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.
Nous N'étions Pas Pareils
Georges Moustaki Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Moi, l'enfant du soleil
Et toi, fille des brumes
Tu avais la peau claire
Plus blanche que l'hiver
Moi, j'avais la peau brune
Ta valise à la main
Tu venais de très loin
Moi, je venais d'ailleurs
D'un pays où les fleurs
Ne craignent pas la neige
Nous n'étions pas pareils
Comment brume et soleil
Pouvaient-ils se comprendre
Notre Tour de Babel
C'était un vieil hôtel
Quatre murs d'une chambre
Nous avons parcouru
Chaque petite rue
De la carte du Tendre
Et nous avons dormi
Des mille et une nuits
Plus belles que la légende
Nous n'étions pas pareils
Moi, l'enfant du soleil
Et toi, fille de brumes
Si je venais chez toi
J'aurais beaucoup trop froid
J'attraperais un rhume
Chez moi, si tu venais
Tu serais étonnée
De ne pas voir la neige
Mais il neige en mon coeur
Des pétales de fleurs
Qui viennent de Norvège
Nous n'étions pas pareils
Moi, l'enfant du soleil
Et toi, fille des brumes
The song "Nous N'étions Pas Pareils" by Georges Moustaki is a tale of two people from different worlds who come together briefly and find a deep connection despite their differences. The singer describes himself as "l'enfant du soleil" (child of the sun) and the woman as "fille des brumes" (daughter of the mist). They meet in a hotel room, and despite the fact that they come from opposite sides of the world - he with brown skin and she with white skin - they explore the city together and fall in love. The singer reflects on how they could be "brume et soleil" (mist and sun) and yet still understand each other so completely.
The metaphor of the Tour de Babel is used to describe their relationship, implying that their connection is miraculous and impossible. They come from different worlds, speak different languages, and have different experiences, but they are able to communicate and connect on a deeper level. The singer recognizes that if he were to go to her world, he would freeze, and if she were to go to his, she would be surprised by the lack of snow. Yet despite their differences, they are able to find common ground.
Overall, the lyrics of "Nous N'étions Pas Pareils" convey the idea that love can transcend all boundaries, including those of language, culture, and geography. It is a hopeful and romantic message that celebrates the power of human connection.
Line by Line Meaning
Nous n'étions pas pareils
We were not alike.
Moi, l'enfant du soleil
I was a child of the sun.
Et toi, fille des brumes
And you, a daughter of the mists.
Tu avais la peau claire
You had fair skin,
Plus blanche que l'hiver
Whiter than winter.
Moi, j'avais la peau brune
I had tanned skin,
Ta valise à la main
With your suitcase in hand,
Tu venais de très loin
You came from very far away,
Peut-être de Norvège
Perhaps from Norway.
Moi, je venais d'ailleurs
I came from elsewhere,
D'un pays où les fleurs
From a country where flowers
Ne craignent pas la neige
Don't fear the snow.
Comment brume et soleil
How could mist and sun
Pouvaient-ils se comprendre
Understand each other?
Notre Tour de Babel
Our Tower of Babel,
C'était un vieil hôtel
Was an old hotel.
Quatre murs d'une chambre
Four walls of a room.
Nous avons parcouru
We traveled
Chaque petite rue
Every small street
De la carte du Tendre
On the map of love.
Et nous avons dormi
And we slept
Des mille et une nuits
In a thousand and one nights
Plus belles que la légende
More beautiful than the legend.
Si je venais chez toi
If I came to your home,
J'aurais beaucoup trop froid
I would be too cold.
J'attraperais un rhume
I would catch a cold.
Chez moi, si tu venais
If you came to my home,
Tu serais étonnée
You would be surprised
De ne pas voir la neige
Not to see snow.
Mais il neige en mon coeur
But it snows in my heart,
Des pétales de fleurs
Petals of flowers
Qui viennent de Norvège
Which come from Norway.
Lyrics © EDITIONS METROPOLITAINES
Written by: Georges MOUSTAKI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind