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).
Fleur Bleue
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Que se passe-t’il dans son pistil?
Frêle fleur bleue, elle est prompte
À se parfumer d’exil
Sur la terre, trop de trombes
Encore se battre, encore mourir
Encore un pétale qui tombe
La fleur bleue veut plus fleurir
Baladons-nous encore un peu
Il se pourrait que dans ce champ
Parmi tant de chardons méchants
Elle se cache comme elle peut
La fleur bleue à peine éclose
Voyait du rose dans la vie
Son roman à l’eau de rose
Est décidément fini
L’innocence n’est plus de mise
Les illusions de pureté
Ont bouclé toutes leurs valises
La fleur bleue s’y est jetée
C’est une loi de la nature
À l’envers de l’ange, le démon
Ils ne battent plus les cœurs purs
De Jean-Roger Caussimon
Baladons-nous encore un peu
À travers les charbons ardents
Encore un pas, serrons les dents
Elle attend peut-être nos yeux
Comme un musicien attend
Face au fin fond, fin fond des cieux
Face au tourment de son chant
La Blue note, la note bleue
La fleur bleue rougit de honte
Que se passe-t’il dans son pistil ?
Frêle fleur bleue, elle est prompte
À se parfumer d’exil.
In Claude Nougaro's song "Fleur Bleue," the titular "blue flower" blushes with shame over something happening in its pistil, or reproductive organ. This personification of a flower as sentient and emotional sets the tone for the rest of the song, in which the fragility and beauty of the flower is contrasted with the harshness and violence of the world around it. The blue flower is quick to perfume itself with the scent of exile, implying that it wants to retreat from the world and its hardships.
The second verse reveals that the blue flower once saw life through rose-colored glasses and had a "watered-down romance," but has now realized that innocence and purity are no longer relevant or attainable. The illusions of purity have packed their bags and left, and the blue flower has thrown itself in after them. The final verses urge the listener to keep walking through the fiery coals of life, to maybe find the blue flower again, which is waiting for us with the same hopefulness as a musician waiting for the moment when the "Blue Note," or the perfect musical expression, reveals itself in the chaos of creation.
Line by Line Meaning
La fleur bleue rougit de honte
The blue flower blushes with shame
Que se passe-t’il dans son pistil?
What is happening in its pistil?
Frêle fleur bleue, elle est prompte
Frail blue flower, it is quick
À se parfumer d’exil
To perfume itself with exile
Sur la terre, trop de trombes
On the earth, too many downpours
Encore se battre, encore mourir
Still fighting, still dying
Encore un pétale qui tombe
Another petal falls
La fleur bleue veut plus fleurir
The blue flower no longer wants to bloom
Baladons-nous encore un peu
Let's walk a little more
Il se pourrait que dans ce champ
It's possible that in this field
Parmi tant de chardons méchants
Among so many wicked thistles
Elle se cache comme elle peut
She hides as best she can
La fleur bleue à peine éclose
The blue flower has just bloomed
Voyait du rose dans la vie
Saw pink in life
Son roman à l’eau de rose
Her cheesy romance novel
Est décidément fini
Is definitely over
L’innocence n’est plus de mise
Innocence is no longer relevant
Les illusions de pureté
Illusions of purity
Ont bouclé toutes leurs valises
Have packed their bags
La fleur bleue s’y est jetée
The blue flower has thrown itself into it
C’est une loi de la nature
It's a law of nature
À l’envers de l’ange, le démon
The demon, opposite of the angel
Ils ne battent plus les cœurs purs
They no longer beat for pure hearts
De Jean-Roger Caussimon
Of Jean-Roger Caussimon
Baladons-nous encore un peu
Let's take a walk a little more
À travers les charbons ardents
Through the burning coals
Encore un pas, serrons les dents
One more step, grit our teeth
Elle attend peut-être nos yeux
Perhaps she is waiting for our eyes
Comme un musicien attend
Like a musician waits
Face au fin fond, fin fond des cieux
Facing the deepest depths of the heavens
Face au tourment de son chant
Facing the torment of his song
La Blue note, la note bleue
The Blue note, the blue note
Lyrics © LES EDITIONS DU CHIFFRE NEUF
Written by: CLAUDE NOUGARO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind