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 Piano De Mauvaise Vie
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bring all of your fam'ly and I will bring mine
If I should bring my brothers, and you bring the others
Then I can sing a song like Jeru, just for you
Just for all the lovely people that you see in the road
We'll sing them a song in Jeruvian mode
If I can have a pref'rence, I'll even make ref'rence
Then if you'd be kind enough to tell me why you
write these extended bridges
can it be romance that always
haunts me in my reverie?
So why not come on over 'bout a quarter to eight
If you can come early I'll never be late
And now you're all invited, I hope you're delighted
To sing a little song like Jeru, just for you
just for me too
Gather around, tale to be told
Maybe it's new, maybe it's old, listen my friend
Blowin' away, doin' alright
Plain' all day, workin' all night, listen again
Movin' along, coverin' ground
Singin' the song, lovin' the sound, listen and then
blow together birds of a feather
Out playin' the blues and "I Got Rhythm"
All at once a moment came without a warning
Got so hot we had to cool it
Go for glory, tell you the story
Out payin' our dues until we found we were
assisting at an unexpected borning
'twas the birth of the Cool
So now I can tell you why I'm always
Trying to tell you, listen, come with me,
New York, and we're together in my reverie
So why don't you come over 'bout a quarter to two
Forget all the others, just me and just you
And while we're versifying
We'd better start trying
To write another song just for me
Just for you, one more Jeru
The lyrics of Claude Nougaro's "Le Piano De Mauvaise Vie," is a uniquely poetic and complex take on the universal themes of love, romance, and music. In the opening stanza, the singer invites the subject to gather their respective families to sing a song for them. He indicates that he will bring his brothers, and they will harmonize to create a song similar to Jeru. The second stanza is more musically inclined, with the singer describing notes, rhythms, and beats, and how they come together to create a song that brings people together, like a bird of a feather. The third and final stanza contains an invitation for the subject to meet at the singer's location, so they can create a new song together. The song lyrics suggest that music and love will always be intertwined, and that people can come together through their shared appreciation for it.
Line by Line Meaning
Why don't you come over 'bout a quarter to nine
Let's make a plan to hang out at 8:45 PM
Bring all of your fam'ly and I will bring mine
Bring your family and I'll bring mine, and we can sing a song for all of them
If I should bring my brothers, and you bring the others
If I bring my brothers and you bring other people, we can make beautiful music
Then I can sing a song like Jeru, just for you
I can sing a song in the style of Jeru, just for you
Just for all the lovely people that you see in the road
We'll sing the song for all the wonderful people we meet on the way
We'll sing them a song in Jeruvian mode
We'll sing a song with a style inspired by Jeru
If I can have a pref'rence, I'll even make ref'rence
If I can have a preference, I'll even mention why I wrote a song like Jeru
To why you write a song like Jeru, just for you
I'll tell you why I wrote a song like Jeru, just for you
Then if you'd be kind enough to tell me why you
If you're willing, could you tell me
write these extended bridges
Why do you include these long musical bridges in your songs
can it be romance that always
Could it be that romance is always
haunts me in my reverie?
On my mind when I daydream?
So why not come on over 'bout a quarter to eight
Why don't you come over at 7:45 PM instead
If you can come early I'll never be late
If you come early, I won't be late
And now you're all invited, I hope you're delighted
Everyone is welcome to come, I hope you're excited
To sing a little song like Jeru, just for you
We'll all sing a song with a style inspired by Jeru, just for you
just for me too
And for me as well
Gather around, tale to be told
Everyone gather around, I have a story to tell
Maybe it's new, maybe it's old, listen my friend
It could be something new or old, but please listen
Blowin' away, doin' alright
Playing music and doing well
Plain' all day, workin' all night, listen again
Playing music all day and working all night, listen again
Movin' along, coverin' ground
Moving forward and making progress
Singin' the song, lovin' the sound, listen and then
Singing the song and loving the music, please listen
blow together birds of a feather
Playing instruments together with similar style and spirit
Out playin' the blues and "I Got Rhythm"
Playing blues and 'I Got Rhythm' with enthusiasm
All at once a moment came without a warning
Suddenly, a moment came without warning
Got so hot we had to cool it
It got so intense that we needed to take a break
Go for glory, tell you the story
Let's try our best, and I'll tell you the story
Out payin' our dues until we found we were
Playing gigs and working hard until we realized we were
assisting at an unexpected borning
Helping with the birth of something new and exciting
'twas the birth of the Cool
It was the birth of a new, cool style of music
So now I can tell you why I'm always
I can finally tell you why I'm always
Trying to tell you, listen, come with me,
Trying to tell you to listen and come with me
New York, and we're together in my reverie
I'm daydreaming about New York and being together
So why don't you come over 'bout a quarter to two
Why don't you come over at 1:45 PM instead
Forget all the others, just me and just you
Forget about everyone else, just you and me alone
And while we're versifying
While we're writing poetry
We'd better start trying
We better start trying
To write another song just for me
To write another song just for me
Just for you, one more Jeru
Just for you, one more song in the style of Jeru
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GERRY MULLIGAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
tigreadroit
Ce thème ( Jeru) de Gerry Mulligan figure sur le "Birth of the Cool" de Miles Davis . Les choix musicaux de Claude se sont toujours situés dans le haut niveau .
tigreadroit
@oliounidizlove N'inversons pas les rôles . Sans tes publications mes commentaires n'existeraient pas et c'est moi qui doit te dire merci .Je ne fais que recopier ce qui figure sur les pochettes de disques .Pour cette année ,tiens bon et continue si possible de nous régaler .
oliounidizlove
Bonne année, si ça existe encore, adroit tigre, merci pour tes commentaires éclairés, je ne suis pas un érudit du jazz, j'ai des bases, mais bon .... :)
Olivier B.
Nougaro au sommet de son Jazz avec un trio de rêve. Dommage que la vidéo ne permette pas d'apercevoir Bernard Lubat.