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).
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Claude Nougaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Moi je n'en voulais pas
Mais il lui fut pourtant facile
Avec ses arguments
De te faire un papa
Cécile, ma fille
Quand son ventre fut rond
Elle me dit " Allons, jubile"
"Ce sera un garçon"
Et te voilà
Cécile, ma fille
Et te voilà
Et me voici moi
Moi, j'ai trente ans
Toi, six mois
On est nez à nez
Les yeux dans les yeux
Quel est le plus étonné des deux?
Bien avant que je t'aie
Des filles j'en avais eu
Jouant mon cœur à face ou pile
De la brune gagnée
À la blonde perdue
Cécile, ma fille
Et je sais que bientôt
Toi aussi tu auras
Des idées et puis des idylles
Des mots doux sur tes hauts
Et des mains sur tes bas
Cécile, ma fille
Moi, je t'attendrai toute la nuit
T'entendrai rentrer sans bruit
Mais au matin, c'est moi qui rougirai
Devant tes yeux plus clairs que jamais
Que toujours on te touche
Comme moi maintenant
Comme mon souffle sur tes cils
Mon baiser sur ta bouche
Dans ton sommeil d'enfant
Cécile, ma fille
Cécile
In "Cécile Ma Fille" by Claude Nougaro, the singer reveals his emotional conflict when his partner, who wanted a child, convinced him to become a father. He did not want any children, but after his partner's persuasive argumentation, she fell pregnant with Cécile. The song introduces an intricate kaleidoscope of emotions and reflections from the singer, who expressly shows his vulnerability and feelings of amazement and wonder.
The lyrics convey a deep bond between father and daughter, and it reverberates in every line. The father-daughter relationship appears to be precious and enduring, as the father reflects on their early days together. The persona goes on to assert that he had loved other women before, but his daughter is unique, special, and has an unimaginable influence on him. He highlights that he is overawed by her presence, and he's always there for her whenever his daughter needs him.
In conclusion, the song is an emotional and powerful tribute from a father to his daughter. It's a testament to the bond shared between parents and their children and an acknowledgment of the role that children play in transforming their mothers' and fathers' lives for the better.
Line by Line Meaning
Elle voulait un enfant
She wanted to have a child
Moi je n'en voulais pas
But I didn't want to have one
Mais il lui fut pourtant facile
But it was still easy for her
Avec ses arguments
With her persuasive arguments
De te faire un papa
To make me your father
Cécile, ma fille
Cécile, my daughter
Quand son ventre fut rond
When her belly was round
En riant aux éclats
Laughing out loud
Elle me dit "Allons, jubile"
She said to me, "come on, let's celebrate"
"Ce sera un garçon"
"It'll be a boy"
Et te voilà
And here you are
Cécile, ma fille
Cécile, my daughter
Et me voici moi
And here I am
Moi, j'ai trente ans
Me, I'm thirty years old
Toi, six mois
You, six months
On est nez à nez
We're nose to nose
Les yeux dans les yeux
Eyes to eyes
Quel est le plus étonné des deux?
Which one of us is more amazed?
Bien avant que je t'aie
Long before I had you
Des filles j'en avais eu
I had other girls
Jouant mon cœur à face ou pile
Playing games with my heart
De la brune gagnée
From the brunettes won
À la blonde perdue
To the blondes lost
Cécile, ma fille
Cécile, my daughter
Et je sais que bientôt
And I know that soon
Toi aussi tu auras
You too will have
Des idées et puis des idylles
Ideas and romances
Des mots doux sur tes hauts
Sweet words on your highs
Et des mains sur tes bas
And hands on your lows
Cécile, ma fille
Cécile, my daughter
Moi, je t'attendrai toute la nuit
I will wait for you all night
T'entendrai rentrer sans bruit
I will hear you come back quietly
Mais au matin, c'est moi qui rougirai
But in the morning, it's me who will blush
Devant tes yeux plus clairs que jamais
In front of your eyes clearer than ever
Que toujours on te touche
That someone always touches you
Comme moi maintenant
Like how I do now
Comme mon souffle sur tes cils
Like my breath on your eyelashes
Mon baiser sur ta bouche
My kiss on your mouth
Dans ton sommeil d'enfant
In your child's sleep
Cécile, ma fille
Cécile, my daughter
Cécile
Cécile
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, LES EDITIONS DU CHIFFRE NEUF, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Jacques Jean Marie Datin, Claude Nougaro
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jaafari
merci pour la vidéo & merci monsieur Nougaro merci à la france d avoir laissée mûrir cet être !
l ignorance que l on offre à un ami , inconnu
la place qui se libère ,
les piétons un sang
dont les rues sont les artères
l ignorance que l on donne
aux éléments à une pluie
le vide s emplit
du flots de nos vies frêles
le trop plein d envies , lasse et gèle
faisant de l eau un fruit
fondu à nos lèvres
nos désirs de verts et d or
une contrée ou le sort s acharne
à faire des rêveuses
un idéal
l ignorance qu l on subit
preuves à l appui
perruques et croquis
ou des largesses d une langue ...
JaAfari
Jorge Manfredini
Extraordinario artista!
G A
C’est si doux et en même temps ça dégage tant de puissance ! Merci monsieur Nougaro
G A
Il y a tellement de puissance ! A chaque écoute c’est le grand frisson ! Merci monsieur Nougaro 🙏🏼
Mamminic Au Pays de l'Ours
On ne se lasse pas de l'écouter. Toujours plein de frissons quand je l'entends.....Ma Garonne est plus grande que tous les océans et les mers du monde.
Sissou FRIEDLI
Le concert tout entier est une merveille. Les musicines sont excellent. Ce grand Monsieur nous manque.
desman31
Plus qu'un simple chanteur un vrai poète ! J'adore ses textes :)
mary delanoe
Magnifique.....merci O Toulouse de m'avoir accueillie et réchauffée dans les flancs de ton jazz, de ta Garonne, de tes douces collines.....rien ni personne ne remplaceront Claude....il est unique comme sa ville....merci Claude....
didier d'agostino
Un immense Artiste accompagné ici par d'excéllents musiciens.
G A
Incroyable j’écoute et j’apprécie depuis peu Nougaro j’étais trop jeune avant peu etre ... il distille tant d’émotion dans ses textes un atmosphère inimitable dans sa voix
Chansou SYVER
Une pensée avec couleur émeraude et sons aquatiques... Comme c'est beau Claude toute cette poésie et ce jazz pur ; quel ensemble idéal.
Tout est beau chez toi, y'a rien à jeter. Merci !
ChanSou