Besides the highly successful "Poupée de Cire, Poupée de Son", she also notably sung "Les Sucettes" and "Baby Pop". In France, she was perhaps more known for the chanson songs she sang in the late-70s through the mid-80s, many of them written by her husband, Michel Berger, who died in 1992. In 1987, she had some additional international success with her Ella Fitzgerald tribute "Ella, elle l'a". She still recorded music into the new millennium.
France Gall died on 7 january 2018 at age 70 in a hospital in Paris.
Les Sucettes
France Gall Lyrics
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Les sucettes à l'anis
Les sucettes à l'anis d'Annie
Donnent à ses baisers
Un goût anisé
Lorsque le sucre d'orge
Parfumé à l'anis
Coule dans la gorge d'Annie
Elle est au paradis
Pour quelques penny, Annie
A ses sucettes à l'anis
Elles ont la couleur de ses grands yeux
La couleur des jours heureux
Annie aime les sucettes
Les sucettes à l'anis
Les sucettes à l'anis d'Annie
Donnent à ses baisers
Un goût anisé
Lorsqu'elle n'a sur sa langue
Que le petit bâton
Elle prend ses jambes à son corps
Et retourne au drugstore
Pour quelques penny, Annie
A ses sucettes à l'anis
Elles ont la couleur de ses grands yeux
La couleur des jours heureux
Lorsque le sucre d'orge
Parfumé à l'anis
Coule dans la gorge d'Annie
Elle est au paradis
The lyrics to France Gall's song "Les Sucettes" speaks of a young girl named Annie who loves anise-flavored lollipops. This simple indulgence brings her much joy and even enhances the taste of her kisses, leaving a slight anise flavor lingering. When the sugar from the lollipop flows down Annie's throat, she experiences a sensation akin to being in paradise. The song mentions how the lollipops have a similar color to Annie's eyes, and it reminds her of happier days. Annie is so taken with her candy that when she finishes one, she rushes back to the drug store for more.
Interestingly, the song's meaning goes deeper than what it appears on the surface. It was later revealed that "Les Sucettes" was written with subversive double entendres by Serge Gainsbourg, who had a reputation for pushing the boundaries of the acceptable in his music. The song is said to be a metaphor for oral sex, with the lollipops representing the phallus and Annie's delight in the candy symbolizing the pleasure of performing oral sex. This revelation caused controversy when the song was released, as France Gall was a teenager at the time, and the sexual nature of the song was inappropriate.
Line by Line Meaning
Annie aime les sucettes
Annie loves lollipops
Les sucettes à l'anis
The aniseed lollipops
Les sucettes à l'anis d'Annie
Annie's aniseed lollipops
Donnent à ses baisers
Give her kisses
Un goût anisé
A taste of aniseed
Lorsque le sucre d'orge
When the barley sugar
Parfumé à l'anis
Flavoured with aniseed
Coule dans la gorge d'Annie
Flows down Annie's throat
Elle est au paradis
She's in heaven
Pour quelques penny, Annie
For a few pennies, Annie
A ses sucettes à l'anis
Has her aniseed lollipops
Elles ont la couleur de ses grands yeux
They have the color of her big eyes
La couleur des jours heureux
The color of happy days
Lorsqu'elle n'a sur sa langue
When she has nothing on her tongue
Que le petit bâton
Other than the little stick
Elle prend ses jambes à son corps
She takes off on her legs
Et retourne au drugstore
And goes back to the drugstore
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, SIDONIE
Written by: Serge Gainsbourg
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind