Birkin was born to David Birkin and Judy Campbell, an actress in Noel Coward musicals. Her great aunt was Freda Dudley Ward, a mistress of Edward VIII while he was Prince of Wales.
Birkin emerged in the swinging '60s in London, starring as one of the models in the controversial film Blowup in 1966.
In 1968, Birkin went to France to audition for the lead female role in Slogan. Though she did not speak French, she got the role.
In 1969, she and Serge Gainsbourg released the song "Je t'aime... moi non plus" ("I love you... me neither"), written by Gainsbourg and featuring both of them singing, which caused a scandal for its sexual explicitness. Arguably due in part to the publicity it got from being banned by radio stations in Italy, Sweden, Spain, and the UK, it was a commercial success all over Europe. The song's fame is a result of its salacious lyrics (sung in French) against a background of female moaning and groaning, culminating in an orgasm at the song's conclusion (which some claim to be the result of Jane and Serge actually engaging in sex during the recording of the song).
Birkin took a short break from her acting career in 1971-72, but returned as Brigitte Bardot's lover in Don Juan (or if Don Juan were a woman) in 1973.
In 1975, she appeared in Gainsbourg's first film, also titled Je t'aime... moi non plus, which created quite a stir for its frank examination of sexual ambiguity. For this performance she was nominated for a Best Actress César Award.
Birkin has starred in the Agatha Christie films Death on the Nile and Evil Under the Sun, and recorded several albums, including Baby Alone in Babylone, Amours des Feintes, Lolita Go Home and Rendez-vous. She has obtained in the category Female Artist of the year in France the Victoires de la Musique award in 1992 .
She starred in two films by Jacques Doillon — as Anne in La fille prodigue (1981) and as Alma in La pirate (1984, nominated for a César Award). This work led to an invitation from Patrice Chéreau to star on stage in La Fausse suivante by Marivaux at Nanterre. After this, she also began to appear frequently on stage in plays and concerts (in France, Japan, the UK and then the US).
Jacques Rivette collaborated with her for Love on the Ground (1983) and La belle noiseuse (1991, Nominated Césars best supporting actress). Additionally, she appeared in Merchant Ivory's A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998, also used her song "Di Doo Dah") and Merci Docteur Rey (2002), while Le Divorce's end title song featured her singing "L'Anamour", composed by Serge Gainsbourg.
In 2006, she played Elektra, directed by Philippe Calvario in France.
Jane Birkin's humanitarian interests led her to work with Amnesty International, on immigrant welfare and AIDS issues. Birkin has also visited Bosnia, Rwanda. and Palestinian Territories, often working with children. She has been awarded an OBE for her services to acting, as well as the Ordre National du Mérite in France.
She made musical collaborations and duets with artists such as Feist, Beth Gibbons from Portishead, Bryan Ferry, Brian Molko from Placebo, Franz Ferdinand, Manu Chao, Brett Anderson from Suede, Mickey (3d), Françoise Hardy, Cali, The Divine Comedy, The Magic Numbers, Paolo Conte, Beck, Rufus Wainwright, Yann Tiersen, Alain Souchon, Les Negresses Vertes, Johnny Marr from The Smiths, Zazie, MC Solaar, Yosui Inoue, Étienne Daho, Alain Chamfort, Jimmy Rowles, Goran Bregović, Sonny Landreth, The Soundtrack of Our Lives and many others.
Birkin recorded the song "Beauty" on French producer Hector Zazou's 2003 album Strong Currents.
She is noted as being the inspiration for fashion house Hermès' popular Birkin Bag after the actress was seen struggling with several bags while boarding an aeroplane.
Her image features on the cover art of Have You Fed the Fish? by singer-songwriter Badly Drawn Boy (which features her daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg on backing vocals).
Despite decades of residence in France and the ability to speak French fluently, Birkin still retains a strong English accent and makes grammatical mistakes when speaking French.
Personal Life :
She was married from 1965 until 1968 to John Barry, an English composer who wrote the musical score to the James Bond movies. Their daughter, the photographer Kate Barry, was born in 1968.
Muse of Gainsbourg :
She had a very passionate and creative relationship with her mentor Serge Gainsbourg — they met on the set of Slogan and married in 1968. They separated in 1980. Their daughter is actress Charlotte Gainsbourg.
In 1982 she gave birth to her third daughter, Lou Doillon, from her relationship with the director Jacques Doillon.
Alice
Jane Birkin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Le temps est rêveur
Tu as agité ta baguette magique tordue
Sur un étang gelé sur lequel luisait une lune blafarde
J'ai vu des corbeaux qui se découpaient sur l'horizon tomber raide morts
Et les larmes sur mon visage
Et les patins sur la glace
Épelaient le nom d'Alice
Je disparais dans ton nom
Mais tu dois m'attendre
Quelque part au-delà des mers
Un bateau s'est échoué
Ta chevelure ressemble à l'herbe d'une prairie flottant sur la marée
Et les gouttes de pluie qui frappent à ma fenêtre
Et les glaçons dans mon verre
Beauté, je ne pense rien qu'à Alice
Arithmétique, arithmétoc
Ramènent en arrière les aiguilles de l'horloge
Comment l'océan fait-il tanguer le bateau?
Comment le rasoir a-t-il trouvé le chemin de ma gorge?
Les seuls liens qui me retiennent ici
Sont attachés autour de la jetée
Et c'est ainsi qu'un baiser secret
Mêle folie avec félicité
Et je penserai à cela
Quand je serai mort dans la tombe
Si je me laisse aller à divaguer, je me perds dans ces pensées
Et il faut que je sois fou
Pour aller patiner sur ton nom
Et après avoir tracé deux fois les lettres (sur l'étang gelé)
Je suis tombé au travers de la glace
D'Alice
Et c'est ainsi qu'un baiser secret
Mêle folie avec félicité
Et je penserai à cela quand je serai mort dans la tombe
Si je me laisse aller à divaguer, je me perds dans ces pensées
Et il faut que je sois fou
Pour aller patiner sur ton nom
Et après avoir tracé deux fois les lettres (sur l'étang gelé)
Je suis tombé au travers de la glace
D'Alice
Alice, tu es tout pour moi.
The song "Alice" by Jane Birkin, is a beautiful and poetic ode to a significant other, in this case, Alice. The lyrics are full of abstract imagery and metaphor, which evoke a surreal and dream-like atmosphere. The first verse describes how the singer has seen crows fall dead on the horizon of a frozen pond, highlighting the sense of isolation and loneliness. The name Alice keeps reappearing throughout the lyrics, and it seems to offer some form of comfort even though the singer cannot physically be with her. The second verse describes how Alice's hair resembles the grass in a meadow, and despite the singer being physically distant from Alice, he feels she is ever-present in his thoughts. The final verse is the most abstract, and it speaks of "arithmétique" taking the clock's hands back and how the ocean makes the boat sway. The song ends with the line "Alice, tu es tout pour moi" which translates to "Alice, you are everything to me."
Overall, the song is a beautiful and abstract ode to a lost love. The heavy use of metaphors and abstract imagery adds to the dream-like quality of the lyrics, and the repetition of the name Alice throughout the song creates a sense of longing and desperation.
Line by Line Meaning
Le temps est rêveur
The atmosphere is dreamy
Tu as agité ta baguette magique tordue
You have waved your twisted magic wand
Sur un étang gelé sur lequel luisait une lune blafarde
On a frozen pond under a pallid moonlight
J'ai vu des corbeaux qui se découpaient sur l'horizon tomber raide morts
I saw crows silhouetted against the horizon fall dead
Et les larmes sur mon visage
And the tears on my face
Et les patins sur la glace
And the skates on the ice
Épelaient le nom d'Alice
Spell out the name Alice
Je disparais dans ton nom
I disappear in your name
Mais tu dois m'attendre
But you must wait for me
Quelque part au-delà des mers
Somewhere beyond the seas
Un bateau s'est échoué
A boat has run aground
Ta chevelure ressemble à l'herbe d'une prairie flottant sur la marée
Your hair is like grass in a meadow floating on the tide
Et les gouttes de pluie qui frappent à ma fenêtre
And the raindrops that hit my window
Et les glaçons dans mon verre
And the ice cubes in my glass
Beauté, je ne pense rien qu'à Alice
Beauty, I think of nothing but Alice
Arithmétique, arithmétoc
Arithmetic, arithmetock
Ramènent en arrière les aiguilles de l'horloge
Turn back the clock
Comment l'océan fait-il tanguer le bateau?
How does the ocean make the boat sway?
Comment le rasoir a-t-il trouvé le chemin de ma gorge?
How did the razor find its way to my throat?
Les seuls liens qui me retiennent ici
The only ties that keep me here
Sont attachés autour de la jetée
Are attached around the pier
Et c'est ainsi qu'un baiser secret
And thus a secret kiss
Mêle folie avec félicité
Mixes madness with felicity
Et je penserai à cela
And I shall think of that
Quand je serai mort dans la tombe
When I am dead and in the tomb
Si je me laisse aller à divaguer, je me perds dans ces pensées
If I let myself wander, I lose myself in these thoughts
Et il faut que je sois fou
And I must be crazy
Pour aller patiner sur ton nom
To go skating on your name
Et après avoir tracé deux fois les lettres (sur l'étang gelé)
And after having traced the letters twice on the frozen pond
Je suis tombé au travers de la glace
I fell through the ice
D'Alice
Of Alice
Alice, tu es tout pour moi.
Alice, you are everything to me.
Writer(s): WAITS THOMAS A, BRENNAN KATHLEEN
Contributed by John S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.