Amour" on YouTube. The works of the singers mentioned in this article basically cover them all. Some are audio of static images, and some are images or MVs of performances from that year.
Playlist : 1. Aranjuez cover with lyrics（French 1）Aranjuez, mon amour
