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.
De Shanghai à Bangkok
Georges Moustaki Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sydney à Caracas les jours
Qui passent sans toi
Traînant de port en port l'ennui
À bord le bourdon je repense au retour dans
Quelques jours c'est long
C'est pour toi ma jolie que
Je suis sorti vainqueur
J'ai jeté par dessus bord tous
Mes remords ma conscience
Pour sortir victorieux du cap de désespérance
Je t'avais promis en te quittant
D'aller conquérir un continent
De piller toute la fortune de la terre
Il y en aurait tant qu'on
N'en saurait que faire
Je t'avais promis en te quittant
Des pièces d'or pour ton bracelet
Je crois que c'est raté
De Shanghaï à Bangkok parmi
Les docks j'ai flâné
Les filles de couleur m'offraient
Leur cœur à aimer
Quand j'avais trop le noir j'allais
Les voir et pourtant
C'est toi qui as mon cœur
Jolie fleur que j'aime tant
En croyant m'enrichir j'ai vu
Périr mes dollars
Aux dés ou au poker jeux de l'enfer du hasard
Quand le piano à bretelles jouait
Le fameux air que t'aimais
Je ne suis pas mélomane mais le
Vague à l'âme me prenait
Je t'avais promis en te quittant
De revenir chargé de diamants
De quoi faire pâlir le soleil et la lune
Mais je n'ai que la peau et
Les os pour seule fortune
Je t'avais promis en te quittant
De pouvoir te mériter
Je crois que c'est raté
Adieu Shanghaï Bangkok et ma
Défroque de marin
Car la prochaine escale c'est
Le canal Saint-Martin
Je n'aurai pour merveille qu'un peu
De soleil dans les mains
Mais quand on se retrouvera
Le bonheur qu'on se paiera
Vaudra bien quelques millions de carats
Et je crois que nous serons
Bien assez riches comme ça
The lyrics of Georges Moustaki's song "De Shanghai à Bangkok" tell the story of a man traveling from Shanghai to Bangkok, feeling the absence of his loved one throughout his journey. The singer is reminiscing about their separation, feeling bored and longing for their return. He reflects on the challenges he encountered, the islands he visited, and the sacrifices he made to ultimately triumph over despair. Despite being surrounded by temptation and opportunity, he remains faithful to his beloved.
The song speaks to the promises made before departing, where the singer vowed to conquer a continent and gather immense wealth for his loved one. However, these promises seem unfulfilled as he sees his fortune crumbling, losing everything in games of chance and gambling. He sees his dreams of riches and glory shattered, only left with his longing for his beloved.
The lyrics express his intention to return, leaving behind the exotic landscapes and the life of a sailor. He looks forward to the next port of call, the Canal Saint-Martin, where he will have nothing more than a little sunshine in his hands. However, he believes that when they reunite, the happiness they will share will be worth more than any wealth or diamonds. He reassures his beloved that they will be rich enough in love and affection.
Line by Line Meaning
De Shanghaï à Bangkok sur une coque de noix
From Shanghai to Bangkok on a nutshell
Sydney à Caracas les jours
From Sydney to Caracas, the days
Qui passent sans toi
That pass without you
Traînant de port en port l'ennui
Dragging boredom from port to port
À bord le bourdon je repense au retour dans
On board, the drone reminds me of the return to
Quelques jours c'est long
A few days is long
C'est pour toi ma jolie que
It's for you, my pretty, that
Je suis sorti vainqueur
I have emerged victorious
De ces îles perdues où l'on tue où l'on meurt
From those lost islands where one kills, where one dies
J'ai jeté par dessus bord tous
I threw overboard all
Mes remords ma conscience
My remorse, my conscience
Pour sortir victorieux du cap de désespérance
To emerge victorious from the cape of despair
Je t'avais promis en te quittant
I had promised you when leaving you
D'aller conquérir un continent
To go conquer a continent
De piller toute la fortune de la terre
To plunder all the fortune of the earth
Il y en aurait tant qu'on
There would be so much that
N'en saurait que faire
One wouldn't know what to do with it
Je t'avais promis en te quittant
I had promised you when leaving you
Des pièces d'or pour ton bracelet
Pieces of gold for your bracelet
Je crois que c'est raté
I think that's a failure
De Shanghaï à Bangkok parmi
From Shanghai to Bangkok among
Les docks j'ai flâné
I strolled through the docks
Les filles de couleur m'offraient
The colored girls offered me
Leur cœur à aimer
Their hearts to love
Quand j'avais trop le noir j'allais
When I had too much darkness, I would go
Les voir et pourtant
To see them, and yet
C'est toi qui as mon cœur
It's you who have my heart
Jolie fleur que j'aime tant
Pretty flower that I love so much
En croyant m'enrichir j'ai vu
Thinking I would enrich myself, I saw
Périr mes dollars
My dollars perish
Aux dés ou au poker jeux de l'enfer du hasard
In dice or poker, games of hellish chance
Quand le piano à bretelles jouait
When the accordion played
Le fameux air que t'aimais
The famous tune that you loved
Je ne suis pas mélomane mais le
I am not a music lover, but the
Vague à l'âme me prenait
Blues captured my soul
Je t'avais promis en te quittant
I had promised you when leaving you
De revenir chargé de diamants
To come back loaded with diamonds
De quoi faire pâlir le soleil et la lune
Enough to make the sun and the moon pale
Mais je n'ai que la peau et
But I only have the skin and
Les os pour seule fortune
The bones as my only fortune
Je t'avais promis en te quittant
I had promised you when leaving you
De pouvoir te mériter
To be able to deserve you
Je crois que c'est raté
I think that's a failure
Adieu Shanghaï Bangkok et ma
Goodbye Shanghai, Bangkok, and my
Défroque de marin
Sailor's clothes
Car la prochaine escale c'est
Because the next stop is
Le canal Saint-Martin
The Saint-Martin canal
Je n'aurai pour merveille qu'un peu
I will only have the wonder of
De soleil dans les mains
Some sunlight in my hands
Mais quand on se retrouvera
But when we reunite
Le bonheur qu'on se paiera
The happiness we will indulge in
Vaudra bien quelques millions de carats
Will be worth a few million carats
Et je crois que nous serons
And I believe that we will be
Bien assez riches comme ça
Rich enough like that
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CLAUDE HENRY VIC, GEORGES MOUSTAKI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind