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 bouteille à la mer
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Messageries maritimes
Je lance une bouteille à la mer
une bouteille de gin
La bouteille, je l'ai bue
et mon divan chavire
Je lance une bouteille à la mer
Hic
Dans la bouteille j'ai mis
un message de détresse
un papier où j'ai écrit
S, O, Hic
Et j' l'ai lancée à babord
de mon divan qui tangue
Je lance une bouteille à la mort
Hop
Je lance deux bouteilles à la mer
Messageries maritimes
Si la première se perd
la deuxième j'imagine
ira au gré des flots verts
en Amer, hic
À moins qu'elle n'aille à l'envers
Bof!
Et puis tiens, je me lance à la mer
Messageries posthumes
Et puis tiens, je me lance à la mer tume
Je termine mon histoire
d'alcool, hic
La mer, c'est pas la mer à boire
Plouf
In Claude Nougaro's song "Une bouteille à la mer" (A Bottle to the Sea), the lyrics depict a person who is in a state of intoxication and despair, symbolized by the act of throwing a bottle into the sea with a message inside. This act of desperation and loneliness is represented by the repetitive line "Je lance une bouteille à la mer" (I throw a bottle to the sea), emphasizing the futility and hopelessness of the situation.
The first verse reveals that the person has consumed the contents of the bottle, perhaps a bottle of gin, causing their world to spin and their sofa to capsize (the line "La bouteille, je l'ai bue et mon divan chavire"). This suggests that the person's drinking habit has taken a heavy toll on their well-being and stability.
The second verse introduces the message of distress that the person has included in the bottle. They have written the letter "S, O, Hic" (a play on the word "soûl," meaning drunk, and the sound of a hiccup), reflecting their state of inebriation. The act of throwing this message is described as being done from the left side of their swaying sofa, further emphasizing their unbalanced state of mind.
In the chorus, the person throws two bottles to the sea this time, expressing their hope that if one gets lost, the other one might reach its destination. The use of the phrase "Si la première se perd, la deuxième j'imagine" (If the first one gets lost, the second one, I imagine) reflects their desperate attempt to find a connection or someone who might understand their distress.
Finally, in the last verse, the person contemplates taking a step further and throwing themselves into the sea, metaphorically stating that they are putting an end to their story of alcohol. They reflect that the sea is not as easy to conquer as a bottle of alcohol, emphasizing that the problems they face cannot be solved by drowning their sorrows.
Overall, the lyrics of "Une bouteille à la mer" depict a narrative of despair, loneliness, and addiction. The act of throwing a bottle to the sea symbolizes the person's desperate attempt to find comfort or understanding in their troubled state, but ultimately realizing that their problems cannot be drowned away.
Line by Line Meaning
Je lance une bouteille à la mer
I send a message of hope into the vast unknown
Messageries maritimes
Hoping it reaches someone who can help
Je lance une bouteille à la mer
I throw a bottle filled with gin
une bouteille de gin
In hopes that my drink will calm the chaos within
La bouteille, je l'ai bue
I have consumed the bottle's contents
et mon divan chavire
And now my sofa feels unsteady and unstable
Je lance une bouteille à la mer
Once again, I send a message of hope
Hic
But I am intoxicated and my words may not make sense
Dans la bouteille j'ai mis
Inside the bottle, I placed
un message de détresse
A message of desperation
un papier où j'ai écrit
On a piece of paper, I have written
S, O, Hic
S, O, S, Hic
Et j' l'ai lancée à babord
And I have thrown it to the left side
de mon divan qui tangue
Of my rocking sofa
Je lance une bouteille à la mort
I throw a bottle to the unknown
Hop
Hoping it finds its destination
Je lance deux bouteilles à la mer
Now I throw two bottles into the sea
Si la première se perd
If the first one gets lost
la deuxième j'imagine
I imagine the second one
ira au gré des flots verts
Will go with the flow of the green waves
en Amer, hic
Towards America, hic
À moins qu'elle n'aille à l'envers
Unless it goes the opposite way
Bof!
Well, who knows!
Et puis tiens, je me lance à la mer
And then, why not, I'll throw myself into the sea
Messageries posthumes
As a final message from beyond the grave
Et puis tiens, je me lance à la mer tume
And then, why not, I'll throw myself into the dark sea
Je termine mon histoire
I conclude my story
d'alcool, hic
Of alcohol, hic
La mer, c'est pas la mer à boire
The sea is not so easy to conquer
Plouf
Splash
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, LES EDITIONS DU CHIFFRE NEUF
Written by: Maurice VANDER, Claude NOUGARO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
isabelle zenner
il a tout ... avec classe meme dans l'alcoolisme ou les relations...
dogdog92000
bon vous n'avez pas compris, j'aime beaucoup le scat lorsqu'il est fait avec talent bien évidemment....
drakkar fov
Du grand claude
Caroline Billiau
monsieur est juste bon
dogdog92000
votre pseudo se veut une description fidèle de ce qui vous tiens de cervelle je crois... portez vous bien.
Scat9201
sois poli, TROUDUC
Scat9201
pourtant le scat est une musique assez difficile et donc ceux qui l'a pratiquent ne sont sont pas les plus cons...