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 K Du Q
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tu as un grain de beauté sur la fesse
De ces deux petits grains dans ce grand lit,
Lequel va germer, princesse?
Est ce mon grain de fou
Mon grain de feu
Ou est ce ton grain de peau
Et dis moi si nos deux grains réunis
Ça mettait le feu aux poudres?
Dans l'alphabet du corps, le Q est la consonne
Qui m'occupe toujours particulièrement,
Et même si tu te paies des yeux de diamant
Mes yeux lâchent tes yeux pour lécher ta consonne
Cent mille fois d'accord, un chien, je suis un chien
Ma patte se raidit et je bave à la une
Devant l'astre joufflu ensorcelé de lune,
Ce papillon gonflé qui troue toutes mes nuits
Dans l'âme, j'ai un grain de folie
Tu as un grain de beauté sur la fesse
De ces deux petits grains dans ce grand lit,
Lequel va germer, princesse?
Dans l'alphabet du corps, ton Q est un Y,
Un fabuleux Y frotté de soleil nègre,
Ma mecque, mon coffre fort à moi, pauvre mec
Quand ta chute de reins coule sur mes yeux maigres
Zabou zabou zabou zabou baka tombé
Je te parle crûment, foin de délicatesse,
Mon beau feu d'artifice, mon beau fou d'artifesse,
Trou de balle de tennis, ma raquette est tombée
Dans l'âme, j'ai un grain de beauté
Tu as un grain de folie sur la fesse
De ces deux petits grains, ces grains de blé
Lequel va germer, ô ma princesse?
The lyrics of Claude Nougaro's song "Le K Du Q" are incredibly explicit and focus on the alphabet of the body with the letter "Q" representing the buttocks. The first verse speaks of the singer's inner madness and the woman's beauty mark on her posterior. The question is asked, which grain will sow, the singer's madness or the woman's beauty mark. The second verse talks about the singer's obsession with the "Q" as a letter and how his eyes can't leave it alone. He talks about the beauty of it and how it haunts him all night long.
The chorus repeats the opening verse, but the third verse is where the explicitness ramps up as the singer compares the woman's buttocks to a "fabulous Y rubbed with black sun." He goes on to call her his mecca and treasure chest, and when he sees her, he forgets all delicacies. The verse ends with a tennis reference where he says the ball has gotten away from him.
Overall, the lyrics of "Le K Du Q" are definitely not for everyone, as they heavily focus on sexual desire and obsession. However, Claude Nougaro's creative use of language to describe the alphabet of the body is quite impressive.
Line by Line Meaning
Dans l'âme, j'ai un grain de folie
I have a bit of craziness in my soul
Tu as un grain de beauté sur la fesse
You have a beauty mark on your butt
De ces deux petits grains dans ce grand lit,
Of these two small things in this big bed,
Lequel va germer, princesse?
Which of them will sprout, my princess?
Est ce mon grain de fou
Is it my crazy bit
Mon grain de feu
My passionate bit
Ou est-ce ton grain de peau
Or is it your bit of skin
Ton petit grain de poudre
Your little bit of powder
Et dis-moi si nos deux grains réunis
And tell me if our two bits brought together
Ça mettait le feu aux poudres?
Would set off a spark?
Dans l'alphabet du corps, le Q est la consonne
In the alphabet of the body, Q is the consonant
Qui m'occupe toujours particulièrement,
That I'm always thinking about
Et même si tu te paies des yeux de diamant
And even if you splurge on diamond eyes
Mes yeux lâchent tes yeux pour lécher ta consonne
My eyes leave yours to lick your consonant
Cent mille fois d'accord, un chien, je suis un chien
One hundred thousand times agreed, I'm a dog, I'm a dog
Ma patte se raidit et je bave à la une
My paw stiffens and I drool on the front page
Devant l'astre joufflu ensorcelé de lune,
In front of the chubby star bewitched by the moon
Ce papillon gonflé qui troue toutes mes nuits
This swollen butterfly that pierces all of my nights
Dans l'alphabet du corps, ton Q est un Y,
In the alphabet of the body, your Q is a Y
Un fabuleux Y frotté de soleil nègre,
A fabulous Y rubbed by black sun
Ma mecque, mon coffre-fort à moi, pauvre mec
My Mecca, my own safe box, poor guy
Quand ta chute de reins coule sur mes yeux maigres
When your back arches and flows over my thin eyes
Zabou zabou zabou zabou baka tombé,
Zabou zabou zabou zabou, idiot down
Je te parle crûment, foin de délicatesse,
I speak crudely to you, no delicacy
Mon beau feu d'artifice, mon beau fou d'artifesse,
My beautiful fireworks, my beautiful crazy firework butt
Trou de balle de tennis, ma raquette est tombée
Tennis ball hole, my racket has fallen
Dans l'âme, j'ai un grain de beauté
In the soul, I have a beauty mark
Tu as un grain de folie sur la fesse
You have a bit of craziness on your butt
De ces deux petits grains, ces grains de blé
Of these two small bits, these wheat grains
Lequel va germer, ô ma princesse?
Which will grow, oh my princess?
Lyrics © LES EDITIONS DU CHIFFRE NEUF
Written by: Claude NOUGARO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Alain Cubeddu
Dans l'âme, j'ai un grain de folie
Tu as un grain de beauté sur la fesse
De ces deux petits grains dans ce grand lit
Lequel va germer, dis-moi ô ma princesse?
Est-ce mon grain de fou
Mon grain de feu
Ou est-ce ton grain de peau
Ton petit grain de poudre
Et dis-moi si nos deux grains réunis
Ça mettait le feu aux poudres?
Dans l'alphabet du corps, le Q est la consonne
Qui m'occupe toujours particulièrement
Et même si tu te paies des yeux de diamant
Mes yeux lâchent tes yeux pour lécher ta consonne
Cent mille fois d'accord, un chien, je suis un chien
Ma patte se raidit et je bave à la une
Devant l'astre joufflu ensorcelé de lune
Ce papillon gonflé qui troue toutes mes nuits
Dans l'âme, j'ai un grain de folie
Tu as un grain de beauté sur la fesse
De ces deux petits grains dans ce grand lit
Lequel va germer, ô ma princesse?
Dans l'alphabet du corps, ton Q est un Y
Un fabuleux Y frotté de soleil nègre
Ma mecque, mon coffre-fort à moi, pauvre mec
Quand ta chute de reins coule sur mes yeux maigres
Zabou zabou zabou zabou baka tombé
Je te parle crûment, foin de délicatesse
Mon beau feu d'artifice, mon beau fou d'artifesse
Trou de balle de tennis, ma raquette est tombée
Dans l'âme, j'ai un grain de beauté
Tu as un grain de folie sur la fesse
De ces deux petits grains, ces grains de blé
Lequel va germer ô ma princesse
jlucguitar
La langue française chantée ..........
tigreadroit
Poésie erotico - alphabétique .