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).
Herbie Hancock
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Maître Herbie Hancock
Pour saluer bien bas
Chacun de vos dix doigts
Vos dix doits d'ébène
Sur les touches d'ivoire
Ces doigts qui m'entraînent
Par blanche et par noire
Où ne montent que les kings
Chapeau, chapeau haut,
Maître herbie and Co.
Chapeau, chapeau m'lon
Pour l'île Cantaloup
Votre île des Açores
Au corps qui chaloupe
Chez nous c'est un melon
De forme ovale et long,
Ballon de rugby, de rubis sur l'ongle
Ding, deng, dong.
Chapeau, chapeau cloche,
Angélus Hancock
Pour vos carillons,
Nul besoin de coke
La musique naît d'elle même
Touches d'ivoire,doigts d'ébène
J'ai l'melon qui chaloupe
D'la proue à la poupe.
Chapeau, Maître Hancock
Maître Hancock Herbie
Chapeau à deux m'lons,
Laurel et Hardy
Vos ongles sont chez eux
Haut de gammes plein les poches
Ils dansent sur des oeufs
Sans casser une croche.
Chapeau, Maître Herbie
Maître Herbie Hancoach
Herbie Hancock.
The French song "Herbie Hancock" by Claude Nougaro is a tribute to the renowned American jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader, Herbie Hancock. In the first verse, Nougaro pays homage to Hancock's dexterity on the piano by praising each of his ten fingers of ebony that glide gracefully over the keys made of ivory. The singer highlights the pianist's supreme skills that enable him to take the listener on an incredible musical journey, reminiscent of being inside the ropes of a boxing ring where only the kings climb. Nougaro sings "chapeau" which means "hat" in French, but can also be a way of saying "well done" or "hats off" to Hancock.
In the second verse, Nougaro makes a playful comparison of Hancock's island Cantaloup to the melon found in France. The singer juxtaposes the circular shape of the melon with a rugby ball while using onomatopoeic expressions "ding, deng, dong" to evoke a playful yet rhythmic tune.
The last two verses of "Herbie Hancock" congratulate the pianist's musical genius and interpretive skills. Nougaro extols Hancock's ability to create music that comes from an innate ability, rather than from the use of drugs or stimulants. In the final verse, the singer compliments Hancock's performance, saying that his nails are truly at home on the piano, dancing delicately on the keys without missing a beat.
Line by Line Meaning
Chapeau, Maître Herbie,
Hats off to you, master Herbie,
Maître Herbie Hancock
Master Herbie Hancock,
Pour saluer bien bas
To salute you deeply,
Chacun de vos dix doigts
Each of your ten fingers,
Vos dix doits d'ébène
Your ten ebony fingers,
Sur les touches d'ivoire
On the ivory keys,
Ces doigts qui m'entraînent
Those fingers that pull me in,
Par blanche et par noire
On white and black keys,
Dans les cordes d'un ring
In the ropes of a ring,
Où ne montent que les kings
Where only the kings rise,
Chapeau, chapeau haut,
Hats off to you,
Maître Herbie and Co.
Master Herbie and Co.
Chapeau, chapeau m'lon
Hats off, hats low,
Pour l'île Cantaloup
For the Cantaloupe Island,
Votre île des Açores
Your island of the Azores,
Au corps qui chaloupe
To the body that sways,
Chez nous c'est un melon
With us, it's a melon,
De forme ovale et long,
Oval and long in shape,
Ballon de rugby, de rubis sur l'ongle
Ball shaped like a rugby ball, with a ruby on the nail,
Ding, deng, dong.
Ding, deng, dong.
Chapeau, chapeau cloche,
Hats off, bell hats,
Angélus Hancock
Angelus Hancock
Pour vos carillons,
For your chimes,
Nul besoin de coke
No need for coke,
La musique naît d'elle même
The music is born by itself,
Touches d'ivoire,doigts d'ébène
Ivory keys, ebony fingers,
J'ai l'melon qui chaloupe
I have the melon that sways,
D'la proue à la poupe.
From the bow to the stern.
Chapeau, Maître Hancock
Hats off, Master Hancock,
Maître Hancock Herbie
Master Herbie Hancock,
Chapeau à deux m'lons,
Hats off to two melons,
Laurel et Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Vos ongles sont chez eux
Your nails are at home,
Haut de gammes plein les poches
High-end goods full in your pockets,
Ils dansent sur des oeufs
They dance on eggs,
Sans casser une croche.
Without breaking a single note.
Chapeau, Maître Herbie
Hats off, Master Herbie,
Maître Herbie Hancoach
Master Herbie Hancoach,
Herbie Hancock.
Herbie Hancock.
Contributed by Elliot L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.