Controversial at the time, this ballad paints a tender portrait of a lonely gay man in the 1970s, of his close relationship to his mother, and his nights spent impersonating female stars in Parisian nightclubs.

Aznavour wrote it to address “the specific problems my gay friends faced,” he once said.

“I could see things were different for them, that they were marginalised.”

“It is still forbidden in certain unenlightened countries,” he told Canada’s The Starin 2014. “I sang it in prime time in America on the Johnny Carson show 25 years ago. They were not happy about that, but I received many grateful letters.” (bbc.co.uk)