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).
Vieux Vienne
Claude Nougaro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
D'où qu'elles viennent, quels que soient leurs nids
Elles appartiennent à l'âme humaine
C'est un Viennois qui me l'a dit
Et ce soir, j'ai la veine autrichienne sur cette mélodie...
Ah que vienne que vienne que vienne une valse de Vienne
Vienne une chose toute rose qui ose dire aérienne
Dans un frisson délicieux
Ah que vienne que vienne que vienne une valse de Vienne
Un Pleyel plein de ciel trinquant, Tchin! à la tienne
Les trois temps d'un temps grisant qui nous maintienne
Noyés jusqu'au fond des yeux
Par une passion diluvienne
Ah que vienne que vienne une valse de Vienne
Ah que vienne que vienne que vienne une valse de Vienne
Vienne comme dit Arthur un temps dont on s'éprenne
Vienne un grand bal bacchanale
Une ronde ravélienne
Ah que vienne que vienne que vienne une valse de Vienne
Un bouchon d' champagne à faire péter les peines
Un grand vent d' violons violents qui désenchaîne
Un orage très précieux
Plein de foudre musicienne
Ah que vienne que vienne une valse de Vienne
Noyés jusqu'au fond des yeux
Par une passion diluvienne
Ah que vienne que vienne une valse de Vienne
The lyrics of Claude Nougaro's "Vieux Vienne" express a deep appreciation for the beauty and universality of music. He declares that all music is blessed, regardless of where it comes from or what its roots may be. In fact, he states that a Viennese man told him this truth himself. Thus, when he hears a Viennese waltz, he feels as though he has been imbued with some aspect of Austrian culture and life. He longs for a waltz from Vienna, a pink thing that dares to be ethereal, which will send shivers down his spine with its delightful words of love spoken in the classical way. He wants the whole package - a Pleyel piano sparkling with stars, a dizzying three-beat rhythm, and a flood of passion that engulfs everything in its path.
Nougaro goes on to state that a Viennese waltz is not just any kind of music, but a special kind that captures a particular moment in time. He refers to it as a "temps dont on s'éprenne" - a moment that one falls in love with. He imagines a grand, bacchanalian ball, with a round line of dancers moving to the music of Maurice Ravel. He wants a cork popping bottle of champagne, unbridled and violent violins, a thunderstorm that unleashes musical fire and inspiration that floods the soul.
Overall, "Vieux Vienne" speaks to the timeless beauty of music, particularly the Viennese waltz, and its immense power to evoke passion, nostalgia, and joy in those who hear it.
Line by Line Meaning
Toutes les musiques sont bénies
All music is blessed
D'où qu'elles viennent, quels que soient leurs nids
No matter where they come from or where they belong
Elles appartiennent à l'âme humaine
Music belongs to the human soul
C'est un Viennois qui me l'a dit
A Viennese person told me this
Et ce soir, j'ai la veine autrichienne sur cette mélodie...
Tonight, I am feeling the Austrian vibe on this melody...
Ah que vienne que vienne que vienne une valse de Vienne
Oh may a Viennese waltz come, come, come
Vienne une chose toute rose qui ose dire aérienne
May something all in pink come that dares to say it's ethereal
Dans un frisson délicieux
In a delicious shiver
Des mots d'amour à l'ancienne
Words of love from the past
Un Pleyel plein de ciel trinquant, Tchin! à la tienne
A Pleyel piano full of sky, clinking, cheers to you
Les trois temps d'un temps grisant qui nous maintienne
The three beats of a heady time that keeps us going
Noyés jusqu'au fond des yeux
Drowned deep in our eyes
Par une passion diluvienne
By a flood-like passion
Vienne comme dit Arthur un temps dont on s'éprenne
May it come, as Arthur says, a time we fall in love with
Vienne un grand bal bacchanale
May a great bacchanalian ball come
Une ronde ravélienne
A Ravelian round
Un bouchon d' champagne à faire péter les peines
A champagne cork to make sorrows burst
Un grand vent d' violons violents qui désenchaîne
A strong wind of violent violins that unleashes
Un orage très précieux
A very precious storm
Plein de foudre musicienne
Full of musical lightning
Noyés jusqu'au fond des yeux
Drowned deep in our eyes
Par une passion diluvienne
By a flood-like passion
Ah que vienne que vienne une valse de Vienne
Oh may a Viennese waltz come, come
Contributed by Jayce G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
chrisioguet
C'est génial! J'adore Nougaro!!!!
tigreadroit
Moi aussi .
tigreadroit
Que de chefs d'œuvre passés quasiment inaperçus . Pauvre France .