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.
Aux enfants de la chance
Jane Birkin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Qui n'ont jamais connu les transes
Des shoots et du shit
Je dirai en substance
Ceci
Touchez pas à la poussière d'ange
Angel dust en
Zéro héro à l'infini
Je dis dites-leur et dis-leur
De casser la gueule aux dealers
Qui dans l'ombre attendent leur
Heure
L'hor
Reur
D'min
Nuit
Aux enfants de la chance
Qui n'ont jamais connu les transes
Des shoots et du shit
Je dirai en substance
Ceci
Ne commettez pas d'imprudences
Surtout n'ayez pas l'imprudence
De vous faire foutre en l'air avant l'heure dite
Comme Samantha
Edith
Et dites
Je dis dites-leur et dis-leur
De casser la gueule aux dealers
Qui dans l'ombre attendent leur
Heure
L'hor
Reur
D'min
Nuit
Aux enfants de la chance
Qui n'ont jamais connu les transes
Des shoots et du shit
Je dirai en substance
Ceci
N'approchez pas le magic mushroom
N'essayez surtout pas le free base
Car c'est lui qui vous baise
C'est celui qui vous baise
A l'aise
Je dis dites-leur et dis-leur
De casser la gueule aux dealers
Qui dans l'ombre attendent leur
Heure
L'hor
Reur
D'min
Nuit
Aux enfants de la chance
Qui n'ont jamais connu les transes
Des shoots et du shit
Je dirai en substance
Ceci
Touchez pas au dragon chasing
Chasse au dragon
Qui se prend en shoot ou en shit
Zéro héro à l'infini
Je dis dites-leur et dis-leur
De casser la gueule aux dealers
Qui dans l'ombre attendent leur
Heure
L'hor
Reur
D'min
Nuit
The lyrics of Jane Birkin's song "Aux enfants de la chance" address the youth who have not experienced the danger and allure of drug use. The chorus emphasizes the importance of avoiding addictive and deadly substances, warning against the use of angel dust, magic mushrooms, freebase, and chasing the dragon. The singer urges the youth to be wary of drug dealers who lurk in the shadows, ready to prey on those who are naive to the hazards of addiction. The lyrics provide a message of caution and prevention, encouraging the younger generation to stay away from the potentially damaging consequences of drug use.
The song is a call to action to young people to be proactive about their health and safety concerning drugs. Jane Birkin sings in a motherly tone of voice, speaking to the youth as if they were her own children. She warns against the risk of overdosing and the dangers of introducing drugs into their systems. The repeated chorus of "Je dis dites-leur et dis-leur, de casser la gueule aux dealers" translates to "I say tell them and tell them, to beat up the dealers." The aggressive tone of the chorus emphasizes the importance of not only staying away from drugs but also actively fighting against their distribution.
Line by Line Meaning
Aux enfants de la chance
Qui n'ont jamais connu les transes
Des shoots et du shit
Je dirai en substance
Ceci
To the fortunate children who have never experienced the highs of drugs like heroin and cocaine, I will convey this message in essence.
Touchez pas à la poussière d'ange
Angel dust en
Shoot ou en shit
Zéro héro à l'infini
Don't touch the angel dust, whether it's injected or snorted as it leads to zero heroes in infinity.
Je dis dites-leur et dis-leur
De casser la gueule aux dealers
Qui dans l'ombre attendent leur
Heure
L'hor
Reur
D'min
Nuit
I'm saying tell them, no, warn them to beat up the dealers who await their time in the shadows, every single hour of the day and night.
Ne commettez pas d'imprudences
Surtout n'ayez pas l'imprudence
De vous faire foutre en l'air avant l'heure dite
Comme Samantha
Edith
Et dites
Do not make any rash decisions, above all else, do not be foolish enough to kill yourselves before the designated hour, like Samantha and Edith did, and say this.
N'approchez pas le magic mushroom
N'essayez surtout pas le free base
Car c'est lui qui vous baise
C'est celui qui vous baise
A l'aise
Stay away from magic mushrooms and, most importantly, do not try freebasing because it will screw you over with ease.
Touchez pas au dragon chasing
Chasse au dragon
Qui se prend en shoot ou en shit
Zéro héro à l'infini
Do not touch dragon chasing, smoking heroine on tin-foil, or snorting it as it leads to zero heroes in infinity.
Contributed by Nora S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.