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 Mer M'A Donné
Georges Moustaki Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pour me dire:" Je t'invite à voyager.
J'ai de grands chevaux à la crinière blanche
Et puis j'ai dans ma manche tant de bateaux.
J'ai du vent qui enivre ceux qui veulent me suivre
Dans l'illusion facile de la douceur des îles.
Terres inconnues où les filles les moins sages
Vivent sur les rivages à moitié nues"
La mer m'a donné une carte du monde
Mystérieuse et ronde comme un galet
Mais je t'ai trouvé étendue sur le sable
Fragile et désirable. Je t'ai désirée.
Plus belle qu'un voyage, plus douce, plus sauvage
Plus calme et plus cruelle que la mer qui m'appelle.
Dans tes yeux ouverts, le ciel était bleu tendre
Tu m'as laissé te prendre comme on prend la mer
Comme on prend la mer.
In Georges Moustaki's song La mer m'a donné, the singer likens the sea to a persistent suitor who has given him a business card that reads, "I invite you to travel". The sea is portrayed as having "grand white-maned horses" and "many boats" at its disposal. It also possesses a "wind that intoxicates those who want to follow me in the easy illusion of island sweetness". The sea is depicted as a sort of beckoning siren, luring people towards unknown lands where even the "least virtuous girls" live half-naked on the shore.
However, despite this initial allure, the singer discloses that he has found something even more captivating than the sea: a woman lying on the sand whom he desires even more than the promise of adventure. She is described as "fragile and desirable," and in her eyes, he sees a tender blue sky, which he cannot resist. Thus, he chooses to take her instead of embarking on the voyage the sea had offered him.
The song is essentially about temptation and desire. The singer is drawn towards the sea's promise of excitement and finds it hard to resist. However, ultimately, he chooses the passion found within human relationships, recognizing that it is more substantial and enduring than a transitory adventure.
Line by Line Meaning
La mer m'a donné sa carte de visite
The ocean gave me its map as an invitation to travel.
Pour me dire: "Je t'invite à voyager.
To tell me, "I invite you to travel."
J'ai de grands chevaux à la crinière blanche
I have great horses with white manes.
Et puis j'ai dans ma manche tant de bateaux.
And then I have so many boats up my sleeve.
J'ai du vent qui enivre ceux qui veulent me suivre
I have wind that intoxicates those who want to follow me.
Dans l'illusion facile de la douceur des îles.
In the easy illusion of the sweetness of the islands.
Terres inconnues où les filles les moins sages
Unknown lands where the least wise girls
Vivent sur les rivages à moitié nues"
Live on the shores half naked."
La mer m'a donné une carte du monde
The ocean gave me a world map
Mystérieuse et ronde comme un galet
Mysterious and round like a pebble
Mais je t'ai trouvé étendue sur le sable
But I found you lying on the sand
Fragile et désirable. Je t'ai désirée.
Fragile and desirable. I desired you.
Plus belle qu'un voyage, plus douce, plus sauvage
More beautiful than a journey, sweeter, and wilder
Plus calme et plus cruelle que la mer qui m'appelle.
More calm and more cruel than the ocean that calls out to me.
Dans tes yeux ouverts, le ciel était bleu tendre
In your open eyes, the sky was tender blue
Tu m'as laissé te prendre comme on prend la mer
You let me take you like one takes the ocean.
Comme on prend la mer.
Like one takes the ocean.
Contributed by Ellie W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
shakti869
Adieu Monsieur Moustaki, vous qui avait bercé mon adolescence de votre voix mélodieuse et de vos si belles chansons, repose en paix.
BRIDGET STONE
Je fredonne toujours à ce jour cette chanson si douce quand je vois la mer..Merci M. Moustaki...j'ai encore votre 33 tours de l'époque.
Martin De Wilde
nice song... nice composition... lovely performance... mooi... schön... bellissimo... beautiful... bai mooj... bella cansion... bella canzone... magnifique chanson...
Yannick Guillon
Pas de voix, pas grand chose, mais la poésie est là. Moustaki, sur sa moto à Paris. Pas l'oublier, c'est un morceau de civilisation.
Saluste32
C'est très triste ! Qu'il repose en paix notre chanteur-ami...
chichoanne
adieu l'artiste:: tant de chansons dans mon cœur.. "bon voyage.."...comme on prend la mer...."
brigitte churba
Une des plus belles chansons au monde
annick morin
POETE IMMORTELLE VOTRE VOIX!!!VOTRE REGARD !!! VOTRE VERBE Continuera
Sergio Maruccia
Riposa in pace
Miguel Cruzado Ignacio
Gracias.