Moustaki was born Yussef Mustacchi on the 3rd May 1934 in Alexandria, Egypt, of Sephardic Jewish parents who had moved there from Corfu, and who ran a bookshop in the city. The family spoke Italian at home, but Georges (then Yussef) spoke Arabic with his friends and attended a French school to which his Francophile parents sent him and his sisters. In 1951 he moved to Paris, where he was inspired by the young Georges Brassens, in honour of whom he changed his name to Georges Moustaki.
Moustaki wrote and sang in French, Italian, Greek, Spanish, English, Yiddish, and Arabic. Early influences included Edith Piaf, with whom Moustaki carried on a year-long romance. His pan-national approach to music made him a star in Europe in the late sixties and early seventies.
He died on the 23rd May 2013 in Nice, France.
Alexandrie
Georges Moustaki Lyrics
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Ne riez pas si je rougis
Mes souvenirs n'ont pas vieilli
J'ai toujours le mal du pays
Ça fait pourtant vingt-cinq années
Que je vis loin d'où je suis né
Vingt-cinq hivers que je remue
Le parfum, les odeurs, les cris
De la cité d'Alexandrie
Le soleil qui brûlait les rues
Où mon enfance a disparu
Le chant, la prière à cinq heures
La paix qui nous montait au coeur
L'oignon cru et le plat de fèves
Nous semblaient un festin de rêve
La pipe à eau dans les cafés
Et le temps de philosopher
Avec les vieux, les fous, les sages
Et les étrangers de passage
Arabes, Grecs, Juifs, Italiens,
Tous bons Méditerranéens,
Tous compagnons du même bord
L'amour et la folie d'abord
Je veux chanter pour tous ceux qui
Ne m'appelaient pas Moustaki
On m'appelait Jo ou Joseph
C'était plus doux, c'était plus bref
Amis des rues ou du lycée
Amis du joli temps passé
Nos femmes étaient des gamines
Nos amours étaient clandestines
On apprenait à s'embrasser
On n'en savait jamais assez
Ça fait presque une éternité
Que mon enfance m'a quitté
Elle revient comme un fantôme
Elle me ramène en son royaume
Comme si rien n'avait changé
Et que le temps s'était figé
Elle ramène mes seize ans
Elle me les remet au présent
Pardonnez-moi si je radote
Je n'ai pas trouvé l'antidote
Pour guérir de ma nostalgie
Ne riez pas si je rougis
On me comprendra, j'en suis sûr
Chacun de nous a sa blessure
Son coin de paradis perdu
Son petit jardin défendu
Le mien s'appelle Alexandrie
Et c'est là-bas, loin de Paris
The lyrics to Georges Moustaki's song "Alexandrie" express the singer's nostalgia and longing for his hometown of Alexandria, Egypt, where he spent his childhood. He acknowledges that even after 25 years of living far from the city where he was born, his memories have not faded. He recalls the scents, sounds, and sights of the city that he associates with his youth. He mentions the rising sun, the call to prayer at five in the morning, the raw onion and fava beans, and the water pipes in cafes where he would philosophize with old, wise, and sometimes eccentric locals and foreigners alike. Moustaki refers to his friends and acquaintances by their first names, Jo and Joseph. He speaks of how he and his peers were once "amis des rues ou du lycée" (friends from the streets or the high school) and how their women were "des gamines" (young girls) and their love "clandestine".
The singer's yearning for Alexandria is palpable through the lyrics, and he admits that he has not found a way to cure his nostalgia. He reminiscences about his childhood and his life in the city, where he recalls his youth as a time of happiness, despite the challenges of growing up. The lyrics are expressive of Moustaki's deep emotional attachment to the city and the people of his past.
Line by Line Meaning
Je vous chante ma nostalgie
I sing to you about my feelings of longing and yearning for the past
Ne riez pas si je rougis
Please don't laugh if I blush
Mes souvenirs n'ont pas vieilli
My memories have not aged
J'ai toujours le mal du pays
I still have homesickness for my country
Ça fait pourtant vingt-cinq années
Despite this, it has been twenty-five years
Que je vis loin d'où je suis né
Since I've been living far from where I was born
Vingt-cinq hivers que je remue
Twenty-five winters that I still think about it
Dans ma mémoire encore émue
With my memories still deeply affected
Le parfum, les odeurs, les cris
The scent, the smells, the sounds
De la cité d'Alexandrie
Of the city of Alexandria
Le soleil qui brûlait les rues
The sun burning the streets
Où mon enfance a disparu
Where my childhood has vanished
Le chant, la prière à cinq heures
The singing, the prayer at five o'clock
La paix qui nous montait au coeur
The peace that filled us with joy
L'oignon cru et le plat de fèves
The raw onion and the plate of beans
Nous semblaient un festin de rêve
They seemed like a feast from a dream
La pipe à eau dans les cafés
The hookahs in the cafes
Et le temps de philosopher
And the time spent philosophizing
Avec les vieux, les fous, les sages
With the old, the crazy, and the wise
Et les étrangers de passage
And the passing foreigners
Arabes, Grecs, Juifs, Italiens,
Arabs, Greeks, Jews, Italians,
Tous bons Méditerranéens,
All good Mediterraneans,
Tous compagnons du même bord
All companions from the same place
L'amour et la folie d'abord
Love and craziness first
Je veux chanter pour tous ceux qui
I want to sing for all those who
Ne m'appelaient pas Moustaki
Didn't call me Moustaki
On m'appelait Jo ou Joseph
They called me Jo or Joseph
C'était plus doux, c'était plus bref
It was sweeter, it was shorter
Amis des rues ou du lycée
Friends from the streets or high school
Amis du joli temps passé
Friends from the beautiful past
Nos femmes étaient des gamines
Our women were young girls
Nos amours étaient clandestines
Our loves were secret
On apprenait à s'embrasser
We learned how to kiss
On n'en savait jamais assez
We never knew enough
Ça fait presque une éternité
It feels like almost an eternity
Que mon enfance m'a quitté
Since my childhood has left me
Elle revient comme un fantôme
It comes back as a ghost
Elle me ramène en son royaume
It takes me back to its kingdom
Comme si rien n'avait changé
As if nothing has changed
Et que le temps s'était figé
And time had stood still
Elle ramène mes seize ans
It brings me back to sixteen
Elle me les remet au présent
It makes them present again
Pardonnez-moi si je radote
Forgive me if I repeat myself
Je n'ai pas trouvé l'antidote
I haven't found the cure
Pour guérir de ma nostalgie
To heal from my nostalgia
On me comprendra, j'en suis sûr
I'm sure you all understand
Chacun de nous a sa blessure
Each of us has our own wound
Son coin de paradis perdu
Our own lost corner of paradise
Son petit jardin défendu
Our own secret garden
Le mien s'appelle Alexandrie
Mine is called Alexandria
Et c'est là-bas, loin de Paris
And it's over there, far from Paris
Contributed by Maria L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.