Claude Nougaro (September 9, 1929 Toulouse – March 4, 2004 Paris) was a Fre… Read Full Bio ↴Claude Nougaro (September 9, 1929 Toulouse – March 4, 2004 Paris) was a French songwriter and singer.

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).

Quatre Ou Cinq Jours
Claude Nougaro Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Tu veux la chanson d'amour
Qui ne serait que la tienne
Eh bien qu'à cela ne tienne
Donne moi quatre ou cinq jours
Le temps de penser à toute
La grâce que tu m'as donnée
Et ma chanson se met en route
Vers le cœur de ma bien aimée

Tu veux la chanson d'amour
Nouvelle et pourtant ancienne
Comme une vague de velours
En dentelle de Valenciennes
Le temps de fermer les yeux
Sur le seuil de ton visage
Et je devrais te chanter mieux
Qu'un troubadour du moyen âge

Là là là là
Là là là là là là
Tant que tu es là ça va
Tant que tu es là ma vie
Ne vit que pour une envie
C'est que tu sois là
C'est que tu sois là
Là là là là
C'est que tu sois là là là là

Tu veux la chanson d'amour
Qui ne serait que la tienne
Eh bien qu'à cela ne tienne
Dans le désert sous la lune
Le temps de te voir sourire
Et ta chanson va tressaillir
Comme une source sur les dunes

Donne moi, donne moi
Quatre ou cinq jours

Overall Meaning

The song "Quatre ou cinq jours" by Claude Nougaro is a love song that speaks to the power of love and music. The lyrics describe a lover's request for a new and personal love song. The singer promises to write such a song in just four or five days, once they have had time to fully appreciate the beauty and grace that their beloved has shown them. The lyrics express the idea that love and music are interwoven, and that true love inspires art.

The first stanza of the song communicates the singer's willingness to write a song for their beloved. The lyrics suggest that the song will be made with care and attention, and that it will come from the heart. The singer acknowledges the gift of love that has been given to them, and promises to honor it through song.

The second stanza speaks to the timeless nature of love and music. The singer promises to write a song that is both new and old, like "a wave of velvet" or "Valenciennes lace". The lyrics suggest a depth of emotion that transcends time and place, and that can be expressed through music.

Overall, the lyrics of "Quatre ou cinq jours" convey a deep sense of gratitude and passion. The song speaks to the power of love to fuel artistic expression, and to the way that music can help us connect to one another.

Line by Line Meaning

Tu veux la chanson d'amour
You want a love song

Qui ne serait que la tienne
That would only belong to you

Eh bien qu'à cela ne tienne
Well, that's not a problem

Donne moi quatre ou cinq jours
Just give me four or five days

Le temps de penser à toute
Time to think through everything

La grâce que tu m'as donnée
All the grace you have given me

Et ma chanson se met en route
Then my song will be ready

Vers le cœur de ma bien aimée
To touch the heart of my beloved

Nouvelle et pourtant ancienne
New and yet old

Comme une vague de velours
Like a velvet wave

En dentelle de Valenciennes
In Valenciennes lace