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).
Gloria
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
De quel côté du globe
Tombe à tes pieds
La blancheur de ta robe?
Gloria, Gloria
Ainsi chantait
Tout doux un troubadour
Assis sur
De Montségur
Par une nuit étoilée
Gloria, Gloria
Murmurait un vieux troubadour
S'il est un Dieu
Dieu est très bon
Or dans le monde
Rien n'est bon
C'est donc que ce mond3
N'a pas été fait par Dieu
Et pourtant
Sous la cendre cathare
Je t'aperçois
Brillante comme un phare
Tout là bas, Gloria
Dans mon patois j'entends depuis toujours
Le choc sourd
De ta beauté qui passe
Et de l'amour nous désigne l'espace
Gloria, Gloria
Murmurait le vieux troubadour
Parfois j'ai peur
Gloria j'ai peur
Car je me sens fait comme un rat
Et puis de ma nasse
Je vois scintiller ton aura
Gloria
De quel côté des notes
Tombe à mes pieds
La noirceur de mes bottes
Gloria, Gloria
Ainsi chantait tout doux un troubadour
Debout sur
Le blanc donjon occitan
De Montségur
Face au soleil bourdonnant
De gloire, Gloria
Un troubadour fredonnait ça
In Claude Nougaro's song "Gloria", the troubadour wonders about the divinity of Gloria, the woman whom the song revolves around. The song begins with the troubadour asking from which side of the globe the whiteness of Gloria's dress falls at her feet. He then goes on to sing about Gloria's beauty and the love it signifies. The troubadour claims that if there is a God, he must be good because Gloria's beauty is proof of his benevolence. However, he also wonders why, in a world that's not good enough, God would allow it to exist.
The troubadour then refers to the Cathars, a medieval Christian sect in Southern France that was deemed heretical and hunted by the Church. He hallucinates seeing Gloria shining like a beacon amidst the ashes of the Cathar crusades. The troubadour then switches to talking about his own worthlessness; however, even in his desperation, he sees the aura of Gloria shining in his life. He ends the song by asking from which side of the notes does the darkness of his boots fall at his feet.
Line by Line Meaning
Gloria
The singer is calling out to Gloria, whoever that might be.
De quel côté du globe
The singer is asking where Gloria is in the world.
Tombe à tes pieds
The singer wonder where Gloria's white dress falls on the ground in relation to her feet.
La blancheur de ta robe?
The artist continues to describe Gloria's dress and the color of it.
Gloria, Gloria
The artist keeps calling out to Gloria.
Ainsi chantait
The singer introduces a troubadour who sings softly.
Tout doux un troubadour
The troubadour is singing softly in the distance.
Assis sur
The troubadour is sitting lounged on top of something.
Le rempart démantelé
The troubadour is sitting on an old half-destroyed wall.
De Montségur
The troubadour is sitting on a wall in Montségur.
Par une nuit étoilée
The troubadour is singing on a starry night.
Murmurait un vieux troubadour
The troubadour is whispering the song.
S'il est un Dieu
The singer contemplates the existence of God.
Dieu est très bon
If there is a God, the singer believes he is very good.
Or dans le monde
However, the singer sees that the world is not good.
Rien n'est bon
There isn't anything good in the world.
C'est donc que ce monde
So, the artist concludes that this world
N'a pas été fait par Dieu
has not been made by God.
Et pourtant
Despite these thoughts,
Sous la cendre cathare
under the ashes of the Cathars,
Je t'aperçois
the artist catches a glimpse of Gloria.
Brillante comme un phare
She is shining bright like a lighthouse.
Tout là bas, Gloria
Gloria can be seen in the distance.
Dans mon patois j'entends depuis toujours
The artist has always heard in his dialect.
Le choc sourd
an intense impact
De ta beauté qui passe
from Gloria's beauty passing by him.
Et de l'amour nous désigne l'espace
Her beauty and love indicate a space between them.
Gloria, Gloria
The artist calls out to Gloria again.
Murmurait le vieux troubadour
The troubadour continues to whisper the song.
Parfois j'ai peur
The singer experiences fear at times.
Gloria j'ai peur
Gloria is a source of his fear.
Car je me sens fait comme un rat
The artist feels trapped and scared like a rat.
Et puis de ma nasse
He sees Gloria's aura from his trap.
Je vois scintiller ton aura
Her aura is sparkling and shining.
De quel côté des notes
The singer thinks about where things fall in relation to Gloria.
Tombe à mes pieds
He thinks about where the darkness of his boots fall in relation to her.
La noirceur de mes bottes
He describes his black boots.
Debout sur
The singer positions himself on top of something.
Le blanc donjon occitan
He stands on top of a white Occitan castle.
De Montségur
This castle is located in Montségur.
Face au soleil bourdonnant
The sun is buzzing in the sky.
De gloire, Gloria
The singer calls out to Gloria one last time as he is surrounded by glory and light.
Un troubadour fredonnait ça
The troubadour hums his sweet song.
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, LES EDITIONS DU CHIFFRE NEUF
Written by: Claude Nougaro, Don Byas
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind