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).
La Chanson
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
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Trouve l'autre fermée
Et ressort par la bouche
La chanson
Celle qui fait sa place au soleil
Dans l'ombre de nos cœurs
Et que rien n'effarouche, la chanson
À peine a-t-elle fait la, la-la
Qu'elle n'est plus là, la chanson
La chanson, la chanson, celle qui rêve
De déplacer plus d'air
Que l'air de la Tosca, la chanson, la chanson
La chanson
L'oiseau mouche perché sur le grand mur du son
Celle qui m'est revenue l'autre nuit
Mais celle qui la chantait, elle
Ne reviendra plus, la chanson
Celle qui est incarnée sous la pluie
Par une Edith qui piaffe
À l'angle de la rue, la chanson, la chanson
Celle qui est encore dans le corps d'un piano
Refermé pour toujours, la chanson
La chanson, la chanson cousue d'or
Qui se paie des jardins
En gueulant dans les cours la chanson, la chanson
La chanson
La chanson dont on croit connaître la chanson
Mais non
Nougaro's "La Chanson" is a poignant reflection on the ephemeral nature of music. The first verse explains how the song enters through one ear but will find the other one closed, only to exit again through the mouth. The second verse describes how it occupies a place in our hearts but is easily forgotten, easily replaced by the next one in line. The song is characterized by its transience, and despite its brief lifespan, it has the power to move us in ways that nothing else can.
In the next verse, Nougaro speaks about the dream of every musician: to make a song that fills the airwaves, to create something that is bigger than any aria from "Tosca." But the song, like the hummingbird sitting atop the wall, is delicate and easily broken. The lyrics take a melancholic turn in the fourth verse, where Nougaro laments the loss of someone who used to sing this song. He recognizes that the song exists in many forms, from Edith's piercing rendition to the sound of raindrops falling on a piano.
The song's final verse conveys a sense of both familiarity and mystery. Nougaro acknowledges that everyone believes they know this song's ins and outs, yet there is always something new to discover. Ultimately, "La Chanson" is a poignant reminder that music has the power to capture the most fleeting moments of life, but also the most profound.
Line by Line Meaning
Celle qui entre par une oreille
The song that enters through one ear while the other remains closed and exits through the mouth.
Trouve l'autre fermée
The song finds the other ear blocked.
Et ressort par la bouche
The song exits through the mouth.
Celle qui fait sa place au soleil
The song that finds its way into our hearts even in the shadows.
Dans l'ombre de nos cœurs
The song that takes root in the darkness of our hearts.
Et que rien n'effarouche, la chanson
The song that nothing can scare away.
La chanson, celle qui a la vie brève
The song that has a brief life.
À peine a-t-elle fait la, la-la
The song that barely has time to make its mark.
Qu'elle n'est plus là, la chanson
The song that disappears as quickly as it appeared.
La chanson, la chanson, celle qui rêve
The song that dreams of moving more air than the Tosca.
De déplacer plus d'air
The song that wants to move more air than any other.
Que l'air de la Tosca, la chanson, la chanson
The song that wants to surpass the air moved by Tosca.
L'oiseau mouche perché sur le grand mur du son
The hummingbird perched on the great wall of sound.
Celle qui m'est revenue l'autre nuit
The song that came back to me the other night.
Mais celle qui la chantait, elle
But the one who sang it won't return.
Ne reviendra plus, la chanson
The song that won't come back.
Celle qui est incarnée sous la pluie
The song that is incarnated in the rain.
Par une Edith qui piaffe
By an Edith who prances.
À l'angle de la rue, la chanson, la chanson
At the corner of the street, the song.
Celle qui est encore dans le corps d'un piano
The song that still resides in the body of a piano.
Refermé pour toujours, la chanson
Closed forever, the song.
La chanson, la chanson cousue d'or
The song sewn with gold.
Qui se paie des jardins
The song that can afford gardens.
En gueulant dans les cours la chanson, la chanson
By screaming the song in the yards.
La chanson
The song.
La chanson dont on croit connaître la chanson
The song that we think we know.
Mais non
But we don't.
Lyrics © LES EDITIONS DU CHIFFRE NEUF, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Michel Legrand, Claude Nougaro
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind