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.

Si Je Pouvais T'Aider
Georges Moustaki Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Si je pouvais t'aider
À mettre en ordre tes idées
À chercher plutôt que d'attendre
Et à donner plutôt que prendre

Si je pouvais t'aider
À offrir plutôt que compter
À être plutôt que paraître

À ne pas vieillir mais renaître

Si je pouvais t'aider
À comprendre au lieu de douter
À créer plutôt que refaire
À choisir ce que tu préfères

Si je pouvais t'aider
À trouver ton meilleur côté
Celui que jamais tu ne livres
Celui qui te ferait mieux vivre

Si je pouvais t'aider
Comme tu me l'as demandé
Toi qui me prends pour un vieux sage
Parce que j'ai deux fois ton âge

Si je pouvais t'aider
À mettre en ordre tes idées

À offrir plutôt que compter
Comme tu me l'as demandé

Overall Meaning

The lyrics in Georges Moustaki's song "Si Je Pouvais T'Aider" speak to a desire to help someone else find their way and live a better life. The singer presents a series of scenarios where they would like to assist the listener, starting with helping them organize their ideas and encouraging them to take action rather than just wait. They also encourage the listener to give more than they take, to focus on being rather than appearing, and to constantly renew themselves rather than grow old.

The singer then goes on to express a desire to help the listener understand things more fully, to create rather than simply redo what's been done before, and to find what they truly prefer in life. The refrain of the song repeats the theme of wanting to help the listener find their best self, the self that they perhaps keep hidden but that could make them live a more fulfilling life.

Overall, this song is an invitation to personal growth, a call to be more daring, more generous, and more proactive, and an acknowledgement of the power of wisdom and experience to help others navigate their paths.

Line by Line Meaning

Si je pouvais t'aider
If I could help you

À mettre en ordre tes idées
To organize your thoughts

À chercher plutôt que d'attendre
To search rather than await

Et à donner plutôt que prendre
And to give rather than take

À offrir plutôt que compter
To offer rather than keep track

À être plutôt que paraître
To be rather than appear

À ne pas vieillir mais renaître
To not age but be reborn

À comprendre au lieu de douter
To understand instead of doubt

À créer plutôt que refaire
To create rather than redo

À choisir ce que tu préfères
To choose what you prefer

À trouver ton meilleur côté
To find your best self