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).
Girl Talk
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
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Dansez sur moi
Le soir de vos fiançailles
Dansez dessus mes vers luisants
Comme un parquet de Versailles
Embrassez-vous, enlacez-vous
Ma voix vous montre la voie,
La voie lactée la voie clarté
Dansez sur moi
Dansez sur moi
Dansez sur moi
Dansez sur moi
Dansez sur moi
Dansez sur moi
Qui tourne comme un astre
Étrennez-vous, étreignez-vous
Pour que vos cœurs s'encastrent
Tel un tapis, tapis volant
Je me tapis sous vos pieds
C'est pour vous tous que sur mes doigts
La nuit je compte mes pieds
Dansez sur moi
Dansez sur moi
Dansez sur moi
Dansez sur moi
Dansez sur moi
Dansez sur moi
Le soir de mes funérailles
Que la vie soit feu d'artifice
Et la mort un feu de paille
Un chant de cygne s'est éteint
Mais un autre a cassé l'oeuf
Sous un saphir en vrai saphir
Miroite mon sillon neuf
Dansez sur moi
Dansez sur moi
Dansez sur moi
Dansez sur moi
Dansez sur moi
The lyrics of Claude Nougaro's "Girl Talk" speak of a desire for connection and a sense of unity through dance. The repeated refrain "dansez sur moi," which translates to "dance on me," evokes a sense of surrender to the music and the moment. The verses describe a dance floor as a place of celebration, where engaged couples can dance upon the "vers luisants" or glowing worms, as if they were dancing on the floor of Versailles. The singer encourages the dancers to embrace each other and to let the music move them to a higher plane, beyond the everyday world. The lyrics are full of metaphors about dance, such as "tel un tapis, tapis volant" or "like a magic carpet," and "la voie lactée la voie clarté" or "the Milky Way, the clear path." The image of the dancing couples forming constellations in the sky is particularly striking.
The bridge of the song takes a darker turn, as the singer imagines his own funeral as a celebration of life, where he wants fireworks and a brief, bright moment of glory. But he also suggests that his death is not the end, as "another has broken the egg" and his legacy will live on in a new generation. The final stanza speaks of a "saphir en vrai saphir," or a "true sapphire in sapphire," suggesting that the beauty and truth of life can be found in the things we create, even after we are gone.
Overall, "Girl Talk" is a song about the power of music and dance to create moments of intense connection and joy, as well as the fleeting nature of human existence and the need to leave a positive legacy behind.
Line by Line Meaning
Dansez sur moi
Dance on me
Dansez sur moi
Dance on me
Le soir de vos fiançailles
On the evening of your engagement
Dansez dessus mes vers luisants
Dance on my fireflies
Comme un parquet de Versailles
Like a floor of Versailles
Embrassez-vous, enlacez-vous
Kiss each other, embrace each other
Ma voix vous montre la voie
My voice shows you the way
La voie lactée la voie clarté
The Milky Way, the bright path
Où les pas ne pèsent pas
Where footsteps don't weigh anything
Qui tourne comme un astre
Turning like a star
Étrennez-vous, étreignez-vous
Celebrate, embrace each other
Pour que vos cœurs s'encastrent
So that your hearts fit together
Tel un tapis, tapis volant
Like a flying carpet
Je me tapis sous vos pieds
I hide under your feet
C'est pour vous tous que sur mes doigts
It's for all of you that on my fingers
La nuit je compte mes pieds
At night I count my steps
Le soir de mes funérailles
On the evening of my funeral
Que la vie soit feu d'artifice
Let life be a fireworks display
Et la mort un feu de paille
And death a straw fire
Un chant de cygne s'est éteint
A swan song has ended
Mais un autre a cassé l'oeuf
But another one has broken the egg
Sous un saphir en vrai saphir
Under a true sapphire
Miroite mon sillon neuf
My new furrow shimmers
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, MUSIC ASSET MANAGEMENT (MAM)
Written by: BOBBY TROUP, CLAUDE NOUGARO, NEAL HEFTI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind