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.
Un Jour Tu Es Partie
Georges Moustaki Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Terre ou dans le ciel
Pour goûter au repos que l'on dit éternel
Rejoindre les copains qui t'avaient précédé
Et courtiser les muses de l'autre côté
Et nous sommes restés gros Jean comme devant
Nous tous qui nous sentions
Qui auraient grandi à l'ombre de ta moustache
Tu nous avais appris à crier:
" mort aux vaches! "
Sur un air de guitare et sans mâcher les mots
Et surtout à être bons pour les animaux
Au refrain
Au bord de notre mer Méditerrannée
Tu reposes là où jadis tu étais né
Et je soupçonne que tu ne dors que d'un œil
Pour regarder passer quelque vestale en deuil
Que le vent déshabille d'un geste fripon
Comme pout te montrer l'envers de ses jupons
Au refrain
Ils ont fait ton éloge et célébré tes vers
Ils ont failli te faire porter l'habit vert
Et à titre posthume ils sont encore capables
De faire de toi un poète respectable
Toi qui ne respectais pas
Grand chose avoue le
Et suivais simplement une autre route qu'eux
Au refrain voici que moi aussi je
Viens faire un discours
Pardonne-moi de ne pas le faire plus court
Et si tu peux m'entendre depuis l'au-delà
Continue je t'en prie de nous donner le "la"
Raconte nous comment ça se passe là bas
Si tu t'y plais au point de n'en revenir pas
Au refrain
Rejoindre les copains qui t'avaient précédé
Et courtiser les muses de l'autre côté
The lyrics of Georges Moustaki's song "Un Jour Tu Es Parti" tell the story of someone who has passed away and has gone to the afterlife. The singer describes how the person has gone either underground or to the sky to experience eternal rest. They have joined their friends who have gone before them and are now courting the muses on the other side.
Meanwhile, the rest of us have been left behind feeling lost and helpless. We are compared to children who have grown up in the shadow of the person's influence, particularly influenced by their rebellious spirit. They had taught us to shout "death to the cows" (a symbolic phrase representing authority) and to be kind to animals. The singer emphasizes how much they miss this person's presence and guidance.
The lyrics also allude to the person being buried by the Mediterranean Sea, where they were born. It is suggested that even in death, they are still observing the world, perhaps catching glimpses of passing mourners or even flirtatious encounters. They are characterized as someone who followed their own path and did not conform to societal norms.
The song acknowledges that the person has been praised and celebrated in their death, with the potential for them to be remembered as a respectable poet. However, the singer acknowledges that the person did not conform to the expectations of respectability in life and followed a different route. In the refrain, the singer asks for forgiveness for the length of their speech and requests that the person, if they can hear from the afterlife, continue to guide and inspire them.
Line by Line Meaning
Un jour tu es parti sous Terre ou dans le ciel
One day you left, either to the earth or to the sky
Pour goûter au repos que l'on dit éternel
To taste the eternal rest that is said
Rejoindre les copains qui t'avaient précédé
To join the friends who preceded you
Et courtiser les muses de l'autre côté
And court the muses from the other side
Et nous sommes restés gros Jean comme devant
And we remained the same, as if nothing had changed
Nous tous qui nous sentions Pareils à des enfants
All of us who felt like children
Qui auraient grandi à l'ombre de ta moustache
Who grew up under the shadow of your mustache
Tu nous avais appris à crier: 'mort aux vaches!'
You taught us to shout: 'death to the cops!'
Sur un air de guitare et sans mâcher les mots
To the tune of a guitar without mincing words
Et surtout à être bons pour les animaux
And above all, to be kind to animals
Au bord de notre mer Méditerrannée
At the edge of our Mediterranean sea
Tu reposes là où jadis tu étais né
You rest where you were born long ago
Et je soupçonne que tu ne dors que d'un œil
And I suspect that you only sleep with one eye closed
Pour regarder passer quelque vestale en deuil
To watch a grieving vestal pass by
Que le vent déshabille d'un geste fripon
As the wind undresses her with a mischievous gesture
Comme pour te montrer l'envers de ses jupons
As if to show you the other side of her skirts
Ils ont fait ton éloge et célébré tes vers
They praised you and celebrated your verses
Ils ont failli te faire porter l'habit vert
They almost made you wear the green coat
Et à titre posthume ils sont encore capables
And even after death they are still capable
De faire de toi un poète respectable
Of making you a respectable poet
Toi qui ne respectais pas Grand chose avoue le
You, who did not respect much, admit it
Et suivais simplement une autre route qu'eux
And simply followed a different path than them
Au refrain voici que moi aussi je
And as for me, here I am
Viens faire un discours
Making a speech
Pardonne-moi de ne pas le faire plus court
Forgive me for not making it shorter
Et si tu peux m'entendre depuis l'au-delà
And if you can hear me from the beyond
Continue je t'en prie de nous donner le 'la'
Please continue to guide us
Raconte nous comment ça se passe là bas
Tell us how things are down there
Si tu t'y plais au point de n'en revenir pas
If you enjoy it so much that you don't want to come back
Rejoindre les copains qui t'avaient précédé
To join the friends who preceded you
Et courtiser les muses de l'autre côté
And court the muses from the other side
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Adriana Brandt
Bel hommage ... il mérite ... aimer les chansons de Georges ... il sera toujours une icône de la chanson française...Vrai merci !!!
maelboutier
Oui, chouette!
Mamat Sali
Hommage à Brassens. Pathétique