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).
Une Petite Fille
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dans une ville en pluie
Et moi qui cours après
Et moi qui cours après au milieu de la nuit
Mais qu'est-c'que j'lui ai fait ?
Une petite idiot' qui me joue la grande scène
De la femm' délaissée
Et qui veut me fair' croir' qu'elle va se noyer !
Mais qu'est-c'que j'lui ai fait ?
Mais qu'est-c' qui lui a pris ?
Mais qu'est-c' qu'elle' me reproche ?
Lorsque je l'ai trompée, ell' l'a jamais appris
C'est pas ell' qui s'approche ?
Tu m'aim's vraiment dis-moi
Tu m'aim's, tu m'aim's, tu m'aim's,
C'est tout ce qu'ell' sait dire
En bouffant, en m'rasant,
Quand je voudrais dormir
Faut lui dir' que je l'aime !
Un' petit' fille en pleurs dans une ville en pluie
Où est-ell' Nom de Dieu !
Elle a dû remonter par la rue d'Rivoli
J'ai d'la flott' plein les yeux
Parc' qu'elle avait rêvé je ne sais quel amour
Absolu, éternel
Il faudrait ne penser, n'exister que pour elle
Chaque nuit, chaque jour
Voilà ce qu'elle voudrait. Seulement y a la vie
Seulement y a le temps
Et le moment fatal où le vilain mari
Tue le prince charmant
L'amour, son bel amour, il ne vaut pas bien cher
Contre un calendrier
Le batt'ment de son cœur, la douceur de sa chair...
Je les ai oubliés.
Où donc est-ell' partie ?
Voilà qu'il pleut des cordes
Mon Dieu regardez-moi
Me voilà comme un con, place de la Concorde !
Ça y est, je la vois
Attends-moi !
Attends-moi !
Je t'aime !
Je t'aime !
Je t'aime !
The song "Une petite fille" by Claude Nougaro tells the story of a man who is chasing after a young girl who is crying in the rain in the middle of the night. He wonders why she is upset and what he has done to cause her to act this way. He finds her to be an immature girl who is trying to play the role of a jilted lover and make him believe that she is going to drown herself in the Seine River. The man is frustrated with her behavior and wonders what she is accusing him of because she has never found out that he cheated on her. The song then shifts to the man's perspective, and he ponders how the girl had dreamed of a passionate, eternal love but now realizes that true love is not enough to conquer the practicalities of life. He feels like he has forgotten the girl's dreams and is hoping to find her again as the rain continues to pour down.
The song showcases the complexities of love and relationships. It highlights how different people have different expectations of what love should be and how it can sometimes be difficult to bridge those gaps. The man is trying to make sense of the girl's behavior and understand why she is acting so dramatically, while also recognizing that he may not have lived up to her expectations of love. The girl, in turn, is trying to garner attention and affection from the man, even if it means pretending to be heartbroken and suicidal.
Line by Line Meaning
Un' petit' fille en pleurs
A little girl in tears
Dans une ville en pluie
In a city in rain
Et moi qui cours après
And me running after her
Et moi qui cours après au milieu de la nuit
And me running after her in the middle of the night
Mais qu'est-c'que j'lui ai fait ?
But what have I done to her?
Une petite idiot' qui me joue la grande scène
A little idiot who's putting on a big show for me
De la femm' délaissée
Of the abandoned woman
Et qui veut me fair' croir' qu'elle va se noyer !
And who wants me to believe that she's going to drown herself!
C'est d'quel côté la Seine ?
Which side of the Seine is it?
Mais qu'est-c'que j'lui ai fait ?
But what have I done to her?
Mais qu'est-c' qui lui a pris ?
But what's gotten into her?
Mais qu'est-c' qu'elle' me reproche ?
But what is she accusing me of?
Lorsque je l'ai trompée, ell' l'a jamais appris
When I cheated on her, she never found out
C'est pas ell' qui s'approche ?
Isn't she the one approaching me?
Tu m'aim's vraiment dis-moi
Do you really love me, tell me
Tu m'aim's, tu m'aim's, tu m'aim's,
You love me, you love me, you love me
C'est tout ce qu'ell' sait dire
That's all she knows how to say
En bouffant, en m'rasant,
While eating, while shaving me,
Quand je voudrais dormir
When I want to sleep
Faut lui dir' que je l'aime !
I have to tell her that I love her!
Où est-ell' Nom de Dieu !
Where is she, for God's sake!
Elle a dû remonter par la rue d'Rivoli
She must have gone back up Rue de Rivoli
J'ai d'la flott' plein les yeux
I have tears in my eyes
Parc' qu'elle avait rêvé je ne sais quel amour
Because she had dreamed of some kind of love
Absolu, éternel
Absolute, eternal
Il faudrait ne penser, n'exister que pour elle
One would have to think, and exist only for her
Chaque nuit, chaque jour
Every night, every day
Voilà ce qu'elle voudrait. Seulement y a la vie
That's what she would want. But there's life
Seulement y a le temps
But there's time
Et le moment fatal où le vilain mari
And the fatal moment where the nasty husband
Tue le prince charmant
Kills the prince charming
L'amour, son bel amour, il ne vaut pas bien cher
Love, her beautiful love, it's not worth much
Contre un calendrier
Against a calendar
Le batt'ment de son cœur, la douceur de sa chair...
The beating of her heart, the sweetness of her flesh...
Je les ai oubliés.
I forgot about them.
Où donc est-ell' partie ?
So where did she go?
Voilà qu'il pleut des cordes
Now it's raining cats and dogs
Mon Dieu regardez-moi
My God, look at me
Me voilà comme un con, place de la Concorde !
Here I am, like an idiot, at Place de la Concorde!
Ça y est, je la vois
There she is, I see her
Attends-moi !
Wait for me!
Je t'aime !
I love you!
Je t'aime !
I love you!
Je t'aime !
I love you!
Contributed by Aria W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.