Georges Moustaki (1934-2013) was a singer-songwriter of Greek Jewish origin… Read Full Bio ↴Georges Moustaki (1934-2013) was a singer-songwriter of Greek Jewish origin.

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.

La Ligne Droite
Georges Moustaki Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Je ne t'attends pas au bout d'une ligne droite
Je sais qu'il faudra faire encore des détours
Et voir passer encore des jours et des jours
Mais sans que rien ne vienne éteindre notre hâte

Il pleut chez moi, chez toi le soleil est de plomb
Quand pourrons-nous enfin marier nos saisons
Quand pourrons-nous rentrer ensemble à la maison

Nous avons le temps, mais pourquoi est-ce si long?

Mes habits ont parfois des traces de poussière
Et le parfum fané des amours passagères
Qui m'ont rendu la solitude plus légère
A l'aube de mes nuits blanches et solitaires

Et toi mon bel amour, dis moi s'il y a des hommes
Qui t'ont rendu la vie un peu moins monotone
Qui t'aident à supporter l'hiver après l'automne
Et les silences obstinés du téléphone

Nous nous raconterons nos triomphes et nos fêtes
Mais comment s'avouer toutes nos défaites
L'angoisse qui nous tient, l'angoisse qui nous guette
Et s'accroche à chaque pensée, à chaque geste

Je sais que tu seras au bout de mes voyages
Je sais que tu viendras malgré tous les détours
Nous dormirons ensemble et nous ferons l'amour
Dans un monde réinventé...

à notre image

Je ne t'attends pas au bout d'une ligne droite:
tu sais, il faudra faire encore des détours
et voir passer des jours et des jours,
mais sans que rien ne vienne éteindre notre hâte.

Il pleut chez moi, chez toi le soleil est de plomb.
Quand pourrons-nous enfin marier nos saisons?
Quand pourrons-nous rentrer ensemble à la maison?

Tes habits porteront des traces de poussière
et le parfum fang des amours passagères
qui t'ont rendu parfois l'absence plus légère.

Oh moi, mon cher amour, bien sûr j'ai eu des hommes
qui m'ont rendu la vie un peu moins monotone,
et m'aident à supporter l'hiver après l'automne.

On ne s'attend pas au bout d'une ligne droite:
tu sais, il faudra faire encore des détours
et voir passer des jours et des jours,
mais sans que rien ne vienne éteindre notre hâte.

Nous raconterons nos triomphes et nos fêtes.
Mais comment s'avouer nos superbes défaites,
nos doutes répétés, nos angoisses secrètes?

Un jour, tu seras au bout de mes voyages
un jour, tu viendras malgré tous les détours.

Nous dormirons ensemble et nous ferons l'amour
dans un monde réinventé à notre image

Overall Meaning

The song "La Ligne droite" by Georges Moustaki talks about a couple's relationship and the ups and downs they face. The singer acknowledges that they will not meet at the end of a straight line but will have to make several detours and face many days. However, they both keep their eagerness and nothing can extinguish it. The weather at their respective places is different, but they hope for a time when they can merge their seasons and go back home together. Both the singer and the subject of the song have had past relationships that have left them with traces of dust and scents of past loves. They reveal that they have had other partners who have made their lives less monotonous but have also brought doubts and anxieties. The song ends on a hopeful note, with the singer dreaming of a future where they will be together without fear, sleep in each other's arms, and create a world that reflects their love.

Line by Line Meaning

Je ne t'attends pas au bout d'une ligne droite:
We are not expected to meet at the end of a straight line; we know that we will have to go through some detours and it will take us some time, but our eagerness will remain the same without anything being able to extinguish it.

Il pleut chez moi, chez toi le soleil est de plomb.
It might be raining where I am, but it's scorching hot where you are. When will our seasons finally match and we can go home together?

Tes habits porteront des traces de poussière
Your clothes will sometimes show traces of dust and the faded scent of past loves that made your solitude lighter, especially when facing sleepless nights.

Oh moi, mon cher amour, bien sûr j'ai eu des hommes
Oh, my dear love, of course, I have had men who made life less mundane and helped me get through the winter after the fall.

On ne s'attend pas au bout d'une ligne droite:
We are not expected to meet at the end of a straight line; we know that we will have to go through some detours and it will take us some time, but our eagerness will remain the same without anything being able to extinguish it.

Nous raconterons nos triomphes et nos fêtes.
We will share our victories and celebrations, but how can we confess our splendid defeats, doubts, and secret anxieties?

Un jour, tu seras au bout de mes voyages
One day, you will be waiting for me at the end of my travels, and despite all the detours, we will sleep and make love in a world reinvented to resemble us.

Contributed by Jasmine E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS