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).
Le Cinéma
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
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Moi je me fais du cinéma
Sans pognon et sans caméra
Bardot peut partir en vacances:
Ma vedette, c'est toujours toi
Pour te dire que je t'aime, rien à faire, je flanche:
J'ai du cœur mais pas d'estomac
Sur l'écran noir de mes nuits blanches
Où je me fais du cinéma
D'abord un gros plan sur tes hanches
Puis un travelling-panorama
Sur ta poitrine grand format
Voilà comment mon film commence
Souriant je m'avance vers toi
Un mètre quatre-vingts, des biceps plein les manches
Je crève l'écran de mes nuits blanches
Où je me fais du cinéma
Te voilà déjà dans mes bras
Le lit arrive en avalanche
Sur l'écran noir de mes nuits blanches
Où je me fais du cinéma
Une fois, deux fois, dix fois, vingt fois
Je recommence la séquence
Où tu me tombes dans les bras
Je tourne tous les soirs, y compris le dimanche
Parfois on sonne; j'ouvre: c'est toi!
Vais-je te prendre par les hanches
Comme sur l'écran de mes nuits blanches?
Non: je te dis "comment ça va?"
Et je t'emmène au cinéma
The lyrics of Claude Nougaro's song "Le cinéma" describe how the singer, unable to confess his love to the woman he desires, turns to cinema to live out his romantic fantasies. The first stanza sets the scene, with Nougaro describing how he creates cinematic scenes in his mind during the "black screen" of his "white nights." He says that he doesn't need money or a camera to make these movies, as his "star" will always be the woman he loves.
The second stanza continues this theme, describing how Nougaro's lack of confidence keeps him from confessing his love. He says that he "flinches" when he tries to tell her how he feels. However, he takes his "revenge" by creating a film in his head where he is the leading man and the woman is his co-star. He details the shots he visualizes of her body, such as a close-up on her hips and a panorama of her chest.
The third stanza takes the fantasy to its conclusion, with Nougaro describing how he imagines himself as a muscular leading man who can "burst" through the screen and sweep the woman off her feet. He pictures himself and the woman in bed together, with the bed "avalanching" towards them.
The final stanza brings us back to reality, with Nougaro admitting that he doesn't have the confidence to take action in real life. Instead, he invites the woman to the cinema, where they can watch other people's love stories unfold.
Overall, "Le cinéma" tells the story of a man who uses the power of film to escape his own insecurities and project his desires onto the woman he loves. It's a poignant and relatable portrayal of the way that art can shape our emotions and desires.
Line by Line Meaning
Sur l'écran noir de mes nuits blanches
In the darkness of my sleepless nights, I create a cinema in my mind
Moi je me fais du cinéma
I imagine a cinematic story
Sans pognon et sans caméra
Without money and without a camera
Bardot peut partir en vacances
Even if Bardot goes on vacation
Ma vedette, c'est toujours toi
You're always the star of my imagination
Pour te dire que je t'aime, rien à faire, je flanche
I'm unable to express my love for you
J'ai du cœur mais pas d'estomac
I have feelings but lack courage
C'est pourquoi je prends ma revanche
That's why I get my revenge
Sur l'écran noir de mes nuits blanches
In the darkness of my sleepless nights
Où je me fais du cinéma
Where I create a cinematic story
D'abord un gros plan sur tes hanches
First a close-up shot of your hips
Puis un travelling-panorama
Then a panoramic shot
Sur ta poitrine grand format
Showing your large-sized breasts
Voilà comment mon film commence
That's how my movie starts
Souriant je m'avance vers toi
Smiling, I approach you
Un mètre quatre-vingts, des biceps plein les manches
I'm six feet tall with bulging biceps
Je crève l'écran de mes nuits blanches
I burst through the screen of my imagination
Où je me fais du cinéma
Where I create a cinematic story
Te voilà déjà dans mes bras
You're already in my arms
Le lit arrive en avalanche
The bed comes crashing down
Sur l'écran noir de mes nuits blanches
In the darkness of my sleepless nights
Où je me fais du cinéma
Where I create a cinematic story
Une fois, deux fois, dix fois, vingt fois
Again and again, ten and twenty times
Je recommence la séquence
I repeat the scene
Où tu me tombes dans les bras
Where you fall into my arms
Je tourne tous les soirs, y compris le dimanche
I play this film every night, even on Sundays
Parfois on sonne; j'ouvre: c'est toi!
Sometimes the doorbell rings, and it's you!
Vais-je te prendre par les hanches
Will I grab you by the hips
Comme sur l'écran de mes nuits blanches?
As I did in my imagination?
Non: je te dis 'comment ça va?'
No, I ask 'how are you?'
Et je t'emmène au cinéma
And I take you to the cinema
Lyrics © LES EDITIONS DU CHIFFRE NEUF, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Claude Nougaro, Michel Legrand
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind