"Le métèque" is a French

chanson A (, , french: chanson française, link=no, ; ) is generally any lyric-driven French song, though it most often refers to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval and Renaissance music. The genre had origins in the monophonic s ...

Georges Moustaki Georges Moustaki (born Giuseppe Mustacchi; 3 May 1934 – 23 May 2013) was an Egyptian-French singer-songwriter of Jewish Italo-Greek origin. He wrote about 300 songs for some of the most popular singers in France, including Édith Piaf, Dalida, ...

(1934–2013). He wrote it in 1969, and it was his first breakthrough hit, reaching number one in the French charts for six non-consecutive weeks. Before this song he had written for many singers, including "Milord" for

Édith Piaf Édith Piaf (, , ; born Édith Giovanna Gassion, ; December 19, 1915– October 10, 1963) was a French singer, lyricist and actress. Noted as France's national chanteuse, she was one of the country's most widely known international stars. Pia ...

. He recorded an Italian version titled "Lo straniero", which became the best-selling record of 1969 in Italy. '' Métèque'' is a pejorative word for a shifty-looking immigrant of Mediterranean origin.

Other versions

*The song has been translated into several languages. *1968 - Pia Colombo album ''A L'Olympia'' ( Disc'Az – LPS 25) *1969 -

Caravelli Caravelli (born Claude Vasori; 12 September 1930, Paris, France – 1 April 2019, Cannet, France) was a French orchestra leader, composer and arranger of orchestral music. Biography The son of an Italian father and a French mother, Vasori was ...

album ''Caravelli'' (

CBS Records International CBS Records International was the international arm of the Columbia Records unit of Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. (CBS) formed in 1961 and launched in 1962. Previously, Columbia Records had licensed other record companies to manufacture an ...

– S 7–63687) *1969 - Manu Dibango album ''Manu Dibango'' (

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

– 135.717 MCY) *1969 - Georges Jouvin album ''Trompette d'or'' ( La Voix de son maître - 2C 062–10278) *1969 - Dominique Bellot featuring Orchestre Bernard Wystraëte album ''Hits Variety N° 1'' (AFA – 20 728) *1970 -

Bobby Solo Roberto Satti better known as Bobby Solo (born 18 March 1945) is an Italian singer, musician and film actor. Singing career In 1964, Solo participated in the Sanremo Music Festival with the song " Una lacrima sul viso" ("A Tear on your Face", w ...

, lyrics by

Bruno Lauzi Bruno Lauzi (; 8 August 1937 – 24 October 2006) was an Italian singer-songwriter, poet and writer. Biography Bruno Lauzi was born in Asmara, then part of the Italian Eastern Africa, to a Catholic father, Francesco Lauzi and a Jewish moth ...

, album ''Bobby Folk'' (

Dischi Ricordi Dischi Ricordi is an Italian record company founded on by and Guido Crepax, active from 1958 to 1994. History Dischi Ricordi had its seat in Milan (Via Giovanni Berchet, 2). In 1994, the company was bought by BMG, who acquired the catalog w ...

– 23 23 004), published in Spain *1970 - The Musicos album ''Discothèque N° 2'' ( Concert Hall Society – SMS-15017) *1970 - Tanju Okan, lyrics by , with the title ''Hasret'' (Yonca Plakçılık Ve Reklamcılık – YCA-010) *1971 - Herman Van Keeken album ''Herman Van Keeken'' (

Nap A nap is a short period of sleep, typically taken during daytime hours as an adjunct to the usual nocturnal sleep period. Naps are most often taken as a response to drowsiness during waking hours. A nap is a form of biphasic or polyphasic sl ...

– 2935 001), published in The Netherlands *Greek singer

George Dalaras George Dalaras ( Γιώργος Νταλάρας, 29 September 1949) is a Greek musician and singer. He is one of the most prominent figures of Greek musical culture. In October 2006, he was selected as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Ag ...

recorded a Greek version "O Metoikos" with new lyrics by Dimitris Christodoulou in 1971. *1972 - Melina Mercouri with the title ''O metikos'', lyrics by D. Christodoulou, album ''Melina Mercouri'' (

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

– 23 93 027), published in Spain, Germany, Canada and United Kingdom *1972 -

Yossi Banai Yosef "Yossi" Banai ( he, יֹוסֶף "יֹוסִי" בַנָאי; April 13, 1932 – May 11, 2006) was an Israeli performer, singer, actor, and dramatist. Biography Banai was born in Jerusalem during the Mandate era, and grew up in the neighb ...

with the title ''פרצוף של צועני'' (face of a gypsy), lyrics by

Nisim Aloni Nissim Aloni ( he, נסים אלוני, 24 August 1926 – 13 June 1998) was an Israeli playwright and translator. Biography Aloni was born Nissim Levi to poor Bulgarian Jewish immigrant parents in Mandate Palestine. His family lived in Florenti ...

, Album 'face of a gypsy', published inisrael *1978 - De Strangers with the title ''De gastarbeider'', lyrics by Lex Colman; album ''Goe zot'' (

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

- DEC 193.500 K), published in Belgium *1982 - Dennie Christian with the title ''Voor zoiets is het nooit te laat'', lyrics by David Hartsema, album ''Vriendschap'' (

– 2925–134), published in The Netherlands *1986 - Stranger Alex with the title ''De gastarbeider'', lyrics by Lex Colman; album ''Helemaal Alleen Op Z'n Eentje'' ( Dureco Benelux – 66063), published in Belgium *1986 - Utako Watanabe album ''Devo tornare a casa mia'' (Omagatoki – SC 5005), published in Japan *1988 - Manolo album ''Manolo'' (Discadanse – D 76), published in France *1991 - Luc et Patrick, album ''Les troubadours des temps modernes'' (Luc – 1691), published in Switzerland *Moustaki recorded an Italian version with lyrics translated by

. His rendition of this version was released in 1969 as a single titled "Lo straniero" (B-side "Giuseppe"), with arrangement by Alain Goraguer. It reached

number one Number One most commonly refers to: * 1 (number) Number One, No. 1, or #1 may also refer to: Music Albums * ''Number 1'' (Big Bang album), and the title song * ''No. 1'' (BoA album), and the title song * ''No.1'' (EP), by CLC * ''n.1 ...

on the Italian charts, and became the best-selling record of the year in Italy. In 1970, Moustaki's recording won the Mostra internazionale di musica leggera (Gondola d'oro) in Venice as the best-selling record of 1969.

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meteque French songs Songs about occupations Songs against racism and xenophobia Songs about race and ethnicity 1969 songs Number-one singles in Italy