Ô Toulouse [English translation]

How far is my country, how far

Sometimes deep in me revives

The green water of the canal du Midi1

And the red bricks of the Minimes2

Oh my country, oh Toulouse, oh Toulouse3

I take back the avenue towards school

My schoolbag is stuffed with punches

Here, if you hit, you win

Here, even the grannies love the brawl4

Oh my country, oh Toulouse

A torrent of stones rolls in your accent5

Your violence boils up even into your violets

We call each other cunt as soon as we call6

There is storm in the air and yet

The Saint-Sernin church7 illuminates the evening

A coral flower that the sun waters

It's maybe for that despite your red and black8

It's maybe for that you are known as Pink City9

I see again your cobblestones, oh my gascon city

Your sidewalk ripped open on gas pipes

Is it Spain in you pushing it's horn a little

Or would it be in your guts a bubble of jazz ?

Here is the Capitole10, where I halt my steps

The snuffly tenors shake under their air valves11

I still hear the echo of daddy's voice12

In those days, he was my only blues singer

Today, your buildings climb high

In Blagnac, your airplanes snore loudly13

If one of them takes me back on that city

Could i still see my pinch of roof tiles

Oh my country, oh Toulouse, oh Toulouse

1. The Canal du Midi, or canal of the two seas, is a 241 km (150 mi) long canal in Southern France (French: le Midi) that connects the Garonne River leading to the Atlantic ocean to the Étang de Thau on the Mediterranean. Build in the 17th century, the canal made the wealth of Toulouse.2. the Minimes is the suburb of Toulouse where Nougaro grew up, it is named after a monastery.3. The chorus is an hommage to the song La Toulousaine, a song in occitan language, wrote in 1845 by Lucien Mengaud.4. Nougaro refers to the love of the rugby game among the toulousains, by using the expression "castagne" (fist fight, litt. chesnut soup).5. The gascon, or toulousain accent, that comes from the pronunciation of the occitan language, consists into rolling the R and speaking with a musical emphasis.6. "Con" (cunt), is a common expletive in Toulouse. It can be used as a term of endearment, or even as a punctuation.7. The Saint-Sernin Basilica played the tune of this song on it's bells the day of Claude Nougaro's funeral.8. Red and black refers to the banners of the communist and anarchist movements popular among the working class of the city.9. Ville rose (pink city) in reference to the red brick architecture of the city, is the official moniker of Toulouse.10. The Capitole square is the heart of Toulouse, historically the siege of the governing magistrates (Capitouls). 11. A wing of the Capitole houses the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse opera company and a symphony orchestra.12. Claude's father, Pierre Nougaro, was an opera baryton singer.13. Toulouse–Blagnac Airport.

• Artist:Claude Nougaro