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).
Demain je chanterai
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Je chanterai pour toi
Parce que tu m' auras fait heureux
Je chanterai, je chanterai pour moi
Parce que je t'aurai faite belle
Pour nous deux, pour le ciel
Je chanterai
De Paris jusqu 'à Nice,
Tu viendras dans mes bras
Pour que l'eau nous unisse
Et si je fais soleil
A faire fondre l'or
Tu viendras dans mes bras
Pour te fondre à mon corps
Demain Je Chanterai
Je chanterai pour toi
Car tu m'auras fait victorieux
Je chanterai, je chanterai pour moi
Qui t'aurai faite poésie
Pour nous deux et pour la vie,
Je chanterai.
The song "Demain Je Chanterai" by Claude Nougaro is a romantic love song about a person who promises to sing for their loved one tomorrow. The song explains how the person plans to sing for their loved one because they will have made them happy. They also promise to sing for themselves because their loved one has made them feel beautiful. The lyrics also explain how they would embrace each other if it rains and how they would melt into each other if it is sunny. The song is rich in metaphors and imagery that highlight the love between the two people.
The song brings out the power of love that can transform an individual and how expressing love through music can bring people closer. The repetition of "Je chanterai" which means "I will sing" emphasizes the fact that the singer is committed to expressing their love through music. The lyrics place emphasis on the role of music in expressing deep love as well as the role of a loved one in bringing happiness and joy. The use of contrasting images of rain and sun helps to portray the deep emotional intensity of the love shared by the individuals. The song is passionate, heartfelt, and resonates with anyone who has ever been in love.
Line by Line Meaning
Demain Je Chanterai
Tomorrow I'll sing
Je chanterai pour toi
I'll sing for you
Parce que tu m' auras fait heureux
Because you will have made me happy
Je chanterai, je chanterai pour moi
I'll sing, I'll sing for myself
Parce que je t'aurai faite belle
Because I will have made you beautiful
Pour nous deux, pour le ciel
For both of us, for the sky
Je chanterai
I'll sing
Et si je fais pleuvoir
And if I make it rain
De Paris jusqu 'à Nice,
From Paris to Nice,
Tu viendras dans mes bras
You'll come into my arms
Pour que l'eau nous unisse
So that the water unites us
Et si je fais soleil
And if I make it sunny
A faire fondre l'or
To melt the gold
Tu viendras dans mes bras
You'll come into my arms
Pour te fondre à mon corps
To blend with my body
Demain Je Chanterai
Tomorrow I'll sing
Je chanterai pour toi
I'll sing for you
Car tu m'auras fait victorieux
Because you will have made me victorious
Je chanterai, je chanterai pour moi
I'll sing, I'll sing for myself
Qui t'aurai faite poésie
Who will have made you poetry
Pour nous deux et pour la vie,
For both of us and for life,
Je chanterai.
I'll sing.
Writer(s): Maurice Camille Vanderschueren, Claude Nougaro, Michel Martin Portal
Contributed by Eliana T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.