He was born Lucien Ginzburg in Paris, France, the son of Jewish Russian parents who fled to France after the 1917 Bolshevik uprising. His childhood was profoundly affected by the occupation of France by Nazi Germany, during which he and his family, as Jews, were forced to wear the yellow star and eventually flee from Paris. He had a daughter, Charlotte Gainsbourg, with English singer and actress Jane Birkin; and a son, Lulu, with his last partner, Bambou (Caroline Von Paulus, who is related to Friedrich Paulus). Before he was 30 years old, Lucien Ginsburg was a disillusioned painter but earned his living as a piano player in bars. Daughter Charlotte would later become an actress and singer.
His early songs were influenced by Boris Vian and were largely in the vein of "old-fashioned" chanson. Very early, however, Gainsbourg began to move beyond this and experiment with a succession of different musical styles: jazz early on, English pop in the 60's, reggae in the 70's, even hip-hop in the 80's.
Success began to arrive when, in 1965, his song "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" was the Luxembourg entry in the Eurovision Song Contest. Performed by French teen singer France Gall, it won the grand prize. (The song was covered in English as "A Lonely Singing Doll" by British teen idol Twinkle.) He arranged other Gall songs and LPs that were characteristic of the late 1960s psychedelic styles, among them Gall's '1968' album. Another of Serge's songs "Boum Bada Boum" was entered in by Monaco in the 1967 contest, sung by Minouche Barelli; It came 5th.
In 1969, he released what would become his most famous song in the English-speaking world, "Je t'aime... moi non plus", which featured simulated sounds of female orgasm. The song appeared that year on an LP, "Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg". Originally recorded with Brigitte Bardot, it was released with future girlfriend Birkin when Bardot backed out. While Gainsbourg declared it the "ultimate love song," it was considered too "hot"; the song was censored in various countries, and in France, even the toned-down version was suppressed. Even the Vatican made a public statement citing the song as offensive. Its notoriety led it to reaching no. 1 in the UK singles chart. A long-standing rumor maintains that Gainsbourg and Birkin were actually having sex during the recording session (asked about it in an interview, Gainsbourg answered that if this was true, the song would have lasted longer than 4 minutes).
The seventies
His most influential work came near the start of the seventies with Histoire de Melody Nelson, released in 1971. This concept album, produced and arranged by Jean-Claude Vannier, tells the story of a Lolita-esque affair, with Gainsbourg as the narrator and Jane Birkin as the eponymous English heroine. It features prominent string arrangements and even a massed choir at its tragic climax. At the time, sales were poor, but the album has proven influential with artists such as Air, David Holmes and Beck.
In 1975, he released the album Rock Around the Bunker, a rock album written entirely on the subject of the Nazis. Gainsbourg used black humour, as he and his family suffered during World War II. While a child in Paris, Gainsbourg himself had worn the Yellow badge as the mark of a Jew.
The next year saw the release of another major work, L'Homme à la Tête de Chou (Cabbage-Head Man), featuring the new character Marilou and sumptuous orchestral themes.
In Jamaica in 1978 he recorded "Aux Armes et cetera," a reggae version of the French national anthem "La Marseillaise", with Robbie Shakespeare, Sly Dunbar and Rita Marley. This song earned him death threats from right-wing veterans of the Algerian War of Independence who were opposed to certain lyrics. Shortly afterwards, Gainsbourg bought the original manuscript of La Marseillaise. He was able to reply to his critics that his version was, in fact, closer to the original as the manuscript clearly shows the words "Aux armes et cætera..." for the chorus.
The next year saw him in the new look of Gainsbarre, officially introduced in the song "Ecce Homo."
Final years
In the 1980's, approaching the end of his life, Gainsbourg became a regular figure on French TV. His appearances seemed devoted to his controversial sense of humour and provocation. He would frequently show up drunk and unshaven on stage. Perhaps his most famous incident came when, on Michel Drucker's live Saturday evening show with the American singer Whitney Houston, he exclaimed, "I want to fuck her."
During this period he released Love On The Beat and his last studio album, You're Under Arrest, (which saw him adapt his style to the hip-hop genre), as well as two live recordings. His third and last Eurovision Song Contest entry came in 1990 with the French entry "White and Black Blues", sung by Joëlle Ursull. It came second in a tie with Ireland. His songs became increasingly eccentric in this period, ranging from the anti-drug "Les Enfants de la Chance" to the duet with his daughter Charlotte called "Lemon Incest (Un zeste de citron)." The title of the latter demonstrates Gainsbourg's love of puns (another example is "Bowie, Beau oui comme Bowie").
Discography :
1958 : Du Chant À La Une !
1959 : Serge Gainsbourg N°2
1961 : L'étonnant Serge Gainsbourg
1962 : Serge Gainsbourg N° 4
1963 : Gainsbourg Confidentiel
1964 : Gainsbourg Percussions
1968 : Initials B.B.
1968 : Bonnie And Clyde ( with Brigitte Bardot )
1969 : Jane Birkin-Serge Gainsbourg
1971 : Histoire de Melody Nelson ( with Jane Birkin )
1973 : Vu de l'extérieur
1975 : Rock around the bunker
1976 : L'Homme à tête de chou
1979 : Aux armes et cætera
1981 : Mauvaises Nouvelles Des Étoiles
1984 : Love on the Beat
1987 : You're Under Arrest
Melody
Serge Gainsbourg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Quand m'étant malgré moi égaré
Nous arrivâmes ma Rolls et moi dans une zone
Dangereuse
Un endroit isolé
Là-bas, sur le capot de cette Silver Ghost de 1910
S'avance en éclaireur
La Vénus d'argent du radiateur
Dont les voiles légers volent aux avant-postes
Hautaine, dédaigneuse
Tandis que hurle le poste de radio
Couvrant le silence du moteur
Elle fixe l'horizon
Et l'esprit ailleurs
Semble tout ignorer des trottoirs que j'accoste
Ruelles, culs-de-sac
Aux stationnements interdits par la loi
Le cœur indifférent
Elle tient le mors de mes vingt-six chevaux-vapeur
Princesse des ténèbres, archange maudit
Amazone modern style que le sculpteur, en anglais
Surnomma "Spirit of Ecstasy"
Ainsi je déconnais avant que je ne perde
Le contrôle de la Rolls
J'avançais lentement
Ma voiture dériva
Et un heurt violent
Me tira soudain de ma rêverie
Merde
J'aperçus une roue de vélo à l'avant
Qui continuait de tourner en roue libre
Et comme une poupée qui perdait l'équilibre
La jupe retroussée sur ses pantalons blancs
"Tu t'appelles comment?"
"Melody"
"Melody comment?"
"Melody Nelson"
Melody Nelson a les cheveux rouges
Et c'est leur couleur naturelle
The lyrics to Serge Gainsbourg's song, Melody, tell a story of a man who, while driving in his Rolls Royce, finds himself in a dangerous and isolated area where he encounters a woman named Melody Nelson. The woman is described as the "Venus of Silver Radiator" and possesses a demeanor that is both haughty and indifferent. She pays no attention to the man or the surroundings and only seems to be absorbed in her own thoughts. As the man loses control of his car and crashes into a bicycle, he meets the woman who introduces herself as Melody. The song ends with the revelation that Melody has red hair naturally.
The lyrics of the song describe the meeting of two individuals who are entirely different from each other. While the man in the story is preoccupied with his luxury car, the woman he meets is seemingly uninterested in such things. Her name and the color of her hair, which is naturally red, are the only two things he learns about her. The song portrays a sense of detachment that both characters seem to display. While the man is lost in his own little world, Melody seems to be engulfed in her own thoughts.
Line by Line Meaning
Les ailes de la Rolls effleuraient des pylônes
The wings of my Rolls Royce brushed against electrical poles
Quand m'étant malgré moi égaré
When I, against my will, became lost
Nous arrivâmes ma Rolls et moi dans une zone
My Rolls Royce and I arrived in a dangerous, isolated place
Dangereuse
A dangerous place
Là-bas, sur le capot de cette Silver Ghost de 1910
Over there, on the hood of this 1910 Silver Ghost
S'avance en éclaireur
Advances as a scout
La Vénus d'argent du radiateur
The silver Venus on the radiator
Dont les voiles légers volent aux avant-postes
Whose light veils fly to the front lines
Hautaine, dédaigneuse
Haughty, disdainful
Tandis que hurle le poste de radio
While the radio screams
Couvrant le silence du moteur
Covering the silence of the engine
Elle fixe l'horizon
She stares at the horizon
Et l'esprit ailleurs
And her mind elsewhere
Semble tout ignorer des trottoirs que j'accoste
Seems to ignore all the sidewalks that I pull over to
Ruelles, culs-de-sac
Alleys, dead ends
Aux stationnements interdits par la loi
In parking spots forbidden by the law
Le cœur indifférent
With an indifferent heart
Elle tient le mors de mes vingt-six chevaux-vapeur
She holds the bit of my twenty-six horsepower
Princesse des ténèbres, archange maudit
Princess of darkness, cursed archangel
Amazone modern style que le sculpteur, en anglais
Modern style Amazon that the sculptor called, in English
Surnomma "Spirit of Ecstasy"
Named "Spirit of Ecstasy"
Ainsi je déconnais avant que je ne perde
Thus I joked before losing
Le contrôle de la Rolls
Control of the Rolls
J'avançais lentement
I advanced slowly
Ma voiture dériva
My car skidded
Et un heurt violent
And a violent impact
Me tira soudain de ma rêverie
Suddenly pulled me out of my daydream
Merde
Shit
J'aperçus une roue de vélo à l'avant
I saw a bicycle wheel in front
Qui continuait de tourner en roue libre
That kept turning without resistance
Et comme une poupée qui perdait l'équilibre
And like a doll losing her balance
La jupe retroussée sur ses pantalons blancs
Her skirt tucked into her white pants
"Tu t'appelles comment?"
"What's your name?"
"Melody"
"Melody"
"Melody comment?"
"Melody what?"
"Melody Nelson"
"Melody Nelson"
Melody Nelson a les cheveux rouges
Melody Nelson has red hair
Et c'est leur couleur naturelle
And it's their natural color
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, WARNER CHAPPELL MUSIC FRANCE
Written by: Serge Gainsbourg
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Elian
on Ford Mustang
We're swapping spits / We're snorting lines [double entendre] (On s' fait des "lines")
In a Ford Mustang
And then, "Bang"
We're banging in [triple entendre]
To the plane trees / And then, "Bang," we're getting high ("embrasser les platanes = planer" [ French] (=to get high)
"Mus" to the left
"Tang" to the right
And to the left, to the right
A windshield wiper
A pack of Kool
A badge with the inscription
"Keep Cool"
A bar of
Chocolate
A Coca-Cola
We're swapping spits / We're snorting lines
In a Ford Mustang
And then, "Bang"
We're banging in
To the plane trees
"Mus" to the left
"Tang" to the right
And to the left, to the right
A bottle
Of make-up fluid
A flashgun
A Browning (automatic pistol)
A phonograph
A volume
Of Edgar A. Poe
And a plain brass ZIPPO
We're swapping spits / We're snorting lines
In a Ford Mustang
And then, "Bang"
We're banging in
To the plane trees
"Mus" to the left
"Tang" to the right
And to the left, to the right
An edition
Of Superman
A nut from
Paco
Rabanne
A pic of
Marilyn
A tube of aspirin
We're swapping spits / We're snorting lines
In a Ford Mustang
And then, "Bang"
We're banging in
To the plane trees
"Mus" to the left
"Tang" to the right
And to the left, to the right