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 promeneur
Georges Moustaki Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Il avait le regard des sages
Mais ce n'était qu'un étranger
Simple promeneur sans bagage
Il semblait n'avoir peur de rien
Pourtant il paraissait fragile
Mais il avait le flair des chiens
Il avait connu tant de belles
Quelquefois il nous confiait
Toutes les guerres en dentelle
Qu'il avait perdues ou gagnées
Du monde il savait des histoires
Qu'on ne lit pas dans les journaux
Et nous étions heureux d'y croire
Même si c'était bien trop beau
Il aimait surtout être seul
Laisser le temps passer sans lui
Dormir à l'ombre des tilleuls
Rêver le jour, flâner la nuit
Il nous faisait parfois le franc
De raconter des souvenirs
Presque aussi vrais que des légendes
Pour nous troubler et nous séduire
Il a laissé sur son passage
Comme un parfum de liberté
Et depuis lors dans le village
Il nous vient de drôles d'idées
J'ai gardé le bout de crayon
Qu'en partant il m'avait donné
Pour vous écrire la chanson
De l'homme qui se promenait (2)
Georges Moustaki's song "Le promeneur" tells the story of a man who wanders through the village, appearing like a stranger with no baggage. He has a certain air of wisdom, but also a fragility that seems to contradict his brave demeanor. However, he possesses the instinct of a dog and agility of a cat. Although he appears fearless, he reveals to the villagers that he has lost some wars and won others that were as delicate as lace. He also shares with them stories of the world that we don't usually find in newspapers. Perhaps the villagers find his stories too fanciful, but they choose to believe them and, in doing so, they are intrigued by the man.
The man loves being alone, taking his sweet time drifting through the village, sleeping under the shade of the lime trees, dreaming during the daytime, and strolling at night. Sometimes he regales the villagers with stories that seem almost as real as theories, which confuse and entice them. After he leaves, a scent of freedom seems to linger in the village, resulting in some strange ideas that come to the minds of the villagers. The song concludes with the singer explaining that the man left her with a pencil that he used to give to her so that she could write a song about the man who used to walk through the village.
Line by Line Meaning
Il avait de drôles d'idées
He had peculiar ideas
Il avait le regard des sages
He had the eyes of the wise
Mais ce n'était qu'un étranger
But he was only a stranger
Simple promeneur sans bagage
A simple walker without any baggage
Il semblait n'avoir peur de rien
He seemed to be fearless
Pourtant il paraissait fragile
Yet he appeared fragile
Mais il avait le flair des chiens
But he had the instinct of a dog
Et comme un chat il était agile
And like a cat, he was agile
Il avait connu tant de belles
He had known so many beauties
Quelquefois il nous confiait
Sometimes he would tell us
Toutes les guerres en dentelle
All the lace wars
Qu'il avait perdues ou gagnées
That he had won or lost
Du monde il savait des histoires
He knew stories of the world
Qu'on ne lit pas dans les journaux
That we don't read in the newspapers
Et nous étions heureux d'y croire
And we were happy to believe
Même si c'était bien trop beau
Even if it was too good to be true
Il aimait surtout être seul
He especially liked being alone
Laisser le temps passer sans lui
Letting time pass without him
Dormir à l'ombre des tilleuls
Sleeping in the shade of the lime trees
Rêver le jour, flâner la nuit
Dreaming during the day, strolling at night
Il nous faisait parfois le franc
He would sometimes be frank with us
De raconter des souvenirs
Telling us memories
Presque aussi vrais que des légendes
Almost as true as legends
Pour nous troubler et nous séduire
To trouble and seduce us
Il a laissé sur son passage
He left behind, on his way
Comme un parfum de liberté
Like a scent of freedom
Et depuis lors dans le village
And since then in the village
Il nous vient de drôles d'idées
We get peculiar ideas
J'ai gardé le bout de crayon
I kept the pencil stub
Qu'en partant il m'avait donné
That he gave me before leaving
Pour vous écrire la chanson
To write you the song
De l'homme qui se promenait
Of the man who went for a walk
Contributed by Adrian K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.