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).

Eugenie
Claude Nougaro Lyrics

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Aïe aïe aïe, les kilos
Cinq de trop
Ça fait mal
Vite au trot
Cure thermale
À Eugénie Les Bains
Et dès demain,

Je glougloute
Je clapote
Je barbote
Je trempette
Dans la flotte
Quand je pète
Ça bouillonne
J'éclabousse
Sous les douches
On m'asperge
Je m'immerge
Dans des trombes
Pour que tombe
La bedaine
Le peignoir
La baignoire
Je replonge
Je m'éponge
Je me pèse
Là dessus
Je ressue
Un obèse
Près de moi
Meurt d'attaque
Dans sa flaque
Pauv' cardiaque
Le sauna
Le sonna
On me masse
Dans la masse
Sous des jets
Dirigés
Je liquide
Mes lipides
Et je pisse
Piss' comme dix
Picolant
Moult verres
Ruisselant
D'eau sévère
Quand je sors
Tout humide
À l'air libre
Merde il pleut
Triste sort
Foin du lard
Cher Guérard
Cordon bleu
Vite à table
Eau potable
Qu'est c' qu'on croque
Dans l'auberge
Une asperge
Dans l'œuf coque
Pour la fin
De la faim
Une compote
Se complote
Je me guette
Taille de guêpe
Mince buste
Je déguste
Les kilos
De soûlot
Que j'enterre
Solitaire
À prix d'or
Dessous l'eau
De ce port
Seule l'encre
Reste à l'ancre
Pour la pêche
Des beaux vers
Panne sèche
Le désert
Eugénie
Pas d'génie
J'en gémis
Et les heures
De l'église
Gouttent, pleurent
Vit' valise !

Ma cuisine
T'as bonne mine
P'tite usine
Qui s'anime
De frangins
De frangines
Ça gratine
Épluchons
Les oignons
Surveillons
La cuisson
Du gigot
De mouton
Aux soissons
Spaghetti
Al denti
Allez go
Attaquons
On s'éclate
Les tomates
Écarlates
Les radis
D'paradis
Saucisson

Le morgon
Tire bouchon...

Overall Meaning

The song "Eugenie" by Claude Nougaro depicts the singer's journey to a thermal spa called Eugenie Les Bains to lose weight. The lyrics playfully describe the various activities and treatments he undergoes in an attempt to shed the excess weight. The singer humorously details his experiences, from soaking in hot baths to being massaged, sweating in a sauna, and urinating excessively. The song also mentions the disappointment of stepping outside and getting caught in the rain after all the efforts at the spa.

Through clever wordplay and vivid imagery, Nougaro illustrates the absurdity and desperation people sometimes feel when trying to lose weight. The lyrics satirically portray the intense focus on physical appearance and societal pressure to conform to certain standards. Additionally, the song subtly hints at the superficiality of the weight loss industry and its commercialization.

Overall, "Eugenie" is a humorous and light-hearted composition that critiques societal norms and expectations related to body image and weight loss, using exaggerated and comical descriptions of the singer's attempts to slim down.

EugenieClaude Nougaro Lyrics

Eugenie
Claude Nougaro Lyrics