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).

Lady Liberty
Claude Nougaro Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

On la voit de loin
Dressée sur son île
Avec dans le poing
Sa torche érectile
Plus on l'approche
Plus le coeur vous bat
Dieu qu'elle est haute
Surtout vue d'en bas

Son corps de cuivre
Est d'un vert très doux
Puis il faut suivre
La queue des toutous
Pour visiter
Des pieds à la tète
La Liberté
La grande muette.

Faut monter monter
Monter monter
Pour visiter la Liberté monter
Faut monter sous ses dessous d'acier.
Faut monter monter
Monter monter
Pour visiter la Liberté chérie
II faut monter Lady Liberty.

Monté monté
J'ai monté sans fin
Monté dans le ventre
Monté jusqu'aux seins
Et dans ses yeux
D'où l'on voit le port
J'ai pleuré toutes
Les larmes de son corps.

Faut monter monter
Monter monter ...

Overall Meaning

The song Lady Liberty by Claude Nougaro is about the iconic statue that stands on an island in New York Harbor, a gift from France to America in the late 19th century. The opening lines describe her as visible from afar, standing tall and holding her erect torch. As one approaches her, the heart starts beating faster, and her height seems even more imposing when viewed from below. Her finish in copper gives her a soft green hue, and visitors must follow the queue to enter her and experience her from head to toe. The statue is referred to as the "great mute," signifying her silent presence yet representing freedom.

The chorus emphasizes the need to climb up, up, and up to visit Lady Liberty, using repetition to indicate the journey. The singer has climbed endlessly, starting from the feet and going all the way to the top, where the eyes reflect the harbor view. In doing so, he has shed tears, crying all the tears from her body, suggesting an overwhelming emotional response to this symbol of freedom and democracy.

The song is a paean to the Statue of Liberty, the beacon of American freedom, and a testament to French-American friendship, with an emphasis on the act of visiting and the climb to reach her. It reinforces the essential values of freedom and democracy that Lady Liberty embodies and celebrates the gift of the statue from France to America.

Line by Line Meaning

On la voit de loin
From far away, Lady Liberty can be seen standing on her island.

Dressée sur son île
Lady Liberty is standing tall on her own island.

Avec dans le poing / Sa torche érectile
In her hand, Lady Liberty holds her erect torch.

Plus on l'approche
As one gets closer to Lady Liberty.

Plus le coeur vous bat
Their heartbeat intensifies.

Dieu qu'elle est haute
Realizing how tall Lady Liberty is.

Surtout vue d'en bas
Especially when viewed from below.

Son corps de cuivre
Her body is made of copper.

Est d'un vert très doux
Its color is a very soft green.

Puis il faut suivre
One must then follow.

La queue des toutous
The queue of the dogs.