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).
Hymne
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Le cœur offert pour en fleurir le temps,
L'âme tendue vers la beauté qui passe
Et la suivant, je veux vivre en aimant
Oui, vivre en aimant
Comme un clown aime un chien savant
Comme un clou
Aimant un aimant
Où je dormais privé d'yeux et d'ouïe
J'écouterai l'hymne de chaque vague,
Par chaque nuit, je veux être ébloui
Oui, être ébloui
Par ce désert de pierreries
S'abreuvant
Au puits de mon sang
Et si le ciel nous tombe sur la tête
Pour un bouton pressé un peu trop fort
Le vainqueur fou aura fait la conquête
D'un rire doux dans ma tête de mort
In Claude Nougaro's song "Hymne," the singer explores the idea of living fully and embracing beauty in life. Through his words, he paints a picture of an open embrace towards the world around him, offering his heart to nurture and cultivate the present moment. He wants to live life wholeheartedly, following the path of beauty that passes him by. He wants to love fully, likening it to a clown loving a talented dog or a nail loving a magnet. It is in the act of loving that Nougaro believes he has been redeemed from a former state of being that was lacking in sight and sense.
The singer uses vivid imagery to describe the transformative power of his experiences. He has been drawn from the waters where he once existed without vision or hearing. Now, he sees the world in full technicolor and hears the symphony of every passing wave. He wants to be dazzled by the desert of rare gems, imbibing deeply from the wellspring of his own life force. Even if the sky should fall down upon his head, he will respond with humor.
Line by Line Meaning
Les bras ouverts pour enlacer l'espace,
With open arms, I welcome the vastness of space and all it encompasses.
Le cœur offert pour en fleurir le temps,
My heart beats to add beauty to every moment of time.
L'âme tendue vers la beauté qui passe
My soul reaches out to embrace the fleeting beauty that surrounds us.
Et la suivant, je veux vivre en aimant
Following this beauty, I choose to live my life lovingly.
Oui, vivre en aimant
Yes, to live in love.
Comme un clown aime un chien savant
Like a clown loves a trained dog,
Comme un clou aimant un aimant
Like a nail attracted to a magnet.
Puisqu'un pêcheur m'a sorti de la mare
A fisherman saved me from the murky waters where I was blind and deaf.
Où je dormais privé d'yeux et d'ouïe
Where I slept deprived of sight and sound.
J'écouterai l'hymne de chaque vague,
I will listen to the hymn of every wave
Par chaque nuit, je veux être ébloui
Every night, I wish to be dazzled
Oui, être ébloui
Yes, to be dazzled
Par ce désert de pierreries
By this desert of jewels
S'abreuvant
Drinking in
Au puits de mon sang
From the well of my own blood
Et si le ciel nous tombe sur la tête
And if the sky falls on our heads
Pour un bouton pressé un peu trop fort
From a button pressed a little too hard
Le vainqueur fou aura fait la conquête
The mad victor will have conquered
D'un rire doux dans ma tête de mort
With a soft laugh in my head of death
Contributed by Adam N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.