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).
L'île Hélène
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Compositeur: Yvan Cassar
Edition: Miss Terre/Yvan Cassar
L’île Hélène
Assis sur un banc devant l’océan
Devant l’océan égal à lui-même
Un homme pensif se masse les tifs
Interrogatif, à quoi pense-t'il
A quoi pense-t'il livré à lui même
Il pense à son île,son île Hélène
Est-ce que l’île l’aime
Assis sur un banc devant l’océan
L’océan jamais tout à fait le même
Dans le bruit lascif autour des récifs
Que la vague enchaîne
A quoi rêve-t’il l’éternel bohème
Il rêve à une île dont le littoral
A le pur profil de l’amour total
Assis sur un banc devant l’océan
Devant globalement la Terre tout entière
Qui jamais n’enterre ses haches de guerre
Ou si peu, si guère que c’est faire semblant
Il pense que le vent fraîchit sur sa joue
Il pense que l’amour sait vous mettre en joue
Ban Ban Ban
Il pense surtout devant l’océan
Bel esclave bleu qui remue ses chaînes
Il pense à son île, à son île Hélène
Est-ce que l’île l’aime
Pense-t-elle à son il ?
In Claude Nougaro's song "L'île Hélène," the singer describes a man sitting on a bench in front of the ocean, lost in thought. The man is massaging his hair, looking introspective and wondering about his island, his beloved "île Hélène." He questions if the island loves him back, if it thinks about him as much as he thinks about it. The endless waves crashing on the shore create a tranquil yet uncertain ambiance. The ocean, always the same yet ever-changing, emulates the man's feelings towards his island.
The lyrics portray a sense of longing and nostalgia for a place and a love that seem unobtainable. The man dreams of an island with a coastline that embodies the purity of total love, but he is unsure if he will ever be reunited with his beloved île Hélène. The beauty of the song lies in its poetic imagery, which captures the essence of human emotion and the turmoil of love and longing. The melody is melancholic, underscoring the bittersweet tone of the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Assis sur un banc devant l’océan
Sitting on a bench facing the vast ocean
Devant l’océan égal à lui-même
In front of an ocean that is always the same
Un homme pensif se masse les tifs
A pensive man massages his hair
Interrogatif, à quoi pense-t'il
Wondering, what is he thinking about
A quoi pense-t'il livré à lui même
Lost in thought, what is he contemplating
Il pense à son île,son île Hélène
He is thinking about his island, his island Helene
Est-ce que l’île l’aime
Does the island love him?
Assis sur un banc devant l’océan
Sitting on a bench facing the vast ocean
L’océan jamais tout à fait le même
The ocean is never quite the same
Dans le bruit lascif autour des récifs
Amidst the enticing sound of the rocks surrounding him
Que la vague enchaîne
As the waves crash around him
A quoi rêve-t’il l’éternel bohème
What is the eternal bohemian dreaming about
Il rêve à une île dont le littoral
He dreams of an island whose coastline
A le pur profil de l’amour total
Has the pure profile of complete love
Assis sur un banc devant l’océan
Sitting on a bench facing the vast ocean
Devant globalement la Terre tout entière
Facing the entire Earth as a whole
Qui jamais n’enterre ses haches de guerre
That never truly buries its hatchets of war
Ou si peu, si guère que c’est faire semblant
Or at least so minimally that it is a facade
Il pense que le vent fraîchit sur sa joue
He thinks about the fresh wind on his cheek
Il pense que l’amour sait vous mettre en joue
He thinks that love knows how to take you by surprise
Ban Ban Ban
Sounds of a musical instrument
Il pense surtout devant l’océan
Most importantly, he thinks in front of the ocean
Bel esclave bleu qui remue ses chaînes
Beautiful blue slave that stirs its chains
Il pense à son île, à son île Hélène
He thinks about his island, his island Helene
Est-ce que l’île l’aime
Does the island love him?
Pense-t-elle à son il ?
Is the island thinking of him?
Lyrics © LES EDITIONS DU CHIFFRE NEUF
Written by: Claude NOUGARO, YVAN CASSAR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind