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 Marche Arrière
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
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Pour me faire marcher au pas
Tous les pas perdus à te suivre
Je ne les calculerai pas
Parfois je l'avoue, j'ai peur
Un jour peut-etre bien, je mordrai la poussière
Et puis je m'en fous d'ailleurs
Il est trop tard pour faire marche arrière
Mon coeur était une place forte
En un clin d'oeil tu l'occupas
Maintenant je vis sous sa botte
Je défile doux devant toi
Parfois je l'avoue, j'ai peur
En te livrant ma vie et mon âme toute entière
Et puis je m'en fous d'ailleurs
Il est trop tard pour faire marche arrière
Mon général tes deux étoiles
Ce sont tes yeux qui me foudroient
Et le barda que je trimbale
C'est la passion que j'ai pour toi
Parfois je l'avoue, j'ai peur
Moi qui aimais la paix, avec toi
C'est la guerre et puis je m'en fous d'ailleurs
Il est trop tard pour faire marche arrière
Je t'obéis ca me regarde
J'aime jouer au p'tit soldat
Mais parfois tu en prends pour ton garde
Sauf le respect que je te dois
Alors je m'en fous, tu peux
Résister dans mes bras te voilà prisonnière
Un' Deux ! vers ma chambrée je te fais faire
Marche arrière, marche arrière
The song "La Marche Arrière" by Claude Nougaro is a poetic representation of the struggles of a person in a toxic and passionate relationship. The song starts by talking about the main character being manipulated and controlled by his lover, symbolized by the metaphor of a military march. He is aware of being played but is too weak to do anything about it, and the fear of leaving the relationship is too much to handle. The lyrics imply that he might eventually fall and fail, but he is okay with it since he is so deep into the relationship that it is impossible to break free.
The second verse talks about the power dynamic in their relationship. The singer's heart was initially his own, but his lover now controls it, and he has become subservient to their wishes. Although initially scared of giving his everything up to their lover, now, the singer is apathetic and nothing scares him anymore. The bridge of the song compares the lover to a general, and the singer is their soldier, with passion as their weapon. Even though he is scared, he has given in to his lover's demands and has become a prisoner of their passion.
Line by Line Meaning
Tu te passes de tambours de cuivres
You don't need trumpets and horns to make me follow you
Pour me faire marcher au pas
To make me march in step
Tous les pas perdus à te suivre
All the steps I've taken following you are lost
Je ne les calculerai pas
I won't bother to count them
Parfois je l'avoue, j'ai peur
Sometimes, I admit, I am afraid
Un jour peut-etre bien, je mordrai la poussière
One day I might bite the dust
Et puis je m'en fous d'ailleurs
And then I don't care, anyway
Il est trop tard pour faire marche arrière
It's too late to turn back
Mon coeur était une place forte
My heart was a fortress
En un clin d'oeil tu l'occupas
In the blink of an eye, you occupied it
Maintenant je vis sous sa botte
Now I live under its boot
Je défile doux devant toi
I march softly in front of you
En te livrant ma vie et mon âme toute entière
By giving you my life and my whole soul
Mon général tes deux étoiles
My general, your two stars
Ce sont tes yeux qui me foudroient
It is your eyes that strike me like lightning
Et le barda que je trimbale
And the baggage that I carry
C'est la passion que j'ai pour toi
It's the passion I have for you
Moi qui aimais la paix, avec toi
Me, who loved peace, with you
C'est la guerre et puis je m'en fous d'ailleurs
It's war, and then I don't care, anyway
Il est trop tard pour faire marche arrière
It's too late to turn back
Je t'obéis ca me regarde
I obey you, it's my business
J'aime jouer au p'tit soldat
I like playing the little soldier
Mais parfois tu en prends pour ton garde
But sometimes, you take it out on your guard
Sauf le respect que je te dois
With all the respect I owe you
Résister dans mes bras te voilà prisonnière
You're resisting in my arms, you're a prisoner now
Un' Deux ! vers ma chambrée je te fais faire
One, two! I make you march towards my quarters
Marche arrière, marche arrière
Backwards march, backwards march
Lyrics © SEMI
Written by: Claude NOUGARO, Hubert GIRAUD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind