Hier encore
original song written, composed, and performed 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.
History
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 is or may be close to impending death.
Roy Clark version
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 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 singles chart, as well as reaching 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.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Hier encore” is original song written, composed, and performed by Charles Aznavour. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Hier, encore and original, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “original song written, composed, and performed by Charles Aznavour” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3135299. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1964, 1969, 1995 and 1970.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Hier encore” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.