Claude Nougaro (September 9, 1929 Toulouse – March 4, 2004 Paris) was a Fre… Read Full Bio ↴Claude Nougaro (September 9, 1929 Toulouse – March 4, 2004 Paris) was a French songwriter and singer.

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 décharge
Claude Nougaro Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Rois de la boue, Princes du fer
Seigneurs crados de la décharge
Puisque le ciel vous met en marge
Que règne la fête aux Enfers!
Rois de la boue, Princes du fer

Abreuvez-vous de vos déserts
Comme la Chine de son livre

Applaudissez l'horreur de vivre
Crachez le fruit, mangez le ver!
Rois de la boue, Princes du fer

Et foutez leur bonheur en l'air!
Votre palais c'est la baraque
Votre clarté c'est le cloaque
Vous n'avez pas assez souffert
Rois de la boue, Princes du fer

Dans la tourbe de votre chair
Il paraît qu'il existe un ange
Un rayon perce sous la fange
Enfoncez-vous vers cet éclair
Rois de la boue, Princes du fer

Pour qu'au fin fond, le der des ders
Au fin fond de la Ville-Ordure

Brille la vie, la très très pure
Vie, Larme de l'univers

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Claude Nougaro's song La décharge describe a group of people who live and work in a dump. The first verse, "Kings of the mud, Princes of the iron, Lords of the dump," paints a picture of these people, who are described as being "crados" or dirty, marginalized by society. Despite their circumstances, they are urged to take pride in who they are, and to revel in their ability to endure adversity. The refrain, "Kings of the mud, Princes of the iron," is a call to arms, an invitation to these people to take control of their own destiny and create their own happiness.

The second verse is a call to action, an exhortation to these people to embrace the bleakness of their surroundings and to find meaning in their daily struggles. The line, "Quench yourselves in your deserts, like China in its book," is a reference to the famous saying, "The man who drinks the water must remember the man who dug the well." The people in the dump are urged to find sustenance and meaning in their lives, even in the face of the relentless despair around them.

The final verse is a call to unity, an affirmation that despite their harsh surroundings, they are not alone. The song celebrates the grit and determination of these people, and urges them to find meaning in their lives, even in the face of overwhelming adversity.

Line by Line Meaning

Rois de la boue, Princes du fer
Addressing the filthy kings and iron princes of the garbage dump

Seigneurs crados de la décharge
Nobles of dirt that rule over the dump

Puisque le ciel vous met en marge
Since the sky abandons you

Que règne la fête aux Enfers!
Let hell be yours to celebrate!

Abreuvez-vous de vos déserts
Drink from your own desolation

Comme la Chine de son livre
Like China did with its book

Applaudissez l'horreur de vivre
Applaud the horror of life

Crachez le fruit, mangez le ver!
Spit out the fruit, eat the worm!

Et foutez leur bonheur en l'air!
And ruin their happiness!

Votre palais c'est la baraque
Your palace is a shack

Votre clarté c'est le cloaque
Your light is the sewer