This song is one of the most famous of Claude Nougaro. It was firstly entitled “Ô Toulouse” (April 1967). The singer pays an important and personal tribute to his home town, Toulouse. He had a complicated youth, and he decided to write this song at a “pretty complicated” moment of his life. He wrote the first version of the song when he was living in the avenue des Ternes, Paris, and lyrics were pretty tough. By talking to Odette, his second wife, he decided to transform this song into a “chant d’amour et non un chant de rancune” (“love song and not a resentful song anymore”), his wife said. Material culture as well as intangible culture inspired him the text, and he used Occitan lyrics from “La Toulousaine” which was written by Lucien Mengaud in 1845: “Ô moun païs! Ô moun païs! Ô Tolosa! Tolosa.” When the CD was released, it didn’t immediately meet with success but between 1970s and 19780s, it became famous. Then, both the singer and the song became the symbol of “La Ville Rose” (The Pink City) and became even an unofficial anthem for Toulouse as well as a strong identity symbol of “La cité gasconne” (Gascon City). It is often played for rugby meet in Toulousian Stadium. When Claude Nougaro died in 2004, his song was played to the bells of Basilica of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse, for his funerals. Lyrics of that song are engraved on a plate placed on the Quais de la Garonne (Quays of the Garonne).
