She participated in various musical shows and recorded many popular songs in the 1960s and 1970s, mostly in collaboration with Serge Gainsbourg, Bob Zagury and Sacha Distel, including "Harley Davidson", "Je Me Donne A Qui Me Plait", "Bubble gum", "Contact", "Je Reviendrais Toujours Vers Toi", "L'Appareil A Sous", "La Madrague", "On Demenage", "Sidonie", "Tu Veux, Ou Tu Veux Pas?", "Le Soleil De Ma Vie" (the cover of Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life") and notorious "Je t'aime… moi non plus".
In 1952, she appeared on screen for the first time in Le Trou Normand. That same year, at age 18, she married director Roger Vadim, with whom she had been romantically involved for several years.
Although the European film industry was then in the ascendant, her personal rise was remarkable: she has been one of the few European actresses to receive mass media attention in the United States. She and Marilyn Monroe were the icons of female sexuality in the 1950s and 1960s and whenever she made public appearances in the United States the media hordes covered her every move.
Her films of the early and mid 1950s were lightweight romantic dramas, some of them historical, in which she was cast as ingénue or siren, often with an element of undress. She played bit parts in three English-language films, the British comedy Doctor at Sea (1955), Helen of Troy (1954), in which she was understudy for the title-role but only appears as Helen's handmaid, and Act of Love (1954) with Kirk Douglas. Her French-language films were dubbed for international release. "She is every man's idea of the girl he'd like to meet in Paris" said the film-critic Ivon Addams in 1955.
Vadim was not content with this light fare. The New Wave of French and Italian art directors and their stars were riding high internationally and he felt Bardot was being undersold. Looking for something more like an art-film to push her as a serious actress, he showcased her in And God Created Woman (1956) with Jean-Louis Trintignant.
The film, about an amoral teenager in a respectable small-town setting, was a big international success. She may have had an affair with her co-star Trintignant, but this was more likely a pre-release publicity gimmick. The film is often wrongly described as her first film (it was her seventeenth) and to have launched her overnight, but it did help move her towards the cinematic mainstream.
It also ruled out a transition to Hollywood, where she was thought too risqué to handle. The Doris Day era was in still in full swing and even Jane Russell in The French Line (1953) had been thought to be going too far by showing her midriff. Erotica like Bardot's Cette sacrée gamine (That Crazy Kid, 1955) was considered fine at the box-office as long as it was clearly labelled "European". Bardot's limited English and strong accent, while beguiling to the ears of men, did not suit rapid-fire Hollywood scripts. In any event, staying in Europe benefited her image when the 1960s began to swing and Hollywood slipped into the background for a while, and Bardot was voted honorary sex-goddess of the decade.
Divorced from Vadim in 1957, she married actor Jacques Charrier (1959-62), by whom in 1960 she had her only child, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier from whom she is estranged. She once referred to her only child as "a tumour". The marriage was preyed on by the paparazzi and there were clashes over the direction of Bardot's career. Her films became more substantial, but this brought a heavy pressure of dual celebrity as she sought critical acclaim while remaining to most of the world a glamour model.
Vie privée (1960), directed by Louis Malle has more than an element of autobiography in it. The scene in which, returning to her flat, Bardot's character is harangued in the lift by a middle-aged cleaning-lady calling her a tramp and a tart was based on an actual incident, and is a resonant image of celebrity in the mid-20th century.
Soon after, Bardot withdrew to the seclusion of Southern France and is now known to have attempted suicide, but as the sexual revolution of the early 1960s gathered momentum her lifestyle began to seem more like the norm and the pressure lifted. Through the sixties, she was happy to appear in glossy star-vehicles like Viva Maria (1969), to dabble in pop music and to play the role of glamour model and icon. In 1965 she appeared as herself in the Hollywood production Dear Brigitte starring Jimmy Stewart.
Her other husbands were German millionaire playboy Gunter Sachs (1966-69), and French right-wing politician, Bernard d'Ormale (1992-present). She has also had reputed relationships with many men including singers Serge Gainsbourg and Sacha Distel. In the late 1950s, she shared an exchange she considered “croiser de deux sillages” with writer John Gilmore, then an actor in France for a New Wave film to have starred Jean Seberg. Gilmore told Paris Match, “I felt a beautiful warmth with Bardot but found it difficult to discuss things to any depth whatsoever”.
She is recognised for popularising bikini swimwear in early films such as Manina (Woman without a Veil, 1952) and in her appearances at Cannes and in many photo shoots. She even sported an early version of the monokini from time to time. Though this was not considered extraordinary in France, it was considered nearly scandalous in the US. The fashions of the 1960s looked effortlessly right and spontaneous on her and she joined Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy, in becoming a subject for Andy Warhol paintings.
In 1970, the sculptor Alain Gourdon used Bardot as the model for a bust of Marianne, the French national emblem.
Mentions of Bardot in music
The first song to reference Brigitte Bardot was "Gimme' that Wine" by vocalese group Lambert, Hendricks and Ross on the Columbia label in 1960.
Indie singer Jordan Galland also has a song called "Brigitte Bardot". In 1966, Harry Belafonte recorded "Zombie Jamboree" which has an entire verse dedicated to Brigitte Bargot.
Bardot has also been referenced in many other songs, including "I Shall Be Free" (Bob Dylan), "We Didn't Start the Fire" (Billy Joel), "Message of Love" (The Pretenders), "I Think I'm Going To Kill Myself" (Elton John), "Warlocks" (Red Hot Chili Peppers), "You Went The Wrong Way, Old King Louie" (Allan Sherman), "You're My Favourite Star" (The Bellamy Brothers), "It's Not Enough" (The Who), "Contempt" (Silkworm), "Big Wedge" (Fish),"Brigitte Bardot" (Tom Zé), "Alegria, Alegria" (Caetano Veloso), "Loaded" (ZZ Top), "Brigitte Bardot" (Creature), "Bardot" (Marden Hill), "Shir Nevu'i Cosmi Aliz" (Yoni Rechter & Eli Mohar), "Smiles Like Richard Nixon" (The Bad Examples), "Bijou" (Stew), "Stratford-On-Guy" (Liz Phair), and "Brigitte Bardot T.N.T." (Pizzicato Five).
Une Histoire De Plage
Brigitte Bardot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mêlé de sable et d'eau
Dans un coquillage
La voilure d'un bateau
Qui se balancait
Sur le bord du soleil
En portant, qui sait
Nos illusions nées de la veille
J'ai trop souvant fais naufrage pour n'avoir pas su dire
Alors qui le fallait, avec de mots nouveaux
La mer que je t'offrais pour tes voyages
Je connais des vagues
Qui roules doucement
Un tisson des algues
Les nuages poussaient levant
Qui joues la couleur
Et qui peint la musique
En orchestrant les fleurs
D'un casino aquatique
Je te donne l'ocean
Pour que te tu souvienne
Des course dans le vent
Que nous faisions ensemble
Espèront que l'amour
Serait au large
Une histoire de plage
Mêlé de sable et d'eau
Dans un coquillage
La voilure d'un bateau
Qui se balancait
Sur le bord du soleil
The song "Une Histoire De Plage" by Brigitte Bardot recounts the memory of a day at the beach, mixing sand and water, and a variety of sensory experiences tied to this simple setting, such as the feel of a seashell, the movement of boats in the distance, and the colors of the sky and sea. The lyrics suggest that this moment held a sort of magic for the singer and a companion, an interlude where they could indulge their fantasies without consequence because they were, figuratively, held aloft on the edges of the sun. The language used in the song is poetic, and there are additional layers of interpretation that listeners might dwell upon: for instance, the mention of waves that "roll softly" could also allude to the ups and downs of life's emotional journey, and the desire to escape from it all on these soft crests.
In general, the song offers a nostalgic and dreamy portrait of a romantic partnership that is not meant to last, but that has left an indelible impression on the singer's memory. Despite the presence of certain regrets ("I too often shipwrecked for not having known how to say / What it took, with new words / The sea that I offered you for your travels"), there is a sense of longing that permeates the entire track, suggesting that even the moments of hurt and loss are wrapped up in a seductive web of beauty and desire.
Line by Line Meaning
Une histoire de plage
This song is about a story that happened on the beach.
Mêlé de sable et d'eau
It was a mixture of sand and water.
Dans un coquillage
The story takes place inside a seashell.
La voilure d'un bateau
There was a sailboat nearby.
Qui se balancait
The boat was swaying.
Sur le bord du soleil
It was on the edge of the sun.
En portant, qui sait
Carrying, who knows?
Nos illusions nées de la veille
Our dreams from the night before.
J'ai trop souvant fais naufrage pour n'avoir pas su dire
I have often failed to express myself and suffered as a result.
Alors qui le fallait, avec de mots nouveaux
So I need to find new words to do it justice.
La mer que je t'offrais pour tes voyages
I wanted to give you the sea to travel with.
Je connais des vagues
I've experienced many different types of waves.
Qui roules doucement
Some roll gently.
Un tisson des algues
And there are tangled seaweed.
Les nuages poussaient levant
Clouds rose in the east.
Qui joues la couleur
They played with colors.
Et qui peint la musique
And painted music.
En orchestrant les fleurs
By making the flowers dance.
D'un casino aquatique
In an aquatic casino.
Je te donne l'ocean
I'm giving you the ocean.
Pour que te tu souvienne
So you remember.
Des course dans le vent
The times racing in the wind.
Que nous faisions ensemble
That we did together.
Espèront que l'amour
Let's hope that love.
Serait au large
Will be out there waiting for us.
Une histoire de plage
This story is about the beach.
Mêlé de sable et d'eau
And the mixture of sand and water.
Dans un coquillage
That happened inside a seashell.
La voilure d'un bateau
While a sailboat nearby swayed.
Qui se balancait
On the edge of the sun.
Contributed by John J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Guillaume Mouchoux
Une histoire de plage mêlée de sable et d'eau
dans un coquillage, la voilure d'un bateau
qui se balançait sur le bord du soleil
emportant, qui sait, nos illusions nées de la veille.
J'ai trop souvent fait naufrage pour n'avoir pas su dire
alors qui le fallait, avec des mots nouveaux,
la mer que je t'offrais pour tes voyages.
Je connais des vagues qui roulent doucement
en tissant des algues, les nuages poussent le vent,
qui joue la couleur et qui peint la musique
en orchestrant les fleurs d'un casino aquatique.
Je te donne l'ocean
pour que te tu souviennes
des courses dans le vent
que nous faisions ensemble
espérant que l'amour
serait au large.
Une histoire de plage mêlée de sable et d'eau
dans un coquillage, la voilure d'un bateau
qui se balançait sur le bord du soleil..
Matthew Camino
This song was on repeat for almost 10 hours. Something about this song is so calming for the mind. I just couldn't stop listening to it.
Alain CAMPO
❤
Lou-Ann Menges
J’aime cette chanson
Lu na
Quelle douceur ❤️
Hubert Benjamin
Tout à fait c'est une vraie douceur de l'écouter chanté après elle disait je ne chante pas bien.
Margot A
I just discovered this song today. It made me nostalgic
Marouette De Bretagne
Ça fait du bien
La légèreté la douceur ~~~•`💦🌊🌬️🌀🌊🌀🌬️🌊
Yvonne March
So sweet, so douce !!
🌺Yvonne🌸
Michel Benquet
Merveilleuse B.B, merveilleuse chanson, merveilleuse époque...
worseto1
this is so beautiful.