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).
Nougayork
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
J'ai senti le choc
Un souffle barbare
Un remous hard rock
Dès l'aérogare
J'ai changé d'époque
Come on! ça démarre
Sur les starting blocks
Gare, gare, gare
Là c'est du mastoc
C'est pas du Ronsard
C'est de l'amerloque
Sera-ce la bagarre?
O.K., j'suis ad hoc
J'aurai l'gros cigare
En or, les pare-chocs
Dès l'aérogare
J'ai senti le choc
Faut rentrer dare dare
Dans la ligne de coke
Un nouveau départ
Solide comme un roc
Une pluie d'dollars
Ici Nougayork
Ici Superstar
J'suis gonflé à bloc
C'est l'enfance de l'art
C'est l'œuf à la coque
À moins qu'un lascar
Au détour d'un bloc
Et sans crier gare
Me découpe le lard
Façon jambon d'York
The first verse of Claude Nougaro’s song Nougayork paints a vivid picture of arrival into New York City – a sudden shock, an eruption of energy, and a feeling of being transported into a new era. The loud, aggressive music and culture of the city is conveyed through the imagery of hard rock and starting blocks, and the lyrics use playful language to express the singer’s thoughts and feelings. The phrase “dès l’aérogare,” meaning “from the terminal,” establishes the setting and begins the narrative of Nougaro’s experience.
The second verse continues to describe the intensity and excess that the city represents – it’s “mastoc” (meaning titanic), and decidedly not like the poetry of Pierre de Ronsard. The singer feels ready for a fight, however, and his reference to a “gros cigare en or” demonstrates his confidence and readiness to take on the big shots. In the final verse, Nougaro reflects on the idea of celebrity and fame – “ici Superstar” – and how it seems easy to attain in this city that is both exhilarating and dangerous. The final line of the song is a warning, however, indicating that for all its excitement, New York City can also be brutal and unforgiving.
Overall, Nougayork is a celebration of the energy and spirit of New York, but also an acknowledgement of the challenges and risks that come with such a place. Nougaro uses the language of rock n’ roll to convey the wildness and chaos of the city, while also demonstrating his own poetic sensibility and clever wordplay.
Line by Line Meaning
Dès l'aérogare
As soon as I arrived at the airport
J'ai senti le choc
I felt the impact of a new culture
Un souffle barbare
A primitive breath
Un remous hard rock
A violent wave of rock music
J'ai changé d'époque
I entered into a new era
Come on! ça démarre
Let's go! It's starting
Sur les starting blocks
Ready to start something new
Gare, gare, gare
Watch out, watch out, watch out
Là c'est du mastoc
This is serious stuff
C'est pas du Ronsard
This isn't poetry
C'est de l'amerloque
This is American stuff
Sera-ce la bagarre?
Will there be trouble?
O.K., j'suis ad hoc
Alright, I'm ready
J'aurai l'gros cigare
I'll have a big cigar
En or, les pare-chocs
Gold-plated bumpers
Faut rentrer dare dare
Gotta get in quickly
Dans la ligne de coke
Into the line of coke
Un nouveau départ
A fresh start
Solide comme un roc
Solid as a rock
Une pluie d'dollars
A rain of dollars
Ici Nougayork
Here in Nougayork
Ici Superstar
Here, I'm a superstar
J'suis gonflé à bloc
I'm pumped up
C'est l'enfance de l'art
It's child's play
C'est l'œuf à la coque
It's like a soft-boiled egg
À moins qu'un lascar
Unless a thug
Au détour d'un bloc
Around the corner
Et sans crier gare
And without warning
Me découpe le lard
Attacks me viciously
Façon jambon d'York
Like slicing York ham
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Universal Music Publishing Group, LES EDITIONS DU CHIFFRE NEUF, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Phillipe Saisse, Claude Nougaro
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind