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.
Madame votre fille à vingt ans
Georges Moustaki Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Madame, hier encore elle était si petite
Et ses premiers tourments sont vos premières rides
Madame, et vos premiers soucis
Chacun de ses vingt ans pour vous a compté double
Vous connaissiez déjà tout ce qu'elle découvre
Vous avez oublié les choses qui la troublent
On la trouvait jolie et voici qu'elle est belle
Pour un individu presque aussi jeune qu'elle
Un garçon qui ressemble à celui pour lequel
Madame, vous aviez embelli
Ils se font un jardin d'un coin de mauvaise herbe
Nouant la fleur de l'âge en un bouquet superbe
Il y a bien longtemps qu'on vous a mise en gerbes
Madame, le printemps vous oublie
Chaque nuit qui vous semble à chaque nuit semblable
Pendant que vous rêvez vos rêves raisonnables
De plaisir et d'amour ils se rendent coupables
Madame, au creux du même lit
Mais coupables jamais n'ont eu tant d'innocence
Aussi peu de regrets et tant d'insouciance
Qu'ils ne demandent même pas votre indulgence
Madame, pour leurs tendres délits
Jusqu'au jour où peut-être à la première larme
A la première peine d'amour et de femme
Il ne tiendra qu'à vous de sourire Madame
Madame, pour qu'elle vous sourie.
The lyrics to Georges Moustaki's song "Madame votre fille à vingt ans" tell the story of a mother reflecting on her daughter reaching the age of twenty. The song captures the passing of time and the emotions that come with watching one's child grow up. The mother addresses herself as "Madame" throughout the song, emphasizing the maturity and acknowledgment of her responsibility that comes with being a mother.
In the first verse, the mother expresses her surprise at how quickly time has passed, as if yesterday her daughter was just a little girl. The daughter's first troubles and worries are seen as mirrors of the mother's own worries and the toll they have taken on her, resulting in the first signs of aging.
In the second verse, the mother realizes that each of her daughter's twenty years has accounted for double the experiences she herself had at that age. The mother has already gone through everything her daughter is now discovering, and she has forgotten the things that troubled her back then. This implies that the mother has gained maturity and wisdom through her own life experiences and is now able to guide her daughter through hers.
The third verse portrays the daughter's blossoming into beauty and the arrival of a young man who is interested in her. The mother acknowledges that he looks like the person for whom she herself had made efforts to appear more beautiful. It symbolizes the cycle of love and attraction repeating itself through generations.
The fourth verse paints a picture of the couple, the daughter and her beau, creating their own world out of imperfections. They take a patch of bad weeds and create a beautiful garden, symbolizing their ability to find happiness and beauty even in difficult circumstances. Meanwhile, the mother feels that it has been a long time since anyone has celebrated her in the same way, as the spring of her life seems to have forgotten her.
The fifth verse highlights the contrast between the mother's routine nights of reasonable dreams and the passionate and guilty pleasures her daughter and her partner engage in. While the mother dreams of a more stable and predictable kind of love, her daughter and her beau embrace the intensity and recklessness of youth.
The final verse reflects on the innocence of the couple's guilty acts, their lack of regrets, and their disregard for the mother's judgment. They don't even seek her forgiveness because their acts of tenderness and passion are so pure and genuine.
However, the song ends on a hopeful note, suggesting that one day, when the daughter experiences her first heartbreak and sheds her first tears of love and womanhood, it will be up to the mother to offer her support and understanding. By smiling and showing her own resilience, the mother can help her daughter navigate through the challenges of life and maintain their loving relationship.
Overall, "Madame votre fille à vingt ans" explores the bittersweet nature of parenthood, the passage of time, and the role of a mother in guiding her daughter through life's joys and sorrows.
Line by Line Meaning
Votre fille a vingt ans, que le temps passe vite
Your daughter is twenty years old, how time flies
Madame, hier encore elle était si petite
Madam, just yesterday she was so little
Et ses premiers tourments sont vos premières rides
And her first troubles are your first wrinkles
Madame, et vos premiers soucis
Madam, and your first worries
Chacun de ses vingt ans pour vous a compté double
Each of her twenty years has counted double for you
Vous connaissiez déjà tout ce qu'elle découvre
You already knew everything she discovers
Vous avez oublié les choses qui la troublent
You have forgotten the things that trouble her
Madame, et vous troublaient aussi
Madam, and troubled you too
On la trouvait jolie et voici qu'elle est belle
She used to be considered pretty and now she is beautiful
Pour un individu presque aussi jeune qu'elle
For an individual almost as young as her
Un garçon qui ressemble à celui pour lequel
A boy who resembles the one for whom
Madame, vous aviez embelli
Madam, you had adorned yourself
Ils se font un jardin d'un coin de mauvaise herbe
They make a garden out of a patch of weeds
Nouant la fleur de l'âge en un bouquet superbe
Tying the flower of youth into a magnificent bouquet
Il y a bien longtemps qu'on vous a mise en gerbes
It has been a long time since you were put in wreaths
Madame, le printemps vous oublie
Madam, spring forgets about you
Chaque nuit qui vous semble à chaque nuit semblable
Every night that seems the same to you
Pendant que vous rêvez vos rêves raisonnables
While you dream your reasonable dreams
De plaisir et d'amour ils se rendent coupables
They make themselves guilty of pleasure and love
Madame, au creux du même lit
Madam, in the same bed
Mais coupables jamais n'ont eu tant d'innocence
But guilty ones have never had so much innocence
Aussi peu de regrets et tant d'insouciance
So few regrets and so much carefreeness
Qu'ils ne demandent même pas votre indulgence
That they don't even ask for your forgiveness
Madame, pour leurs tendres délits
Madam, for their tender offenses
Jusqu'au jour où peut-être à la première larme
Until the day when perhaps at the first tear
A la première peine d'amour et de femme
At the first pain of love and womanhood
Il ne tiendra qu'à vous de sourire Madame
It will be up to you to smile, Madam
Madame, pour qu'elle vous sourie
Madam, so that she may smile at you
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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