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'Irlandaise
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Une ballade irlandaise
Féminine comme une colline
Une mer vert Véronèse
Occitane, de toute mon âme
Du si bémol au do dièse
Je destine à qui tu devines
Que ne ferais-je
Que ne ferais-je pas pour te séduire
La pompe à neige et la brosse à reluire
Les sortilèges des rivages les plus nostal-
-Nostalgiques
Les cornemuses des muses celtiques
Occitane, tu as mis dans mon âme
Une ballade irlandaise
Féminine comme une colline
Une mer vert Véronèse
Trouba, troudadou, troubadour
Sous tes tours je viens faire un tour
J'ai mis la plume à mon chapeau
Robin des bois à Roncevaux
C'est comme ça, tu l'as voulu, tu l'as...
Occitane, tu as mis dans mon âme
Une ballade irlandaise
Féminine comme une colline
Une mer vert Véronèse
The song L'Irlandaise by Claude Nougaro is a tribute to the beauty and allure of both Occitane (a region in southern France) and Ireland. The lyrics speak of how Occitane has put an Irish ballad in the soul of the singer. This ballad is described as being as feminine as a hill and as green as the Veronese sea. The singer of the song dedicates this ballad to someone special, using the musical language of solfeggio to convey the depth of his emotional devotion.
The song goes on to describe how the singer would do anything to win over the object of his affection. He speaks of using flattery, magic, and romantic imagery to impress and seduce her. The song ends with the singer declaring his love for both Occitane and Ireland, using the language of troubadours to evoke a sense of romance and nostalgia.
Overall, L'Irlandaise is a song that celebrates the beauty of nature, the power of music, and the potency of human emotion. Through his lyrical description of Occitane and the Irish ballad within him, Nougaro creates a mood of romance, nostalgia, and longing.
Line by Line Meaning
Occitane, tu as mis dans mon âme
Oh Occitane, you've placed into my soul
Une ballade irlandaise
An Irish ballad
Féminine comme une colline
Feminine like a hill
Une mer vert Véronèse
A green veronese sea
Occitane, de toute mon âme
Oh Occitane, with all my heart
Du si bémol au do dièse
From B flat to C sharp
Je destine à qui tu devines
I dedicate it to the one you know
Cette ballade irlandaise
This Irish ballad
Que ne ferais-je
What wouldn't I do
Que ne ferais-je pas pour te séduire
What wouldn't I do to seduce you
La pompe à neige et la brosse à reluire
The snow pump and the glossy brush
Les sortilèges des rivages les plus nostal-
The spells of the most nostalgic shores
-Nostalgiques
Les cornemuses des muses celtiques
The bagpipes of the Celtic muses
Trouba, troudadou, troubadour
Troubadour, troudadou, troubadour
Sous tes tours je viens faire un tour
Under your towers, I come to take a tour
J'ai mis la plume à mon chapeau
I've placed a feather in my hat
Robin des bois à Roncevaux
Robin Hood at Roncevaux
C'est comme ça, tu l'as voulu, tu l'as...
It's like that, you wanted it, you have it...
Occitane, tu as mis dans mon âme
Oh Occitane, you've placed into my soul
Une ballade irlandaise
An Irish ballad
Féminine comme une colline
Feminine like a hill
Une mer vert Véronèse
A green veronese sea
Contributed by Christopher C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.