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).
Pablo
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
La sage-femme dit ça vient
Ça vient
Le fils que tu veux me donner
Ça vient
Ma distendue, mon étranglée
Ô ma montagne écartelée
Fille ou garçon qu'importe
Pousse la porte
Viens viens viens viens viens
Il n'y a pas eu d'ombre au tableau
Mais une lumière au Pablo
Pablo Pablo Pablo Pablo
Et ma dulcinée de Rio
Riait en voyant tes grelots
Pablo Pablo
Mais tu te radines un peu trop tôt
Te voilà dans une cabine Apollo
Avec des tuyaux
Derrière une vitre d'Ambroise Paré
La vie va vite pour nous séparer
Petit
Elle a plein de haches et de scies...
Je vais voir dehors si
Ça vient
La sagesse des hommes
Ça vient
Les clefs du clair royaume
Ça vient
Amour Toujours Fraternité
Ce vocabulaire raté
Reprend du poil de la bête
C'est la fête
Des poètes
Viens viens viens viens viens
Bien sûr je flatte un peu le tableau
Trempant dans tes yeux mon pinceau
Pablo Pablo Pablo Pablo
Je suis l'ouvrier d'une usine
Qui sirène dans ma poitrine
C'est laid, c'est beau
Y a beaucoup de fumées
Peu de flamencos
Mais je vais au boulot
Mon Pablo
Pour que tu aies chaud
Dodo, lolo, Pipi, Casso
Entre le tigre et l'agneau
Avec l'étoile tout là-haut
Descendant sur le front du pueblo
Pablo, Pablo, mon fils, mon lien
Ça vient...
The song "Pablo" by Claude Nougaro is about the birth of his son, Pablo. The lyrics describe the anticipation and excitement of his arrival, with the nurse urging the baby to come out and Nougaro's anticipation mounting. Despite the intense pain of childbirth, he is eager to see his child, regardless of whether it is a boy or a girl. However, the joyous tone of the song takes a more somber turn as the lyrics move on to describe the separation that occurs as his son is whisked away to the nursery, leaving Nougaro alone and introspective. The song ends with Nougaro expressing his love for his son and the hope that the world will be a better place for him.
One of the interesting facts about the song is that it was originally released in 1988 and became one of Nougaro's biggest hits. Nougaro was a well-known French singer and songwriter who was known for his poetic lyrics and jazzy sound. In "Pablo," Nougaro demonstrates his unique style of blending genres to create a sound that is both emotional and musically complex. Another interesting fact about the song is that it was inspired by Nougaro's own experience of fatherhood. He was a proud father who loved his children deeply, and the song expresses the joy and wonder that he felt at the birth of his son.
Line by Line Meaning
Ça vient
The birth is happening
La sage-femme dit ça vient
The midwife confirms the birth is happening
Le fils que tu veux me donner
The child that you want to give me
Ma distendue, mon étranglée
My stretched and strangled womb
Ô ma montagne écartelée
Oh, my torn apart mountain
Fille ou garçon qu'importe
Girl or boy, it doesn't matter
Faut que ça sorte
It has to come out
Pousse la porte
Push the door
Viens viens viens viens viens
Come, come, come, come, come
Il n'y a pas eu d'ombre au tableau
There has been no problem so far
Mais une lumière au Pablo
But a light shines on Pablo
Pablo Pablo Pablo Pablo
Pablo, Pablo, Pablo, Pablo
Et ma dulcinée de Rio
And my sweetheart from Rio
Riait en voyant tes grelots
Laughs at the sight of your bells
Mais tu te radines un peu trop tôt
But you're coming up a little too early
Te voilà dans une cabine Apollo
Here you are in an Apollo cabin
Avec des tuyaux
With pipes
Derrière une vitre d'Ambroise Paré
Behind an Ambroise Paré glass
La vie va vite pour nous séparer
Life goes by fast to separate us
Petit
Little one
Elle a plein de haches et de scies...
She has lots of axes and saws...
Je vais voir dehors si
I'll go outside to see if
La sagesse des hommes
The wisdom of men
Les clefs du clair royaume
The keys to the clear kingdom
Amour Toujours Fraternité
Love always fraternity
Ce vocabulaire raté
This failed vocabulary
Reprend du poil de la bête
Gets back on track
C'est la fête
It's a party
Des poètes
Of poets
Viens viens viens viens viens
Come, come, come, come, come
Bien sûr je flatte un peu le tableau
Of course I embellish the situation a bit
Trempant dans tes yeux mon pinceau
Dipping my brush in your eyes
Je suis l'ouvrier d'une usine
I'm a worker in a factory
Qui sirène dans ma poitrine
That blares in my chest
C'est laid, c'est beau
It's ugly, it's beautiful
Y a beaucoup de fumées
There's a lot of smoke
Peu de flamencos
Few flamencos
Mais je vais au boulot
But I go to work
Mon Pablo
My Pablo
Pour que tu aies chaud
So that you'll be warm
Dodo, lolo, Pipi, Casso
Sleep, milk, pee, poop
Entre le tigre et l'agneau
Between the tiger and the lamb
Avec l'étoile tout là-haut
With the star up there
Descendant sur le front du pueblo
Descending on the front of the pueblo
Pablo, Pablo, mon fils, mon lien
Pablo, Pablo, my son, my bond
Ça vient...
It's coming...
Contributed by Dylan L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
louis jego
tres belle chanson pour son fils