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).
Ma Cheminée Est Un Théâtre
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Où l'on ne joue qu'un seul auteur : le feu
J'ai pris ma place devant l'âtre
C'est un spectacle pour les vieux
J'adore me régaler de flammes
J'ai pris assez de bûches pour ça
C'est mon harem de jeunes femmes
Mon corps de ballet d'opéra
Ma cheminée est un théâtre.
Regardez-les, les chaudes gamines
Batifoler à qui-mieux-mieux
Je leur sers des serments de vigne
Ça leur fait dresser les cheveux
C'est bien le moins que je leurs dois
Elles m'ont assez brûlé les doigts
Je deviens le metteur en scène
De ces flamencos fastueux
Parfois lascifs, jamais obscènes
Que je me paie à petit feu.
Le feu raconte des histoires
Illuminant la nuit des temps
Je connais tout le répertoire
De ce génie incandescent
Le feu est un vieux compagnon
Le plus ancien des minitels
Le cinéma de Cromagnon
Et la télé de Tautavel
Me voici parmi mes aïeux
Fauteuil d'orchestre au coin du feu.
Ma cheminée est un théâtre
Un vrai théâtre rouge et or
Pour vous plaire, il se met en quatre
Brûle les planches et les décors
Mais quoi ? J'ai dû fermer les yeux
Dans le bois de Trousse-Cerise
Le festin s'éteint peu à peu
De mon théâtre ne reste que
Des braises dans la poudre grise
Des braises dans la poudre grise
L'homme et la flamme savent s'entendre
Ils se ressemblent tant tous deux
Dresseurs de feu, laisseurs de cendres
feu le feu.
In Claude Nougaro's song "Ma Cheminée Est Un Théâtre," the singer describes his love for his fireplace as if it were a theater. In this theater, the only author is fire. Even though this spectacle is only for old people, the singer loves to enjoy the flames, which he describes as young women, and he has brought enough wood to satisfy his obsession. He is the choreographer for these fiery creations, sometimes lascivious but never obscene, that he enjoys slowly. His fireplace is a sanctuary where he feels connected to his ancestors and the history of the world, as fire is the most ancient form of communication, from the time of Cromagnon to present-day television. In the end, the fire is a metaphor for human nature, a friend and acquaintance whose trajectory must always end with ashes.
The song reflects Nougaro's personal relationship with fire, which stems from his childhood in southern France, where fire was viewed as a friend and companion, a symbol of warmth, light and renewal. The song’s lyrics allude to the ancient tradition of storytelling around the campfire, as through the fiery images one can learn and communicate vital information about human nature and culture. The song is also a homage to earlier generations, who shared this reverence for flames, and to the theatrical and musical traditions of southern France.
Line by Line Meaning
Ma cheminée est un théâtre
My fireplace is a theater where only one author plays: fire.
Où l'on ne joue qu'un seul auteur : le feu
Where only one author plays: fire.
J'ai pris ma place devant l'âtre
I have taken my place in front of the fire.
C'est un spectacle pour les vieux
It is a show for the elderly.
J'adore me régaler de flammes
I love to feast on flames.
J'ai pris assez de bûches pour ça
I have gathered enough logs for that.
C'est mon harem de jeunes femmes
It is my harem of young women.
Mon corps de ballet d'opéra
My ballet corps of opera.
Regardez-les, les chaudes gamines
Look at them, the hot young girls.
Batifoler à qui-mieux-mieux
Frolicking without a care.
Je leur sers des serments de vigne
I serve them promises of wine.
Ça leur fait dresser les cheveux
It makes their hair stand on end.
C'est bien le moins que je leur dois
It's the least I owe them.
Elles m'ont assez brûlé les doigts
They have burned my fingers enough.
Je deviens le metteur en scène
I become the director of the show.
De ces flamencos fastueux
Of these flamboyant flames.
Parfois lascifs, jamais obscènes
Sometimes sensual, never obscene.
Que je me paie à petit feu
That I enjoy slowly.
Le feu raconte des histoires
The fire tells stories.
Illuminant la nuit des temps
Illuminating the night of time.
Je connais tout le répertoire
I know the entire repertoire.
De ce génie incandescent
Of this incandescent genius.
Le feu est un vieux compagnon
Fire is an old companion.
Le plus ancien des minitels
The oldest of the minitels.
Le cinéma de Cromagnon
The cinema of Cro-Magnon.
Et la télé de Tautavel
And the TV of Tautavel.
Me voici parmi mes aïeux
Here I am among my ancestors.
Fauteuil d'orchestre au coin du feu
Orchestra seat by the fire.
Un vrai théâtre rouge et or
A true red and gold theater.
Pour vous plaire, il se met en quatre
To please you, it bends over backwards.
Brûle les planches et les décors
Burning the boards and the sets.
Mais quoi ? J'ai dû fermer les yeux
But what? I had to close my eyes.
Dans le bois de Trousse-Cerise
In the forest of Trousse-Cerise.
Le festin s'éteint peu à peu
The feast is slowly ending.
De mon théâtre ne reste que
Of my theater, only
Des braises dans la poudre grise
Embers in the gray powder.
L'homme et la flamme savent s'entendre
Man and flame know how to get along.
Ils se ressemblent tant tous deux
They resemble each other so much.
Dresseurs de feu, laisseurs de cendres, feu le feu.
Trainers of fire, leavers of ashes, long live the fire.
Contributed by Sophie K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.