Jane Birkin, OBE (born Jane Mallory Birkin in London on 14 December 1946; d… Read Full Bio ↴Jane Birkin, OBE (born Jane Mallory Birkin in London on 14 December 1946; died 16 July 2023) was an Anglo-French singer and actress. She attained international fame and notability for her decade-long musical (and romantic) partnership with singer Serge Gainsbourg, beginning with the duet Je t'aime... moi non plus released in 1969. Later she made musical collaborations and duets with many artists, including Feist, Bryan Ferry, Franz Ferdinand, The Magic Numbers, Beck, Rufus Wainwright, and many others.

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.

Pourquoi
Jane Birkin Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Pourquoi c’est toujours
Pour moi c’est toujours
Trop tard pour crier je t’aime
J’ai besoin de quoi
Que tu saignes et moi
Dans ta blessure
Je trempe la main
Et j’imagine ma vie sans toi

Pourquoi je suis toujours
Pourquoi je vis toujours
Traînant en retard
Pudiques émois
Trop peu de clamer
C’est toi mon amour
Faut il alors
Un accident de parcours

Maintenant pour toujours
Maintenant je vais toujours
Hurler même si j’ai peur
Du ridicule, tes sarcasmes
Et ton mépris
Mais là tant pis
Je ne rate plus ma vie
Je le prouve en clown
Même si t’en ris

Je ne veux plus jamais
Je ne veux plus jamais
Voir ce filet de sang
Qui vide ta vie
Couler de toi
Loin de moi
Je vais tenir ta tête

Et dire comme une prière
Pardonne les silences d’hier.

Overall Meaning

The song "Pourquoi" by Jane Birkin begins with the lyrics "Pourquoi c'est toujours, pour moi c'est toujours, trop tard pour crier je t'aime" which can be translated in English to "Why is it always, for me it's always, too late to shout I love you." These words express the feeling of regret and missed opportunities in love that the singer has experienced. She finds herself constantly holding back her emotions and unable to express her feelings to her lover until it's too late.

In the second verse, she wonders why she's always late and why she's always dragging behind her emotions. She laments that there's too little expression of love between them and that she needs a jolt or shock to realize the depth of her emotions. She ponders whether it would take an accident or a major misstep for her to reveal herself fully to her lover.

Towards the end of the song, the singer declares that she will no longer hold back in expressing her love. She says that now she will scream out her feelings, even if it means risking ridicule or mockery from her lover. She vows to never let her lover slip away again and to hold him close, even in the face of death. In the final lines, she seeks forgiveness for her past mistakes and for not expressing her love adequately to her lover.

Line by Line Meaning

Pourquoi c’est toujours
Why is it always

Pour moi c’est toujours
For me it's always

Trop tard pour crier je t’aime
Too late to shout 'I love you'

J’ai besoin de quoi
I need something

Que tu saignes et moi
For you to bleed and me

Dans ta blessure
In your wound

Je trempe la main
I dip my hand

Et j’imagine ma vie sans toi
And I imagine my life without you

Pourquoi je suis toujours
Why am I always

Pourquoi je vis toujours
Why do I always live

Traînant en retard
Lagging behind