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).

Le Cri de Tarzan
Claude Nougaro Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Vieux Tarzan déchu
Has been de la liane,
Ma guenon n'est plus
Ai perdu ma Jane

Vieux Tarzan groggy
En deuil jusqu'aux ongles
J'ai perdu mon cri,

J'ai perdu ma jungle

Ils m'ont tout tué
Par tonnes d'ivoire,
Éléphants sacrés,
Massacré mémoire

Et tous mes gorilles
Les ont fusillés
Toute la famille
À balles blindées

Mes hippopotames,
Mes crocos géants,
Des sacs pour les dames
Qui ont de l'argent

Ils ont décimé
Ou bien mis au zoo
Le chant des pygmées,
Celui des oiseaux

Mon studio zébré
Au sommet de l'arbre
Ils me l'ont sabré
Pour une autostrade

Ma Jane est partie
Au bras de l'un d'eux
J'ai poussé mon cri,
Le dernier, d'adieu

Quand ils m'ont tiré
Avec plus d'adresse,
Je me suis tiré
Sans laisser d'adresse

Oui, Tarzan n'est plus
Alors, mes cocos,

Vous m'avez pas vu
Surtout, pas un mot

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Claude Nougaro's song "Le Cri de Tarzan" tell the story of Tarzan, who is now old and fallen from the vines. His monkey is no longer with him, and he has lost his love, Jane. Tarzan is grieving and lost, having lost his jungle and his voice or cry. The song suggests that Tarzan's home and family have been destroyed by ivory hunters who killed sacred elephants and all of Tarzan's gorilla family with armored bullets. Even Tarzan's hippos and giant crocodiles have been turned into bags for wealthy women. The natural sounds of the pygmies and birds have been silenced, and Tarzan's treehouse, now a studio, has been cut down to make way for an expressway. Tarzan's despair is complete when he sees Jane leave with one of the hunters, and he lets out his last cry before disappearing without a trace.

The song's message is a poignant reflection on the impact of human activities on the natural world, the destructive forces of colonialism, and the loss of culture and traditions. The lyrics remind us that the consequences of such activities affect everyone, including those living in harmony with nature. The song also suggests that Tarzan's story, which has been romanticized by popular culture, is a tragedy, and that his heroic image was a façade that ultimately crumbled in the face of predatory human activities.

Line by Line Meaning

Vieux Tarzan déchu
Aged Tarzan has fallen from grace

Has been de la liane,
He's fallen from the vine

Ma guenon n'est plus
My female monkey is no longer with me

Ai perdu ma Jane
I've lost my Jane

Vieux Tarzan groggy
Old Tarzan is groggy

En deuil jusqu'aux ongles
In mourning down to my nails

J'ai perdu mon cri,
I've lost my yell

J'ai perdu ma jungle
I've lost my jungle

Ils m'ont tout tué
They've killed everything in me

Par tonnes d'ivoire,
Tons of ivory

Éléphants sacrés,
Sacred elephants