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).
Pacifique
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Le jour où nous sommes sortis de l'eau
Que c'était beau !
Ah ! Dieu que de merveilles
Dans cette vague à l'assaut du soleil
Que de merveilles !
Pacifique, Pacifique, Pacifique !
Nous n'avions qu'un poumon artificiel
Pour tout ce ciel !
Ah ! Dieu j'ai attendu
Cent mille ans pour avoir un doigt de plus
J'ai attendu.
Pacifique, Pacifique, Pacifique !
Ah ! Dieu que c'était bon
Lorsque la dernière écaille est tombée
Sur nos talons
Ah ! Dieu que j'amais ça
Sur le sable l'empreinte de nos pas
Pacifique, Pacifique, Pacifique !
Ah ! Le premier baiser
Je crois que l'océan s'est embrasé
S'est embrasé...
Pacifique, Pacifique, Pacifique !
In Claude Nougaro's song Pacifique, the singer reflects on the beauty and wonder of the ocean, particularly the Pacific. The singer begins by exclaiming about the day they emerged from the water, describing it as incredibly beautiful. The second stanza focuses on the limitations of the human body, how they only had an artificial lung to survive in the vast expanse of sky above the ocean. The third stanza reflects on the joy of shedding the scales of a fish and leaving impressions in the sand. Finally, the singer describes the passion of their first kiss, which they believe set the ocean ablaze.
Overall, the song seems to contemplate the beauty and power of nature, and the experience of being a part of it. The ocean is a recurring theme, representing both the majesty of the natural world and the limits of human existence. The final stanza brings in the theme of love and passion, connecting the singer's personal experience with the overwhelming power of the natural world.
Line by Line Meaning
Ah ! Dieu que c'était beau
Expressing awe at the beauty of the experience
Le jour où nous sommes sortis de l'eau
The day when we emerged from the water
Que c'était beau !
Reaffirming the incredible beauty of the moment
Ah ! Dieu que de merveilles
Exclaiming at the wonder and marvels of the ocean
Dans cette vague à l'assaut du soleil
Witnessing the power and glory of the waves as they crash into the sun
Que de merveilles !
Continuing to marvel at the ocean and its beauty
Pacifique, Pacifique, Pacifique !
Repeating the name of the body of water, the Pacific Ocean
Ah ! Dieu pour tout ce ciel
Reflecting on the vast expanse of the sky above
Nous n'avions qu'un poumon artificiel
Realizing that they could only breathe with an artificial lung
Pour tout ce ciel !
Despite this, still in awe of the beautiful sky
Ah ! Dieu j'ai attendu
Expressing the long wait for something
Cent mille ans pour avoir un doigt de plus
Waiting for an incredibly long time for something relatively small
J'ai attendu.
Reaffirming the long wait and its significance
Ah ! Dieu que c'était bon
Exclaiming at the pleasure and joy of the experience
Lorsque la dernière écaille est tombée
When the last bit of something was completed or removed
Sur nos talons
On the heels of the experience, or closely following it
Ah ! Dieu que j'aimais ça
Expressing love and affection for the experience
Sur le sable l'empreinte de nos pas
The mark left by their footsteps on the sand
Pacifique, Pacifique, Pacifique !
Repeating the name of the ocean once again
Ah ! Le premier baiser
Remembering and reflecting on a first kiss
Je crois que l'océan s'est embrasé
A metaphor describing the intense passion and emotion felt during the kiss
S'est embrasé...
Repeating the idea that the ocean was set aflame with passion and emotion
Pacifique, Pacifique, Pacifique !
Ending with another repetition of the name of the ocean
Contributed by Samantha H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.