Claude Nougaro (September 9, 1929 Toulouse – March 4, 2004 Paris) was a Fre… Read Full Bio ↴Claude Nougaro (September 9, 1929 Toulouse – March 4, 2004 Paris) was a French songwriter and singer.
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).
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).
C%C3%A9cile Ma Fille
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
Elle voulait un enfant
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
En riant aux éclats
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
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
En riant aux éclats
Elle me dit " Allons, jubile"
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
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, LES EDITIONS DU CHIFFRE NEUF, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Jacques Jean Marie Datin, Claude Nougaro
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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