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).

Ca Fait Mal
Claude Nougaro Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Elle n'est jamais douce ni tendre
Ma femme fatale
Mais j'suis mordu et ca fait mal
Elle n'est pas c'qu'on peut prétendre
Sentimentale
Mais j'suis mordu et ca fait mal
Elle fait partie de la bande
Des Libérées du Mec

Tous mes amis m'demandent
Qu'est-c'que tu fous avec
Elle fait travailler mes glandes
Lacrymales
Mais j'suis mordu et ca fait mal

Elle se prétend polygame
Congénitale
Mais j'suis mordu et ca fait mal
Elle a déjà descendu en flammes
Cinq ou six mâles
Mais j'suis mordu et ca fait mal

Quand près d'elle, j'viens m'étendre
Avec mon madrigal
Motus, elle fait des cendres
En lisant son journal
Elle n'est jamais douce ni tendre
C'est une brutale
Mais j'suis mordu et ca fait mal

Je peux aller me pendre
Je tombe sur un bec
A quoi bon les esclandres
Puisqu'elle gagne son bifteck
Au sifflet mon cœur se pâme
Ah l'animal
Je suis mordu et ca fait mal

J'espère m'etre fait comprendre
Enfin, bref

J'vais pas m'étendre
J'l'aime Elle F

Overall Meaning

In Claude Nougaro's song "Ça Fait Mal," the lyrics express the singer's love for a woman who is described as dangerous and not conventionally affectionate. He acknowledges that being with her inflicts pain on him, but despite that, he cannot help but be infatuated with her. She is characterized as a femme fatale, someone who is captivating but also has a destructive nature.

The singer acknowledges that his friends question why he is involved with her, as she is part of a group known as "Les Libérées du Mec," suggesting that she may have a reputation for not being committed to one person. However, he admits that he is captivated by her, even though it hurts him emotionally.

She proclaims herself to be polygamous, someone who is naturally inclined to have multiple partners, and the song implies that she has left a trail of broken hearts behind her. Yet, despite her reputation and her rough demeanor, the singer cannot help but be smitten by her.

The lyrics also touch on the frustration and the conflicting emotions the singer experiences when he is close to her. He describes how she turns his heartfelt words into ashes by ignoring him and focusing on reading her journal. The singer is well aware that she is not sweet or gentle, but rather, she is rough and brutal, yet, he cannot resist his love for her, even if it causes him pain.

Line by Line Meaning

Elle n'est jamais douce ni tendre
She is never gentle or tender

Ma femme fatale
My femme fatale

Mais j'suis mordu et ca fait mal
But I'm bitten and it hurts

Elle n'est pas c'qu'on peut prétendre
She is not what people pretend

Sentimentale
Sentimental

Mais j'suis mordu et ca fait mal
But I'm bitten and it hurts

Elle fait partie de la bande
She is part of the gang

Des Libérées du Mec
The liberated women from the guy

Tous mes amis m'demandent
All my friends ask me

Qu'est-c'que tu fous avec
What are you doing with her

Elle fait travailler mes glandes
She makes my glands work