Mourir d’aimer – Charles Aznavour

Une Chanson comme un Poème

May 05, 2025

Une Chanson comme un Poème

Welcome to this new segment of French en Poésie where we explore a more musical form of poetry. Let’s dive into a chanson that blurs the line between poetry and music. Mourir d’aimer de Charles Aznavour is one of his most poignant and moving songs, a lyrical confession about forbidden love, loneliness, and the cost of passion.

Inspired by a real story, the song speaks in the voice of someone judged and condemned simply for loving. With delicate phrasing, deep emotion, and timeless melody, Mourir d’aimer feels like a poem sung to the soul. Aznavour’s voice carries heartbreak and beauty all at once, reminding us of the weight love can carry when it defies the rules of the world.

Tip: For the best learning experience, listen first, then read the lyrics while listening, then check the translation. Repetition is key, immerse yourself as much as you like!

Les Paroles

Les parois de ma vie sont lisses
Je m'y accroche mais je glisse
Lentement vers ma destinée, mourir d'aimer
Tandis que le monde me juge
Je ne vois pour moi qu'un refuge
Toute issue m'étant condamnée, mourir d'aimer

Mourir d'aimer, de plein gré s'enfoncer dans la nuit
Payer l'amour au prix de sa vie
Pécher contre le corps mais non contre l'esprit

Laissons le monde à ses problèmes
Les gens haineux face à eux-mêmes
Avec leurs petites idées, mourir d'aimer
Puisque notre amour ne peut vivre
Mieux vaut en refermer le livre
Et plutôt que de le brûler, mourir d'aimer
Partir en redressant la tête
Sortir vainqueur d'une défaite
Renverser toutes les données, mourir d'aimer

Mourir d'aimer, comme on le peut de n'importe quoi
Abandonner tout derrière soi
Pour n'emporter que ce qui fut nous, qui fut toi
Tu es le printemps, moi l'automne
Ton cœur se prend, le mien se donne
Et ma route est déjà tracée
Mourir d'aimer

La Traduction

To Die of Love

The walls of my life are smooth
I hold on but I slip
Slowly towards my destiny
To die of love

While the world judges me
I see only one refuge for me
All exits being condemned to me
To die of love

To die of love
Freely sinking into the night
Paying love at the cost of one's life
Sinning against the body but not against the spirit

Leaving the world to its problems
Hateful people facing themselves
With their small ideas
To die of love

Since our love cannot live
It is better to close the book
And rather than burn it
To die of love

Leaving with head held high
Emerging victorious from defeat
Overturning all the data
To die of love

To die of love
As one can of anything
Abandoning everything behind
To take only what was us, what was you

You are spring, I am autumn
Your heart takes mine gives
And my path is already traced
To die of love

L’histoire derrière la chanson

Charles Aznavour wrote Mourir d’aimer (“To Die of Loving”) in 1971, inspired by the tragic real-life story of Gabrielle Russier, a French teacher who, in the late 1960s, was prosecuted for having a love affair with one of her students, a relationship both controversial and deeply scrutinized by society and the media.

Despite the emotional depth of their connection, Gabrielle was condemned by the legal system, suspended from teaching, and ultimately driven to take her own life. Her story caused a national stir in France and was seen by many as symbolic of the harsh moral judgments of the time.

Aznavour, deeply moved, transformed this tragedy into a song that is both haunting and compassionate, a defense of love in all its complexity and a lament for lives torn apart by intolerance. His lyrics give voice to the silenced, expressing the suffering of forbidden love with immense tenderness and poetic power.

A la Rencontre de l'Artiste :

Charles Aznavour (1924–2018)
One of France’s most beloved artist, Aznavour was more than a singer, he was a poet, a performer, and a master of emotional storytelling. His songs often dealt with complex human emotions: aging, regret, forbidden love, identity, and memory. He sang with honesty and vulnerability, always elevating the French language through music.

Vocabulaire clé & Expressions

Mourir – to die
Aimer – to love
Pardonnez-moi – forgive me
J’avoue – I confess
Condamner – to condemn
Sans remords – without remorse
Maudit(e) – cursed
S’accrocher – to cling / hold on
Le supplice – torment
Déchirer – to tear apart
Un sanglot – a sob
Brûler sa vie – to burn one’s life
À l’envers – in reverse / backwards
Qu’importe – what does it matter
Jeter la pierre – to cast the first stone / to judge
Sans pardon – without forgiveness
L’interdit – the forbidden
Le cœur – the heart

Points de grammaire

1. The Infinitive Used as a Noun or Concept

In French, the infinitive verb form (like mourir, aimer) can be used as a subject or concept, much like a noun.

Example:

Mourir d’aimer – “To die of loving”
Here, both verbs stay in the infinitive, and the phrase expresses an abstract, poetic idea, the act of dying from love.

This structure is very common in French:

Vivre pour aimer – To live to love
Partir, c’est mourir un peu – To leave is to die a little

2. The Use of the Subjunctive After Expressions of Judgment or Emotion

Example from the song:

Que ceux-là me condamnent... – “Let those people condemn me…”

The structure “que + subject + verb in subjunctive” is used to express judgment, desire, or emotion. In this case, it's a call or challenge: "let them judge me."

Other common examples:

Qu’il vienne ! – Let him come!
Que Dieu vous bénisse ! – May God bless you!

Dernière Pensée

“Mourir d’aimer” is a song that aches. It reminds us how poetry in music can carry us through pain and turn sorrow into something profoundly beautiful. Even when love is impossible, the voice of it, sung or whispered, can live on, suspended in melody and memory.