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 Rocher De Biarritz
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Se dresse un grand rocher troué par l'eau de mer
Des oiseaux y descendent, cérémonieux et fiers
Et hautains comme la clientèle du Ritz
Il a la beauté délabrée des vieux palaces
Mais lui, des cinq étoiles, il en a plein ses nuits
L'océan tout entier lui cire les godasses
Il gerbe de partout des mousses de champagne
Du " Mouette et Chandon ", ça donne de l'humour
Et les nuits de folie quand l'ivresse le gagne
Il aime le tournis de ses portes-tambour
Mais là-haut, bien crochée, la gentry des rapaces
La jet-set emplumée sobrement tient le choc
Et quand l'aube est levée, je vois de ma terrasse
Debout sur le rocher les oiseaux de Hitchcock
J'aimerais l'habiter en vieux marin de l'âme
Dormir sur des oiseaux, vous parlez d'un plumard
Les larmes de ma vie balayées par les lames
Et ma tête de mort pour dernier étendard
The song "Le Rocher De Biarritz" by Claude Nougaro, tells the story of a majestic rock located in Biarritz, facing the Miramar hotel. The rock is described as dilapidated, but its beauty still shines through. The ocean, with its waves and foam, surrounds the rock and provides it with a sophisticated charm. Birds descend upon the rock, proud and ceremonial, as if they belong to high society, just like the clientele of the Ritz.
The rock is compared to an old palace, embodying the elegance of a five-star hotel. Its surface is so polished and refined that it seems to be wearing fine leather shoes. The waves of the ocean provide a refreshing "champagne" spray, which adds humor and lightness to the atmosphere. When the rock is inebriated with the ocean's influence, it enjoys the revolving doors, spinning round and round.
However, the song tells the story of an internal struggle between the rock's desire to be a luxurious "hotel" and its longing to be a humble "maritime" haven. The birds atop the rock, who resemble the jet-set society, carry themselves with calmness and elegance, even when faced with the bittersweet dawn of a new day. The singer wishes he could inhabit the rock, with the mindset of an old sailor, and take solace in sleeping on the birds instead of a luxurious bed. He envisions his troubles being washed away by the waves of the ocean while his skull as the last flag on his mast.
Line by Line Meaning
En face de l'hôtel Miramar, à Biarritz
Facing the Miramar hotel in Biarritz
Se dresse un grand rocher troué par l'eau de mer
Stands a large rock pierced by seawater
Des oiseaux y descendent, cérémonieux et fiers
Ceremonious and proud birds descend there
Et hautains comme la clientèle du Ritz
And as haughty as the clientele of the Ritz
Il a la beauté délabrée des vieux palaces
It has the dilapidated beauty of old palaces
Mais lui, des cinq étoiles, il en a plein ses nuits
But this one has five stars, they fill up its nights
L'océan tout entier lui cire les godasses
The whole ocean shines its shoes for him
L'orchestre de la mer s'accorde contre lui
The orchestra of the sea plays in harmony with him
Il gerbe de partout des mousses de champagne
It sprays champagne foam everywhere
Du 'Mouette et Chandon', ça donne de l'humour
From 'Mouette et Chandon', it's humorous
Et les nuits de folie quand l'ivresse le gagne
And the crazy nights when drunkenness takes over
Il aime le tournis de ses portes-tambour
He loves the whirl of his revolving doors
Mais là-haut, bien crochée, la gentry des rapaces
But up there, well hooked, the gentry of raptors
La jet-set emplumée sobrement tient le choc
The soberly feathered jet-set holds out
Et quand l'aube est levée, je vois de ma terrasse
And when dawn breaks, I see from my terrace
Debout sur le rocher les oiseaux de Hitchcock
The Hitchcockian birds standing on the rock
J'aimerais l'habiter en vieux marin de l'âme
I would love to live in it, as an old soulful sailor
Dormir sur des oiseaux, vous parlez d'un plumard
Sleep on birds, what a feather bed you're talking about
Les larmes de ma vie balayées par les lames
The tears of my life swept away by the waves
Et ma tête de mort pour dernier étendard
And my skull for my final banner
Lyrics © LES EDITIONS DU CHIFFRE NEUF
Written by: Eddy LOUISS, Claude NOUGARO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
David Cuadrado
Les images sont d'une grande qualité.. Beauté.. 👌✨
boreal75
Biarritz, merveille de la côte Atlantique et joyau du Pays Basque, à nulle autre pareille !