Son of an opera singer and an Italian piano teacher (Liette), he was raised by his grandparents in Toulouse, where he heard Glenn Miller, Édith Piaf and Louis Armstrong (among others) on the radio.
In 1947 he failed his baccalaureat and commenced a career in journalism, writing for various journals including Le Journal des Curistes at Vichy and L'Echo d'Alger. At the same time he wrote songs for Marcel Amont (Le barbier de Belleville, Le balayeur du roi) and Philippe Clay (Joseph, La sentinelle). He met Georges Brassens, who became his friend and mentor.
In 1949 he performed his military service in the foreign legion at Rabat, Morocco.
He sent his lyrics to Marguerite Monnot, Édith Piaf's songwriter, who put them to music. (Méphisto, Le Sentier de la guerre). He started to sing for a livelihood in 1959 in a Parisian cabaret in Montmartre, Le lapin agile.
In 1962, he decided to sing his works himself: Une petite fille and Cécile ma fille (dedicated to his daughter, born in 1962 to his wife Sylvie, whom he met at Le lapin agile). These songs made him immediately known to the larger public, which he had already started to penetrate by participating in the concerts of Dalida.
A car accident immobilised him for several months in 1963. The following year he travelled to Brazil, and sang in prestigious halls in Paris: the Olympia, the Palais, the Théâtre de la Ville.
Following the death of his friend Jacques Audiberti in 1965 he wrote, in homage, the song Chanson pour le maçon.
The events of May 1968 inspired him to the torrential Paris Mai, a plea for life, which would be banned from the airwaves. The same year he recorded his first live album at the Olympia: Une soirée avec Claude Nougaro.
His career continued normally punctuated with success: Le jazz et la java, Tu verras, Île de Ré, Armstrong, Toulouse, Petit taureau. But in 1984, his recording company did not renew his contract. Nougaro left for New York, seeking inspiration, and while there wrote and recorded a self-financed disc, Nougayork, whose resounding success was a surprise.
In 1988 Victoires de la musique rewarded him with best album and best artist, and between 1993 and 1997 he released three new albums.
His health deteriorated after 1995, when he underwent a heart operation. In 2003, his condition left him unable to appear at the festival du Verbe at Toulouse. From 1998 to 2004 he devoted himself more to concerts and festivals, apart from an album in aid of children suffering from AIDS. Having undergone further surgery in early 2004, he died of cancer in March, 74 years old.
His music drew inspiration, among other sources, from American jazz, from which he borrowed heavily (Charles Mingus, Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck, Sonny Rollins), but also from Brazilian music (Antonio Carlos Jobim, Baden Powell de Aquino, Chico Buarque).
Assez
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
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Depuis qu'il sème son malheur
Il serait temps que l'homme s'aime
Il serait temps, il serait l'heure
Il serait temps que l'homme meure
Avec un matin dans le cœur
Il serait temps que l'homme pleure
Le diamant des jours meilleurs
Assez! Assez!
Crient les gorilles, les cétacés
Arrêtez votre humanerie
Assez! Assez!
Crient le désert et les glaciers
Crient les épines hérissées
Déclouez votre Jésus Christ
Assez!
Suffit
Il serait temps que l'homme règne
Sur le grand vitrail de son front
Depuis les siècles noirs qu'il saigne
Dans les barbelés de ses fronts
Il serait temps que l'homme arrive
Sans l'ombre avec lui de la peur
Et dans sa bouche la salive
De son appétit de terreur
Assez! Assez!
Crie le ruisseau dans la prairie
Crie le granit, crie le cabri
Assez! Assez!
Crie la petite fille en flammes
Dans son dimanche de napalm
Eteignez moi, je vous en prie
Assez!
Suffit
Que l'homme s'aime, c'est peu dire
Mais c'est là mon pauvre labeur
Je le dis à vos poêles à frire
Moi le petit soldat de beurre
Que l'homme s'aime c'est ne dire
Qu'une parole rebattue
Et sur ma dérisoire lyre
Voyez, déjà, elle s'est tue
Mais voici que dans le silence
S'élève encore l'immense cri
Délivrez vous de vos démences
Crie l'éléphant, crie le cri-cri
Crient le sel, le cristal, le riz
Crient les forêts, le colibri
Les clématites et les pensées
Le chien jeté dans le fossé
La colombe cadenassée
Entendez le ce cri immense
Ce cri, ce rejet, cette transe
Expatriez votre souffrance
Crient les sépulcres et les nids
Assez! Assez!
Fini
The song "Assez" by Claude Nougaro is an appeal to humanity to love itself and to stop causing pain and destruction. The lyrics suggest that it is time for humans to change their ways and live with love in their hearts rather than fear and terror. The repetition of "Il serait temps que l'homme s'aime" (It is time for man to love himself) emphasizes the urgency of the message. The second verse suggests that it is time for humanity to reign over their own destiny and to overcome their fears.
The chorus "Assez" (Enough) is a call for humans to stop their destructive behavior towards the earth and each other. The use of the animal kingdom and natural elements such as deserts, glaciers, and streams as voices crying out for change adds to the song's powerful message. The image of a little girl in flames on a Sunday of napalm speaks to the horrors of war and human suffering. The lyric "délivrez-vous de vos démences" (free yourselves from your madness) is a plea to humanity to break free from the cycle of violence and destruction.
The final verses of the song emphasize the need for humanity to hear this message and make the necessary changes. The use of the imagery of animals, plants, and natural elements crying out for change reinforces the message that the earth itself is suffering from human destruction. The final cry of "Assez! Assez! Fini" (Enough! Enough! Finished) is a powerful statement that calls for an end to human destructive behavior.
Line by Line Meaning
Il serait temps que l'homme s'aime
It's about time that humans love themselves
Depuis qu'il sème son malheur
Since he's been causing his own suffering
Il serait temps, il serait l'heure
It's time, it's the hour
Il serait temps que l'homme meure
It's time for man to die
Avec un matin dans le cœur
With a morning in the heart
Il serait temps que l'homme pleure
It's time for man to cry
Le diamant des jours meilleurs
The diamond of better days
Assez! Assez!
Enough! Enough!
Crient les gorilles, les cétacés
The gorillas and cetaceans shout
Arrêtez votre humanerie
Stop your inhumanity
Crient le désert et les glaciers
The desert and glaciers shout
Crient les épines hérissées
The bristling thorns shout
Déclouez votre Jésus Christ
Nail down your Jesus Christ
Il serait temps que l'homme règne
It's time for man to reign
Sur le grand vitrail de son front
On the large stained glass of his forehead
Depuis les siècles noirs qu'il saigne
Since the dark centuries when he bleeds
Dans les barbelés de ses fronts
Within the barbed wire of his fronts
Il serait temps que l'homme arrive
It's time for man to arrive
Sans l'ombre avec lui de la peur
Without the shadow of fear with him
Et dans sa bouche la salive
And in his mouth the saliva
De son appétit de terreur
Of his appetite for terror
Crie le ruisseau dans la prairie
The stream in the meadow cries
Crie le granit, crie le cabri
The granite and goat cry
Crie la petite fille en flammes
The little girl in flames cries
Dans son dimanche de napalm
On her napalm Sunday
Eteignez moi, je vous en prie
Turn me off, please
Que l'homme s'aime, c'est peu dire
To say that man should love himself is an understatement
Mais c'est là mon pauvre labeur
But that's my poor work
Je le dis à vos poêles à frire
I say it to your frying pans
Moi le petit soldat de beurre
Me, the little soldier of butter
Qu'une parole rebattue
A repeated word
Qu'une parole rebattue
A repeated word
Et sur ma dérisoire lyre
And on my paltry lyre
Voyez, déjà, elle s'est tue
See, already, it's stopped
Mais voici que dans le silence
But here in the silence
S'élève encore l'immense cri
The immense cry still rises
Délivrez vous de vos démences
Free yourself from your insanity
Crie l'éléphant, crie le cri-cri
The elephant cries, the cricket cries
Crient le sel, le cristal, le riz
The salt, crystal, and rice cry
Crient les forêts, le colibri
The forests and hummingbirds cry
Les clématites et les pensées
The clematis and thoughts
Le chien jeté dans le fossé
The dog thrown in the ditch
La colombe cadenassée
The locked dove
Entendez le ce cri immense
Hear this immense cry
Ce cri, ce rejet, cette transe
This cry, this rejection, this trance
Expatriez votre souffrance
Exile your suffering
Crient les sépulcres et les nids
The tombs and nests shout
Assez! Assez!
Enough! Enough!
Fini
Finished
Lyrics © LES EDITIONS DU CHIFFRE NEUF
Written by: Maurice Vander, Claude Nougaro
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind