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.
Il Y A Quelque Part
Georges Moustaki Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
En province ou a paris
Une femme qui certains soir
M'entend et pleure ou sourit
C'est pour elle que j'écris
Je sais qu'il y a quelque part
Un inconnu ou un ami
Et s'en souvient aujourd'hui
C'est pour lui que j'écris
Je sais qu'il y a quelque part
Une adolescente meurtrie
Qui cherche sur sa guitare
Les notes de ma mélodie
C'est pour elle que j'écris
Je sais qu'il y a quelque part
Un homme qui vit loin de chez lui
Et se console du cafard
En partageant mes nostalgies
C'est pour lui que j'écris
Je sais qu'il y a quelque part
Dans les rêves que j'invente
Une oasis ou j'irai boire
Aux lèvres de mon amante
C'est pour elle que je chante
Georges Moustaki's song "Il Y A Quelque Part" speaks to the universality of human emotions and connections. The lyrics express the understanding that somewhere, whether in the province or in Paris, there is someone who hears the singer. This person listens, cries, or smiles in response to his words. The singer acknowledges that it is for this person that he writes.
Additionally, the song acknowledges that there is someone he crossed paths with in a bar, either a stranger or a friend, who remembers him till this day. It is for this person that he writes as well. The song then shifts to a teenage girl who is searching for his melody on her guitar, as she seeks solace from her pain. For her, the singer writes his songs.
The lyrics then mention a man who lives far from home and finds comfort in sharing the singer's nostalgia. It is for this man that the singer writes. Finally, the song reveals the singer's dreams and imagination, where there is an oasis where he will drink from the lips of his lover. It is for this lover that he sings.
Line by Line Meaning
Je sais qu'il y a quelque part
I know that somewhere
En province ou a paris
In the countryside or in Paris
Une femme qui certains soir
A woman who some evenings
M'entend et pleure ou sourit
Hears me and cries or smiles
C'est pour elle que j'écris
It is for her that I write
Un inconnu ou un ami
A stranger or a friend
Que j'ai croisé dans un bar
Whom I met in a bar
Et s'en souvient aujourd'hui
And remembers it today
C'est pour lui que j'écris
It is for him that I write
Une adolescente meurtrie
A wounded teenager
Qui cherche sur sa guitare
Who searches on her guitar
Les notes de ma mélodie
For the notes of my melody
C'est pour elle que j'écris
It is for her that I write
Un homme qui vit loin de chez lui
A man who lives far from home
Et se console du cafard
And consoles himself from his blues
En partageant mes nostalgies
By sharing my nostalgia
C'est pour lui que j'écris
It is for him that I write
Dans les rêves que j'invente
In the dreams I invent
Une oasis ou j'irai boire
An oasis where I will go to drink
Aux lèvres de mon amante
From the lips of my lover
C'est pour elle que je chante
It is for her that I sing
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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