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.
Lazy blues
Georges Moustaki Lyrics
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On m'en veut on m'envie de la mettre en musique
Et de la chanter d'un air soporifique
Lazy blues
On me traite de mou de nonchalant qui passe
Je serais le chantre rêvé des messes basses
Remède souverain pour insomnies tenaces
J'accepte la sentence et je la revendique
Je ne suis pas du genre cadre dynamique
Et mon filet de voix est souvent anémique
Lazy blues
Dormir et ne rien faire qu'y a-t-il de meilleur
C'est notre rêve à tous bourgeois et travailleurs
Et quel mai y a-t-il à le dire en douceur
Lazy blues
Rechercher le plaisir plutôt que les médailles
Arriver lentement bien après la bataille
Et célébrer la sieste plutôt que le travail
Lazy blues
Je sais que ma pensée peut sembler subversive
À mon dernier sommeil je veux qu'elle survive
Et qu'elle réconforte mes âmes sœurs oisives
Lazy blues
Et dans cette prière en forme de berceuse
Je prie les divinités miséricordieuses
D'accueillir en leur sein mon ombre paresseuse
Lazy blues
The lyrics of the song Lazy Blues by Georges Moustaki describe the singer's preference for laziness and inactivity, which is met with criticism and envy from others. He acknowledges that his attitude is seen as nonchalant and lacking ambition, but he embraces it as an essential part of his life. He compares laziness to a cure for insomnia, and suggests that everyone dreams of the simplicity of just sleeping and doing nothing. Rather than striving for success and recognition, he celebrates the pleasure of enjoying life at a slower pace and finding comfort in idleness. He concludes with a prayer-like plea for his "lazy soul" to be accepted by merciful gods.
The lyrics of Lazy Blues express a sentiment that is often overlooked in our fast-paced and driven society. The song challenges the notion that we constantly need to be productive and successful, and instead suggests that there is happiness to be found in rest and relaxation. The lyrics also highlight the stigma attached to laziness, and point out the irony that those who criticize it might secretly desire it. With its slow and soothing melody, the song embodies the peacefulness of sleep and the comfort of doing nothing.
Line by Line Meaning
Ma très grande paresse appelle la critique
My extreme laziness invites criticism
On m'en veut on m'envie de la mettre en musique
People resent and envy me for putting it into music
Et de la chanter d'un air soporifique
And singing it in a soporific way
On me traite de mou de nonchalant qui passe
They call me sluggish, indifferent, and aloof
Je serais le chantre rêvé des messes basses
I would be the ideal proponent of secret plots
Remède souverain pour insomnies tenaces
A sovereign remedy for persistent insomnia
J'accepte la sentence et je la revendique
I embrace and assert my condition
Je ne suis pas du genre cadre dynamique
I'm not the kind of dynamic executive
Et mon filet de voix est souvent anémique
And my weak voice is often feeble
Dormir et ne rien faire qu'y a-t-il de meilleur
To sleep and do nothing, what could be better?
C'est notre rêve à tous bourgeois et travailleurs
It's the dream of us all, middle-class and laborers
Et quel mai y a-t-il à le dire en douceur
And what harm is there in expressing it softly
Rechercher le plaisir plutôt que les médailles
Seeking pleasure rather than medals
Arriver lentement bien après la bataille
Arriving slowly long after the battle
Et célébrer la sieste plutôt que le travail
And celebrate the nap instead of work
Je sais que ma pensée peut sembler subversive
I know my thoughts may seem subversive
À mon dernier sommeil je veux qu'elle survive
I want them to live on in my last sleep
Et qu'elle réconforte mes âmes sœurs oisives
And comfort my lazy kindred spirits
Et dans cette prière en forme de berceuse
And in this lullaby-like prayer
Je prie les divinités miséricordieuses
I pray to merciful deities
D'accueillir en leur sein mon ombre paresseuse
To welcome my lazy shadow into their bosom
Contributed by Parker Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.