Gustave Nadaud was a French songwriter and chanson

Chanson

A chanson is in general any lyric-driven French song, usually polyphonic and secular. A singer specialising in chansons is known as a "chanteur" or "chanteuse" ; a collection of chansons, especially from the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, is also known as a chansonnier.-Chanson de geste:The...

nier.

Nadaud's first career was as an accountant; he took up songwriting as a hobby at age 28. His friends encouraged him, and he submitted his work for publication in L'Illustration

L'Illustration

L'Illustration was a weekly French newspaper published in Paris. It was founded by Edouard Charton; the first issue was published on March 4, 1843....

 and Le Figaro

Le Figaro

Le Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...

. This genre of songwriting followed on from writers of the previous generation such as Pierre-Jean de Béranger

Pierre-Jean de Béranger

Pierre-Jean de Béranger was a prolific French poet and chansonnier , who enjoyed great popularity and influence in France during his lifetime, but faded into obscurity in the decades following his death...

. Many of his songs were political; his Pandore and Soldat du Marsala were both forbidden under the Second French Empire

Second French Empire

The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...

. Although Nadaud wrote over 300 songs, he died in poverty.

A college in Wattrelos

Wattrelos

Wattrelos is a commune in the Northern department in the Nord-Pas de Calais region in northern France. It is located on the border with Belgium, northeast of the city of Lille. It the fifth-largest component of the metropolitan Urban Community of Lille Métropole.-Heraldry:-References:* -External...

is named after him.

Recordings

• Gustave Nadaud, Bouche à l'oreille et les autres nouveautés Arnaud Marzorati, Daniel Isoir. Alpha 2010.