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).
Berceuse A Pepe
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Comme une lampe de chevet,
Quand le matin commence à poindre,
Quand le bouquin est achevé
Dors en paix, pépé
Tu vas abandonner ton souffle,
Les taches rousses de tes mains,
Et repasser sans tes pantoufles
Dors en paix, pépé
Je ne m'en fais pas pour ton âme
Tu n'as à craindre nulle flamme
Bien que tu te sois dit sans Dieu
Tu peux, sans faire de grimace,
Regarder le soleil en face
Quand tu auras fermé les yeux
Un peu de toi s'en va descendre
Mais tout le reste va monter
Quitter cette vallée de cendres
Pour une planète d'été
Dors en paix, pépé
A belles dents, tu déjeunes
Le soir, tu soupes de peu
La vie nous aiguise en jeune
Puis elle nous déguise en vieux
Vas-tu connaître la recette
D'un repas qui coûte moins cher,
Et vas-tu faire la conquête
D'une beauté hors de la chair?
Dors en paix, pépé
Où tu vas, je ne puis t'atteindre
Suis-moi si tu peux où je vais...
Déjà le jour commence à poindre
J'éteins ta lampe de chevet
Dors en paix, pépé
Dors en paix, pépé
The song Berceuse à Pépé by Claude Nougaro is a gentle lullaby dedicated to Nougaro's grandfather who is nearing the end of his days. The song begins by acknowledging the inevitability of death, with the line "Tu vas mourir, tu vas t'éteindre," which translates to "You're going to die, you're going to fade away." The imagery of a lamp is used to describe the fading away, with the line "Comme une lampe de chevet," meaning "Like a bedside lamp."
The song continues with the comforting words "Dors en paix, pépé" meaning "Sleep in peace, grandpa" and describes the process of dying, with lines such as "Tu vas abandonner ton souffle," meaning "You will abandon your breath." However, there is a sense of acceptance and peace in this process, with lines such as "Je ne m'en fais pas pour ton âme" meaning "I don't worry about your soul."
The song's final verse shows a sense of hope for what comes next, with lines such as "Quitter cette vallée de cendres pour une planète d'été" which means "Leaving this valley of ashes for a planet of summer." Overall, the song is a poignant tribute to the end of life, but also leaves the listener with a sense of peace and hope.
Line by Line Meaning
Tu vas mourir, tu vas t'éteindre
You will die, you will fade away
Comme une lampe de chevet,
Like a bedside lamp
Quand le matin commence à poindre,
When morning begins to dawn
Quand le bouquin est achevé
When the book is finished
Dors en paix, pépé
Sleep in peace, grandpa
Tu vas abandonner ton souffle,
You will give up your breath
Les taches rousses de tes mains,
The red stains on your hands
Et repasser sans tes pantoufles
And cross the threshold without your slippers
Le seuil du monde des humains
The threshold of the world of humans
Je ne m'en fais pas pour ton âme
I am not worried about your soul
Tu n'as à craindre nulle flamme
You have no flame to fear
Bien que tu te sois dit sans Dieu
Even though you said yourself without God
Tu peux, sans faire de grimace,
You can, without making a face
Regarder le soleil en face
Look at the sun in the face
Quand tu auras fermé les yeux
When you have closed your eyes
Un peu de toi s'en va descendre
A little bit of you will go down
Mais tout le reste va monter
But everything else will go up
Quitter cette vallée de cendres
Leave this valley of ashes
Pour une planète d'été
For a summer planet
A belles dents, tu déjeunes
You eat your breakfast heartily
Le soir, tu soupes de peu
In the evening, you have a light supper
La vie nous aiguise en jeune
Life sharpens us when we're young
Puis elle nous déguise en vieux
Then it disguises us as old
Vas-tu connaître la recette
Will you know the recipe?
D'un repas qui coûte moins cher,
For a meal that costs less
Et vas-tu faire la conquête
And will you conquer
D'une beauté hors de la chair?
A beauty beyond the flesh?
Où tu vas, je ne puis t'atteindre
Where you go, I cannot reach you
Suis-moi si tu peux où je vais...
Follow me if you can where I go...
Déjà le jour commence à poindre
Already the day is beginning to dawn
J'éteins ta lampe de chevet
I turn off your bedside lamp
Dors en paix, pépé
Sleep in peace, grandpa
Writer(s): Maurice Camille Vanderschueren, Claude Nougaro
Contributed by Lila V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.