Though his popularity has fluctuated through the years, many of Pop's songs have become well-known, including "Lust for Life", "The Passenger", "Real Wild Child", "Candy" (a duet with Kate Pierson of The B-52's), "China Girl", "Nightclubbing", "Search and Destroy" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog".
In 2010, The Stooges were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Pop was the lead singer of The Stooges, a late 1960s/early 1970s band that featured brothers Ron and Scott Asheton and Dave Alexander and was highly influential in the development of hard rock. The debut album was produced by the Velvet Underground's John Cale. The band's "I Wanna Be Your Dog" is a garage punk standard.
Raw Power was first released in1973, perhaps the first record that could truly be called punk. It was the confluence of The Stooges ages, hormones, creativity, ability, experience, tastes, lack of supervision, contempt for authority and ambition that has made Raw Power one of the most influential albums of all time.
The Stooges were infamous for performances in which Pop leapt off the stage (hence, the "stage dive"), smeared raw meat or peanut butter over his chest and cut himself with broken bottles. A glimpse of the vibrating intensity of Iggy live can be seen in the Ramones movie "End of the Century." Guitarist James Williamson became a key collaborator, a partnership documented on the 1978 album Kill City.
In 25 years as a solo artist, Pop's best-known songs have included the thumping Lust for Life, to be heard on the soundtrack of the find-a-vein, shoot-it-up movie Trainspotting, I'm Bored and The Passenger (the latter based on a poem written by Jim Morrison). David Bowie played a key role in reinvigorating Pop's post-Stooges career and was a collaborator on the albums Lust for Life and The Idiot. Iggy may be under-rated as a songwriter. Bowie and Tina Turner covered his "Tonight". Bowie also put out his own version of "China Girl," while Grace Jones covered the icey "Nightclubbing".
La javanaise
Iggy Pop Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mon amour
Avant d'avoir eu vent de vous
Mon amour
Ne vous déplaise
En dansant la Javanaise
Nous nous aimions
Le temps d'une
À votre avis qu'avons-nous vu
De l'amour?
De vous à moi vous m'avez eu
Mon amour
Ne vous déplaise
En dansant la Javanaise
Nous nous aimions
Le temps d'une
Chanson
Hélas avril en vain me voue
À l'amour
J'avais envie de voir en vous
Cet amour
Ne vous déplaise
En dansant la Javanaise
Nous nous aimions
Le temps d'une
Chanson
La vie ne vaut d'être vécue
Sans amour
Mais c'est vous qui l'avez voulu
Mon amour
Ne vous déplaise
En dansant la Javanaise
Nous nous aimions
Le temps d'une
Chanson
Iggy Pop's song La javanaise is a melancholic love ballad that captures the bittersweet emotions of falling in love, the happiness that comes with it, and the sadness that follows after. The lyrics translate to "I confess that I have suffered, haven't you, my love? Before having had any rumor of you, my love, pardon me if you please, while dancing la javanaise, we loved each other, for the time of a song." These lines express the longing and loneliness felt before the arrival of the person that was the source of happiness.
The next verse of the song goes, "In your opinion, what have we seen of love? Between you and me, you conquered me, my love. Pardon me if you please, while dancing la javanaise, we loved each other, for the time of a song." The second verse talks about the fleeting emotions of love, how it can come and go in a moment, and how the feeling is mutual, the person who is loved also loves back.
Lastly, the lines, "Alas, April, in vain, dedicates me to love, I wanted to see in you this love. Pardon me if you please, while dancing la javanaise, we loved each other, for the time of a song. Life is not worth living without love, but it's what you wanted, my love." These lines express a heartbreaking realization that the love once shared has ended, and life seems meaningless without that love. It's a poignant and emotional journey that talks about the highs and lows of love, how happiness can be fleeting, and how love can leave us longing for more.
Line by Line Meaning
J'avoue j'en ai bavé pas vous
I admit I've struggled, haven't you?
Mon amour
My love
Avant d'avoir eu vent de vous
Before I even knew about you
Ne vous déplaise
If you don't mind
En dansant la Javanaise
While dancing the Javanaise
Nous nous aimions
We loved each other
Le temps d'une chanson
For the duration of a song
À votre avis qu'avons-nous vu
In your opinion, what have we seen?
De l'amour?
Of love?
De vous à moi vous m'avez eu
Between you and me, you had me
Hélas avril en vain me voue
Sadly, April dedicates me to love in vain
À l'amour
To love
J'avais envie de voir en vous
I wanted to see in you
Cet amour
That love
La vie ne vaut d'être vécue
Life is not worth living
Sans amour
Without love
Mais c'est vous qui l'avez voulu
But it's you who wanted it
Lyrics © WARNER CHAPPELL MUSIC FRANCE
Written by: Serge Gainsbourg
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
R Robinson
on Livin' On The Edge Of The Night (edit)
Here are corrections to incorrect lyrics - outrageously, stupidly incorrect: The first line is, "ILL WIND off the river". (And that's ill, not I'll.) The second line is, "smoke stacks fade to BLACK". Second verse: "I've made my bed but I can't REST my head". And "so much COULD be misunderstood". Bridge: "WELL maybe it's just my life". An artist crafts his work meticulously , then this is what happens to it. Disgusting.