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 Rouge et le Noir
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
À l'entrée du
Bouge
Éclaire la chambre
Noir
D'une lueur
Rouge
Quand descend le
Et dans cette chambre
Rouge
Y a un grand type
Noir
Avec une fille
Rouge
En robe de soie
Noir
L'enseigne au néon
À l'entrée du
Bouge
Éclaire la chambre
Noir
D'une lueur
Rouge
Couleur d'abat
Toir
Et dans cette chambre
Rouge
Y a le grand type
Noir
Qui boit du gin
Rouge
Comme un enton
Noir
Tandis qu' la fille
Rouge
Se remet du rouge
Noir
L'enseigne au néon
À l'entrée du
Bouge
Éclaire le type
Noir
Qui s' met à rire
Rouge
Et s' ressert à
Boire
Tandis qu' la fille
Bouge
Ses hanches de soie
Noir
Au rythme d'un
Blues
Qui sort du bouge
Noir
L'enseigne au néon
À l'entrée du
Bouge
Bat comme un cœur
Noir
Le type se fait tendre
Rouge
La fille dit - Non
Noir
Qu'est ce qui te prend ?
Rouge
Lui demande le
Noir
Qui voit soudain
Rouge
C'est parce que je suis
Noir?
- Non, dit la fille
Rouge
C'est parce que t'es
Noir.
The lyrics of Claude Nougaro's Le Rouge et le Noir take the listener on a vivid journey into the heart of a dimly-lit nightclub, where the neon sign outside casts a red glow over the blackness within. The imagery is rich and evocative, drawing the listener into the scene and allowing them to imagine the different characters who inhabit this world. The noir atmosphere is palpable, with the gin-drinking man in black and the woman in red silk, dancing to a blues beat that wafts out into the darkness.
As the evening unfolds, the tension between the man in black and the woman in red begins to mount, as he becomes increasingly tender and she begins to resist his advances. The lyrics highlight the stark contrast between the colors of the characters' clothing - black and red - and suggest that this contrast is symbolic of something deeper, perhaps the struggle between passion and restraint, or between light and darkness.
Overall, the lyrics of Le Rouge et le Noir are a masterful piece of storytelling, crafted with skill and artistry to create a vivid, compelling narrative that draws the listener in and keeps them engaged from beginning to end.
Line by Line Meaning
L'enseigne au néon
The neon sign
À l'entrée du
At the entrance of
Bouge
the bar
Éclaire la chambre
Illuminates the room
Noir
Black
D'une lueur
With a glow
Rouge
Red
Quand descend le
As the
Soir
Evening falls
Et dans cette chambre
And in this room
Rouge
Red
Y a un grand type
There's a big guy
Noir
Black
Avec une fille
With a girl
Rouge
Red
En robe de soie
In a silk dress
Noir
Black
L'enseigne au néon
The neon sign
À l'entrée du
At the entrance of
Bouge
the bar
Éclaire la chambre
Illuminates the room
Noir
Black
D'une lueur
With a glow
Rouge
Red
Couleur d'abat
The color of slaughter
Toir
(literally, 'roof') (meaning is unclear)
Et dans cette chambre
And in this room
Rouge
Red
Y a le grand type
There's the big guy
Noir
Black
Qui boit du gin
Drinking gin
Rouge
Red
Comme un enton
Like a barrel
Noir
Black
Tandis qu' la fille
While the girl
Rouge
Red
Se remet du rouge
Recovers from the red (wine)
Noir
Black
L'enseigne au néon
The neon sign
À l'entrée du
At the entrance of
Bouge
the bar
Éclaire le type
Illuminates the guy
Noir
Black
Qui s' met à rire
Who starts to laugh
Rouge
Red
Et s' ressert à
And refills his
Boire
Drink
Tandis qu' la fille
While the girl
Bouge
Is dancing
Ses hanches de soie
Her silky hips
Noir
Black
Au rythme d'un
To the rhythm of a
Blues
Blues song
Qui sort du bouge
Coming out of the bar
Noir
Black
L'enseigne au néon
The neon sign
À l'entrée du
At the entrance of
Bouge
the bar
Bat comme un cœur
Beats like a heart
Noir
Black
Le type se fait tendre
The guy becomes soft
Rouge
Red
La fille dit - Non
The girl says - No
Noir
Black
Qu'est ce qui te prend ?
What's gotten into you?
Rouge
Red
Lui demande le
Asks him
Noir
Black
Qui voit soudain
Who suddenly sees
Rouge
Red
C'est parce que je suis
Is it because I'm
Noir?
Black?
- Non, dit la fille
- No, says the girl
Rouge
Red
C'est parce que t'es
It's because you're
Noir.
Black.
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, LES EDITIONS DU CHIFFRE NEUF
Written by: Claude NOUGARO, Michel LEGRAND
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind