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.
En Regardant Ton Corps
Georges Moustaki Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
D'un regard qui pourrait te sembler indécent
C’est moi que je revois
Au jour de mes quinze ans
Lorsque j'étais celui que tu es à présent
Un homme lionceau un fauve attendrissant
A l'air déjà rebelle et au corps innocent
Au gestes de défi au sourire gourmand
Désarmant
En regardant ton corps a peine adolescent
Mon jeune autre moi-même mon frère de sang
Je te renvoie l’image d'un fou vieillissant
Qui a passé sa vie a la vivre en passant
Un musicien d'eau douce un éternel amant
Qui n'a pas trop souffert
De tous ces errements
Et qui poursuit sa route d'un pas nonchalant
Quelque peu assagi mais toujours insolent
En regardant ton corps je te vole un instant
Avant de te laisser a tout ce qui t'attend
Avant de m'en aller comme je vais souvent
Sans savoir ou je vais emporté par le vent
Étoile qui qui scintille
Dans ma nuit d'étang illusoire reflet
De neiges d’antan
The lyrics of Georges Moustaki's song "En Regardant Ton Corps" speak to the singer's reflection on their own youth while observing someone else's adolescent body. The singer sees themselves as they were at the age of fifteen, a young and endearing rebel with an innocent physicality. They see the defiance in their gestures and the mischievousness in their smile. The singer refers to themselves as a "jouvenceau désarmé" (defenseless youth) who is both disarmed and disarming.
Through the observation of this young person's body, the singer sees their own reflection as a fading and aging madman who has lived their life in passing. They describe themselves as a gentle musician and eternal lover, someone who hasn't suffered much from life's wanderings. They continue their journey with a nonchalant step, somewhat tamed but still insolent.
In the chorus, the singer admits to momentarily stealing a glimpse of the young person's body before leaving them to face what awaits them. They express their tendency to wander without knowing where they are going, carried away by the wind. The young person's body becomes a fleeting star in the singer's illusory night, reflecting the snows of the past.
Overall, the lyrics evoke a nostalgic reflection on youth, the passing of time, and the continual search for meaning and direction in life.
Line by Line Meaning
En regardant ton corps a peine adolescent
As I observe your barely adolescent body
D'un regard qui pourrait te sembler indécent
With a glance that might seem indecent to you
C’est moi que je revois
I see myself once again
Au jour de mes quinze ans
On the day of my fifteenth year
Lorsque j'étais celui que tu es à présent
When I was the person you are now
Un homme lionceau un fauve attendrissant
A young lion, an endearing beast
A l'air déjà rebelle et au corps innocent
Already rebellious in appearance, yet innocent in body
Au gestes de défi au sourire gourmand
With defiant gestures and a greedy smile
Un homme jouvenceau désarmé, désarmant
A disarmed, disarming young man
En regardant ton corps a peine adolescent
As I observe your barely adolescent body
Mon jeune autre moi-même mon frère de sang
My young other self, my blood brother
Je te renvoie l’image d'un fou vieillissant
I reflect back to you the image of an aging fool
Qui a passé sa vie a la vivre en passant
Who has spent his life living it as he passed through
Un musicien d'eau douce un éternel amant
A gentle water musician, an eternal lover
Qui n'a pas trop souffert de tous ces errements
Who hasn't suffered too much from all these wanderings
Et qui poursuit sa route d'un pas nonchalant
And who continues his journey with a nonchalant step
Quelque peu assagi mais toujours insolent
Somewhat tamed, but still insolent
En regardant ton corps je te vole un instant
As I observe your body, I steal a moment from you
Avant de te laisser a tout ce qui t'attend
Before leaving you to everything that awaits you
Avant de m'en aller comme je vais souvent
Before departing as I often do
Sans savoir ou je vais emporté par le vent
Without knowing where I'm going, carried away by the wind
Étoile qui qui scintille
A sparkling star
Dans ma nuit d'étang illusoire reflet
In my illusory reflection of a night pond
De neiges d’antan
Of bygone snow
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@tomasprat3877
Tellement d’années que je l’ecoute et chaque fois elle me plaît plus!!!
@micheljaccard2915
Oui, il y a plus de 40 ans et je la retrouve avec nostalgie mais autant de bonheur
@jeanfrancoisrama3599
Bjr à tous... Je vais le chanter pour vous
@chantalmalgras3104
Les hommes qui ont un cœur de cristal s'occupent de la femme qu'ils aiment vraiment jusqu'au bout 💜 Merci Georges de m'avoir accompagnée toute ma vie. Tu es une pure merveille 💜
@lily-annepelletier7419
Merci pour le partage ,de ce grand poète que j'n,oublierai jamais ...
@achimherrmann8525
So eine wunderschöne live Aufnahme! Vor alllem die Stimme von Catherine le Forestier.
@dominiqueleger2453
Magnifique 💖👍
@mickeyancre4934
envoutant ! elle entre dans l'âme
@poupettecrochet1535
DE LA DOUCEUR ENCORE ET ENCORE, MERCI Mr MOUSTAKI !!!!!!!!!!!
@1234moongirl
Thanks for this song - I heard it 40 years ago and it's still as haunting as ever.