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).
Brésilien
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sur le parcours du cœur battant
Toi qui ris avec tes larmes
O toi qui pleures avec tes dents
Viens visiter l'occident
Ici les chanteurs de charme
Sont morts depuis bien longtemps
Brésilien mon frère d'armes
Toi qui ris avec tes larmes
Emperlant de dents tes cils
Débarque avec ton Brésil
Brésilien l'amour est rude
Voici l'herbe enlève les grains
Tu vas nous jouer l'étude
La douce étude du chagrin
Tu vas nous toucher un brin
Ta guitare plénitude
Libère-nous de nos freins
Brésilien l'amour est rude
Voici l'herbe enlève les grains
Ta guitare plénitude
Caresse-lui le nombril
Débarque avec ton Brésil
Brésilien la nuit est belle
Sous son grand loup de carnaval
Ta musique me ficelle
Tel un cordon ombilical
A son ventre de cristal
Dont le pistil n'étincelle
Que pour mon bonheur buccal
Brésilien la nuit est belle
Sous son grand loup de carnaval
Ta musique me ficelle
Comme un fils à son Brésil
Débarque avec ton Brésil
Débarque avec ton Brésil
The song "Brésilien" by Claude Nougaro is a tribute to the Brazilian culture and its music. The song is addressed to Nougaro's "brother in arms", a Brazilian musician who shares his passion for music and life. The lyrics reflect Nougaro's fascination with Brazil and its people, their joie de vivre, and their ability to blend joy and sorrow in their music.
The first verse sets the stage for the song's theme: the contrast between the Western world and the Brazilian way of life. The "singers of charm" in the West have long been dead, but the Brazilian musician, with his beating heart, can bring his music and his culture to the West. The second verse is an invitation for the Brazilian musician to share his music, to play his guitar and touch the hearts of the Westerners with his "study of sadness". The third verse is a celebration of the Brazilian night, its carnival, its music, and its sensuality. The "fetish" of the song is the Brazilian musician who can "tie up" Nougaro with his music, like an umbilical cord that connects him to the rhythm and the soul of Brazil.
Overall, "Brésilien" is a song that celebrates the cultural exchange between France and Brazil, two countries with a rich musical tradition. The song is an expression of Nougaro's admiration for Brazil and his desire to connect with its people and its music.
Line by Line Meaning
Brésilien mon frère d'armes
Addressing the Brazilian friend like a brother in arms
Sur le parcours du cœur battant
On the course of a beating heart
Toi qui ris avec tes larmes
You who laugh with your tears
O toi qui pleures avec tes dents
Oh you who cry with your teeth
Viens visiter l'occident
Come and visit the West
Ici les chanteurs de charme
Here the charming singers
Sont morts depuis bien longtemps
Have been dead for a long time
Emperlant de dents tes cils
Your teeth sparkly on your eyelashes
Débarque avec ton Brésil
Come with your Brazil
Brésilien l'amour est rude
Brazilian love is tough
Voici l'herbe enlève les grains
Here is the herb removing the grains
Tu vas nous jouer l'étude
You are going to play us a study
La douce étude du chagrin
The sweet study of sorrow
Tu vas nous toucher un brin
You are going to touch us a little bit
Ta guitare plénitude
Your guitar fullness
Libère-nous de nos freins
Liberate us from our brakes
Caresse-lui le nombril
Caress its belly button
Brésilien la nuit est belle
Brazilian, the night is beautiful
Sous son grand loup de carnaval
Under its big carnival mask
Ta musique me ficelle
Your music ties me up
Tel un cordon ombilical
Like an umbilical cord
A son ventre de cristal
To its belly of crystal
Dont le pistil n'étincelle
Whose pistil only sparkles
Que pour mon bonheur buccal
For my oral happiness
Comme un fils à son Brésil
Like a son to his Brazil
Débarque avec ton Brésil
Come with your Brazil
Contributed by Adalyn Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jerry OX
une grandiose chanson du petit Taureau éternel !
Solange Giraud
Bel hommage au Brésil et à la musique brésilienne , par un air brésilien rythmant des expressions typiquement nougaresques
vijaypush
Plein de vie ! Superbe
Gabriel Nougaro
esse cara é bom
Alain Messiaen
Claude tu nous manques beaucoup
Patricia Nascimento
Brésilien mon frère d'armes, Sur le parcours du cœur battant ,Toi qui ris avec tes larmes
et Nous ris avec VOUS ...
TVMADEMOISELLE
PAIX ET L'AMOUR
MIAOU MIAOU
EXELLENT ..... TU NOUS MANQUES CLAUDE
Marcelo Firmino
É um xaxado cantado em francês? Que ótimo! Vive le nord-est. Vive la France.
Moe Scredriver
Muito máximo, ficou na minha cabeça essa canção há mais de 20 anos quando começava a treinar francês 😆