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.
Je Ne Sais Pas Où Tu Commences
Georges Moustaki Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Et je mets tes colliers
Je fume tes gitanes
Tu bois mon café noir
Tu as mal à mes reins
Et j'ai froid à tes pieds
Tu passes mes nuits blanches
Et j'ai tes insomnies
Je ne sais pas où tu commences
Tu ne sais pas où je finis
Tu as des cicatrices
Là où je suis blessé
Tu te perds dans ma barbe
J'ai tes poignets d'enfant
Tu viens boire à ma bouche
Et je mange à ta faim
Tu as mes inquiétudes
Et j'ai tes rêveries
Je ne sais pas où tu commences
Tu ne sais pas où je finis
Tes jambes m'emprisonnent
Mon ventre te retient
J'ai ta poitrine ronde
Tu as mes yeux cernés
Ton souffle me réchauffe
Et j'étouffe tes cris
Je me tais quand tu m'aimes
Tu dors quand je le dis
The lyrics of Georges Moustaki's song "Je ne sais pas où tu commences" describe a deep connection and intimacy between two people. The song is about the mysterious blending of two people's lives, where one cannot distinguish where one person's identity ends and the other's begins. The verses describe the physical and emotional intertwining of the two individuals. The first few lines illustrate a scenario where the man wears the woman's necklaces while she wears his shirts, and they share each other's vices, with the man smoking her cigarettes and the woman drinking his black coffee. The fourth line, "Tu as mal à mes reins, et j'ai froid à tes pieds" translates to "You have pain in my kidneys, and I have cold feet", symbolizes the physical exchange of sensations, where one person's pain becomes the other's.
The second stanza continues to use contrasting imagery to convey the blending of identities. The woman has scars where the man is injured, she gets lost in his beard while he has the wrists of a child. They share each other's desires and anxieties, and they feel each other's breaths. The last two lines of the song, "Je me tais quand tu m'aimes, tu dors quand je le dis" translates to "I am silent when you love me, you sleep when I say so" signify the couple's unspoken understanding of each other's needs and desires.
Overall, Georges Moustaki's "Je ne sais pas où tu commences" is a poetic and romantic representation of two persons' relationship beyond just physicality, whether romantic or a deep friendship.
Line by Line Meaning
Tu portes ma chemise
You wear my shirt
Et je mets tes colliers
And I wear your necklaces
Je fume tes gitanes
I smoke your Gitanes cigarettes
Tu bois mon café noir
You drink my black coffee
Tu as mal à mes reins
You have pain in my kidneys
Et j'ai froid à tes pieds
And I have cold feet
Tu passes mes nuits blanches
You spend my sleepless nights
Et j'ai tes insomnies
And I have your insomnia
Je ne sais pas où tu commences
I don't know where you begin
Tu ne sais pas où je finis
You don't know where I end
Tu as des cicatrices
You have scars
Là où je suis blessé
Where I am wounded
Tu te perds dans ma barbe
You get lost in my beard
J'ai tes poignets d'enfant
I have your childlike wrists
Tu viens boire à ma bouche
You come to drink from my mouth
Et je mange à ta faim
And I eat to satisfy your hunger
Tu as mes inquiétudes
You have my worries
Et j'ai tes rêveries
And I have your dreams
Tes jambes m'emprisonnent
Your legs hold me captive
Mon ventre te retient
My stomach holds you
J'ai ta poitrine ronde
I have your round chest
Tu as mes yeux cernés
You have my dark circles under your eyes
Ton souffle me réchauffe
Your breath warms me up
Et j'étouffe tes cris
And I stifle your screams
Je me tais quand tu m'aimes
I am silent when you love me
Tu dors quand je le dis
You sleep when I say so
Writer(s): Georges Moustaki, Hubert Rostaing
Contributed by Sophie C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Helmut Saueregger
This song made me realize what a relationship could be: dissolving the boundaries. That was 1980, maybe
Now, the basic premie still holds: it is possible to be so close that you cannot tell where "you" begins, and "other" ends.
Very beautiful
Esthal
Mercie pour partager..
Merveilleuse chanson...
Douce voix pour chanter des intenses passions
Thomas Simone
Je ne connaissais pas cette chanson : elle est originale !
Miguel Cruzado Ignacio
Gracias.