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.
Le Mtque
Georges Moustaki Lyrics
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De Juif errant, de pâtre grec
Et mes cheveux aux quatre vents,
Avec mes yeux tout délavés
Qui me donnent l'air de rêver,
Moi qui ne rêve plus souvent
Avec mes mains de maraudeur,
Qui ont pillé tant de jardins,
Avec ma bouche qui a bu,
Qui a embrassé et mordu
Sans jamais assouvir sa faim
Avec ma gueule de métèque,
De Juif errant, de pâtre grec,
De voleur et de vagabond,
Avec ma peau qui s'est frottée
Au soleil de tous les étés
Et tout ce qui portait jupon,
Avec mon cœur qui a su faire
Souffrir autant qu'il a souffert
Sans pour cela faire d'histoires,
Avec mon âme qui n'a plus
La moindre chance de salut
Pour éviter le purgatoire
Avec ma gueule de métèque,
De Juif errant, de pâtre grec
Et mes cheveux aux quatre vents,
Je viendrai, ma douce captive,
Mon âme sœur, ma source vive,
Je viendrai boire tes vingt ans
Et je serai Prince de sang,
Rêveur ou bien adolescent,
Comme il te plaira de choisir;
Et nous ferons de chaque jour
Toute une éternité d'amour
Que nous vivrons à en mourir.
Et nous ferons de chaque jour
Toute une éternité d'amour
Que nous vivrons à en mourir.
The lyrics of Georges Moustaki's song "Le Métèque" describe the persona's facial features, features that suggest his ancestry and past experiences. He describes himself as having the face of a "métèque," which means "mixed breed" in French. He also mentions his Jewish, Greek, and wandering shepherd ancestry, which suggests his family history's diverse and possibly nomadic nature. He has an air of a dreamer, but he doesn't dream as often anymore. Onlookers might characterize him as being a musician, a wanderer, a thief, and a vagabond by the look of his hands and face.
Despite being perceived as such, he has been emotionally hurtfully to someone else. He has kissed, bitten, and lusted without satisfaction. He recognizes that his soul may be beyond redemption and that he may wind up in purgatory. The song's chorus, which is repeated at the end, is the singer's vow to a woman. He tells her that he will come to her, drink in her "twenty years," and spend eternity with her in love, as a Prince or a dreamer.
Overall, the song's lyrics emphasize identity and the struggle for redemption in the face of adversity, both at the individual and cultural levels, making it a melancholy but powerful masterpiece.
Line by Line Meaning
Avec ma gueule de métèque,
De Juif errant, de pâtre grec
Et mes cheveux aux quatre vents,
Avec mes yeux tout délavés
Qui me donnent l'air de rêver,
Moi qui ne rêve plus souvent
Despite my appearance as an outsider with my face about me, and my hair unaffected by the winds of change, my eyes betray a certain longing, even though my dreaming days have long passed.
Avec mes mains de maraudeur,
De musicien et de rôdeur
Qui ont pillé tant de jardins,
Avec ma bouche qui a bu,
Qui a embrassé et mordu
Sans jamais assouvir sa faim
My hands are those of a thief, a musician, and a wanderer who have taken things that didn't belong to me. My mouth has tasted pleasure, love and pain without ever being sated.
Avec ma gueule de métèque,
De Juif errant, de pâtre grec,
De voleur et de vagabond,
Avec ma peau qui s'est frottée
Au soleil de tous les étés
Et tout ce qui portait jupon,
Avec mon cœur qui a su faire
Souffrir autant qu'il a souffert
Sans pour cela faire d'histoires,
Avec mon âme qui n'a plus
La moindre chance de salut
Pour éviter le purgatoire
I am an outsider, a wanderer, a thief and a vagabond, with skin that has been toasted by the summer sun, and familiarity with anyone who came along. My heart has felt the same pain that it has caused, without fuss or drama, and my soul sees no hope of redemption.
Avec ma gueule de métèque,
De Juif errant, de pâtre grec
Et mes cheveux aux quatre vents,
Je viendrai, ma douce captive,
Mon âme sœur, ma source vive,
Je viendrai boire tes vingt ans
Et je serai Prince de sang,
Rêveur ou bien adolescent,
Comme il te plaira de choisir;
Et nous ferons de chaque jour
Toute une éternité d'amour
Que nous vivrons à en mourir.
Despite my outsider status, I will come to you, my sweet captive, my soulmate, my lifeline, with my hair blowing in the wind. I will share in your youth and become a prince of some kind, mature or immature, whatever you wish. Together, we will make each day a lifetime of love that we will embrace with our last breaths.
Et nous ferons de chaque jour
Toute une éternité d'amour
Que nous vivrons à en mourir.
Every day, we will make an eternity of love, which we will treasure until our last breaths.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GEORGES MOUSTAKI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind