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).
Vachement décontracté
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
De la décalcification, non !
Ça serait plutôt de la philosophie
Si je suis en toutes occasions
Vachement décontracté
Vachement pas énervé
Ça ne m'empêche pas d'avoir le cœur d'un homme d'action
Et bercé par les détonations
J' m'en vais quand le cinéma ferme
Vachement décontracté
Vachement pas énervé
Y a rien que Lulu
Qui peut se vanter
D' m'avoir perturbé l'organisme
Quand je l'ai vue
Si bien roulée
C' fut comme un typhon, un séisme
J' vous assure que le choc a fait du bruit
Lulu, j' l'avais dans la peau
Mais le soir de la quatorzième nuit
Je me suis senti de nouveau
Vachement décontracté
Vachement pas énervé
Lulu et moi
On s'est quittés
Et j'ai repris ma vie tranquille
Tant qu' j'ai un toit
Et de quoi croûter
J' vois pas pourquoi je me f'rais de la bile
N' croyez pas que je fasse de l'anémie
Un restant de puberté
Ça serait plutôt de la philosophie
Si je suis vachement décontracté
The song "Vachement décontracté" by Claude Nougaro portrays the artist's attitude towards life. The lyrics talk about how he is always relaxed and not easily agitated, even though he is still capable of being passionate and having the heart of an action man. There is a sense of self-assuredness in his tone and he is comfortable with being himself. The song is structured around his encounter with a woman named Lulu, who had a profound effect on him, but ultimately, he was able to let her go and continue living his life without much drama.
The phrase "vachement décontracté" can be translated to "really relaxed" or "extraordinarily calm." The repetition of this phrase reinforces the idea that Nougaro is always relaxed, even when it is unexpected or inappropriate. He sings "ça ne m'empêche pas d'avoir le cœur d'un homme d'action" which means "It does not prevent me from having the heart of a man of action." This line highlights that being relaxed doesn't equate to being unmotivated or lazy.
The encounter with Lulu is the only thing that seems to have disrupted his calm demeanor. He describes it as a typhoon, a seismic event that left quite an impression. However, despite the initial excitement, he eventually went back to being his relaxed self. The song suggests that Nougaro enjoys a simple life, as long as he has a roof over his head and food. The song's message is to emphasize the virtues of a stress-free life.
Line by Line Meaning
N' croyez-pas que je fasse de l'anémie
Don't think I suffer from anemia
De la décalcification, non !
Or from decalcification, no!
Ça serait plutôt de la philosophie
It's more like philosophy
Si je suis en toutes occasions
If I'm always
Vachement décontracté
So relaxed
Vachement pas énervé
So not stressed
Ça ne m'empêche pas d'avoir le cœur d'un homme d'action
But that doesn't mean I don't have the heart of a man of action
Je fais la queue pour les westerns
I line up for Westerns
Et bercé par les détonations
And lullabied by the detonations
J' m'en vais quand le cinéma ferme
I leave when the cinema closes
Y a rien que Lulu
There's nothing that Lulu
Qui peut se vanter
Can brag about
D' m'avoir perturbé l'organisme
Having disturbed my organism
Quand je l'ai vue
When I saw her
Si bien roulée
So well stacked
C' fut comme un typhon, un séisme
It was like a typhoon, an earthquake
J' vous assure que le choc a fait du bruit
I assure you, the impact made noise
Lulu, j' l'avais dans la peau
I was smitten with Lulu
Mais le soir de la quatorzième nuit
But on the evening of the fourteenth night
Je me suis senti de nouveau
I felt once again
Vachement décontracté
So relaxed
Vachement pas énervé
So not stressed
Lulu et moi
Lulu and I
On s'est quittés
We parted ways
Et j'ai repris ma vie tranquille
And I resumed my peaceful life
Tant qu' j'ai un toit
As long as I have a roof
Et de quoi croûter
And something to eat
J' vois pas pourquoi je me f'rais de la bile
I don't see why I should worry
N' croyez pas que je fasse de l'anémie
Don't think I suffer from anemia
Un restant de puberté
A leftover from puberty
Ça serait plutôt de la philosophie
It's more like philosophy
Si je suis vachement décontracté
If I'm so relaxed
Contributed by Kaitlyn E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
christiane lavigne
Pas de problèmes ont avait compris toi Michel Legrand Boris Vian Brassen Brel et tout vos potes jazzmen et musiscens vous étiez vachement décontractés rien ne pouvait vous Perturbez c'est pour cela que moi j'aimais vous fréquentez
Toute la journée pour un peu vous embêter et vous en étiez très enchanté