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 chanson de Jérôme
Georges Moustaki Lyrics
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Le petit matin je partirai
Tu seras encore endormie dans la
Tiédeur de notre lit rideaux tirés
Tu souriras dans ton sommeil
Tandis qu'un rayon
De soleil dessus les toit's
Viendra me prendre par la main pour m'emmener
Je te laisserai ma guitare pour qu'elle
Fasse encore croire à mon retour
Pour qu'elle chante en mon absence a chaque
Fois que le silence sera trop lourd
Mais je garderai sur ma bouche le souffle
De ta lèvre douce qui s'offrira
Comme une fleur que l'on respire a chaque
Fois que ton sourire me manquera
Tu m'as donné en un seul jour des mille
Et une nuit's d'amour c'est pour cela
Que je pars au petit matin plutôt que
D'attendre la fin de ce jour-là
Pour que rien ne vienne flétrir le
Si fragile souvenir de cet instant
Où je fus pour quelques
Secondes l'homme le plus
Heureux du monde de tous les temps
Lorsque le feu sera éteint ce sera
Le petit matin je partirai
Tu seras encore endormie dans la tiédeur
De notre lit rideaux tirés
Tu souriras dans ton sommeil tandis qu'un
Rayon de soleil dessus les toit's
Viendra me prendre par la main pour m'emmener
Sur les chemins très loin de toi
The lyrics of Georges Moustaki's song "La Chanson De Jaume" depict a tender and melancholic farewell scene between two lovers. The singer describes the moment when he will leave in the early morning after the fire has been extinguished. While his partner will still be asleep, he imagines her smiling in her slumber. As the sun shines on the rooftops, it will take his hand and lead him away on distant paths, far from her.
Before departing, he entrusts his guitar to her, hoping that it will keep the belief in his return alive and sing in his absence whenever the silence becomes too heavy. However, he wants to keep the breath of her soft lips on his mouth, like a flower that reminds him of her smile when he misses her. He acknowledges that she has given him a profound experience of love that feels like a thousand nights in just one day. That's why he chooses to leave in the early morning, wanting to preserve the fragile memory of that moment and not waiting for the end of the day when external factors could wilt it.
The song beautifully captures the bittersweet feeling of departure and the longing for a loved one's presence. It portrays the tender moments and the deep connection shared between two individuals, while also acknowledging the importance of independence and the desire to explore new horizons.
Line by Line Meaning
Lorsque le feu sera éteint ce sera
When the fire is extinguished, it will be
Le petit matin je partirai
In the early morning, I will depart
Tu seras encore endormie dans la
You will still be asleep in the
Tiédeur de notre lit rideaux tirés
Warmth of our bed, with drawn curtains
Tu souriras dans ton sommeil
You will smile in your sleep
Tandis qu'un rayon
While a ray
De soleil dessus les toit's
Of sunlight on the rooftops
Viendra me prendre par la main pour m'emmener
Will come and take me by the hand to lead me
Sur les chemins très loin de toi
On paths far away from you
Je te laisserai ma guitare pour qu'elle
I will leave you my guitar so that it
Fasse encore croire à mon retour
Still makes you believe in my return
Pour qu'elle chante en mon absence a chaque
So that it sings in my absence every
Fois que le silence sera trop lourd
Time the silence becomes too heavy
Mais je garderai sur ma bouche le souffle
But I will keep on my lips the breath
De ta lèvre douce qui s'offrira
Of your sweet lips that will offer itself
Comme une fleur que l'on respire a chaque
Like a flower that one breathes in every
Fois que ton sourire me manquera
Time your smile will be missed by me
Tu m'as donné en un seul jour des mille
You gave me in a single day a thousand
Et une nuit's d'amour c'est pour cela
And a night of love, that's why
Que je pars au petit matin plutôt que
I leave in the early morning instead of
D'attendre la fin de ce jour-là
Waiting for the end of that day
Pour que rien ne vienne flétrir le
So that nothing comes to wither the
Si fragile souvenir de cet instant
So fragile memory of that moment
Où je fus pour quelques
When I was, for a few
Secondes l'homme le plus
Seconds, the happiest man
Heureux du monde de tous les temps
In the world of all times
Lorsque le feu sera éteint ce sera
When the fire is extinguished, it will be
Le petit matin je partirai
In the early morning, I will depart
Tu seras encore endormie dans la tiédeur
You will still be asleep in the warm
De notre lit rideaux tirés
Of our bed, with drawn curtains
Tu souriras dans ton sommeil tandis qu'un
You will smile in your sleep while a
Rayon de soleil dessus les toit's
Ray of sunlight on the rooftops
Viendra me prendre par la main pour m'emmener
Will come and take me by the hand to lead me
Sur les chemins très loin de toi
On paths far away from you
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MAXIME LEFORESTIER, GEORGES MOUSTAKI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind