Georges Moustaki (1934-2013) was a singer-songwriter of Greek Jewish origin… Read Full Bio ↴Georges Moustaki (1934-2013) was a singer-songwriter of Greek Jewish origin.

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.

Les colombes
Georges Moustaki Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Dans ta gorge ronde vierge d'angélus
Sont cachées deux colombes
Doux oiseaux de Vénus ô colombes de rêve
Qu'on ne peut toucher
Ni du doigt ni des lèvres sans effaroucher

Jamais bouche vive n'a pu frôler l'aile
De ces deux captives en cage de dentelle

Ô colombes farouches quand je vous supplie
Je n'ai piège ni fourche
Dans mon ciel de lit

L'amour est un charme qui tout ensorcelle
Et ouvre sans arme la cage de dentelle
Ô craintives colombes montez vers les nues

Que mes mains de leur ombre
Voilent vos gorges nues

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Georges Moustaki's song "Les colombes" describe a sense of longing and yearning for love, using the metaphor of two doves hidden in the singer's lover's throat. The throat is described as round and chaste, representing innocence and purity. These doves symbolize the unattainable nature of love, suggesting that they cannot be touched or approached without causing fear or disturbance. The singer acknowledges the impossibility of physically reaching or kissing the doves, as they are too delicate and fragile.

The next verse expresses the desire to break free from the constraints that prevent the singer from touching the doves. The captives are described as being enclosed in a cage of lace, emphasizing their vulnerability and fragility. Although the singer pleads with the doves, there are no traps or snares awaiting them in his "bedroom sky." This suggests that his intentions are genuine and he longs for a genuine connection.

The chorus introduces the theme of love as a captivating force, capable of breaking through the delicate confines of the lace cage. Love is described as a charm that enchants and bewitches, opening the cage without the need for weapons or force. The doves are portrayed as timid and hesitant, urged to fly towards the heavens, where the shadows of the singer's hands will shield their exposed throats.

Line by Line Meaning

Dans ta gorge ronde vierge d'angélus
In your round throat, free from any sin

Sont cachées deux colombes
Two doves are hidden

Doux oiseaux de Vénus ô colombes de rêve
Sweet birds of Venus, oh dreaming doves

Qu'on ne peut toucher
That cannot be touched

Ni du doigt ni des lèvres sans effaroucher
Neither by finger nor by lips without startling them

Jamais bouche vive n'a pu frôler l'aile
Never has a living mouth been able to brush against their wings

De ces deux captives en cage de dentelle
Of these two captives in a lace cage

Ô colombes farouches quand je vous supplie
Oh wild doves, when I implore you

Je n'ai piège ni fourche
I have neither trap nor pitchfork

Dans mon ciel de lit
In my canopy bed

L'amour est un charme qui tout ensorcelle
Love is a charm that enchants everything