The song was banned by broadcasters in Spain, Sweden, Brazil as well as Britain and was condemned across the world as immoral, not least by the Vatican. It was so saucy that original co-vocalist Brigitte Bardot refused to approve its release. Scandalous singer Serge Gainsbourg soon found a 'willing partner' in British Jane Birkin.
Les sucettes
Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg Lyrics
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Les sucettes à l'anis
Les sucettes à l'anis
De Annie
Donnent à ses baisers
Un goût anisé
lorsque le sucre d'orge
Parfumé à l'anis
Elle est au paradis
Pour quelques pennies
Annie
A ses sucettes à
L'anis
Elles ont la couleur de ses grands yeux
La couleur des jours heureux
Annie aime les sucettes
Les sucettes à l'anis
Les sucettes à l'anis
De Annie
Donnent à ses baisers
Un goût anisé
Quand elle n'a sur la langue
Que le petit bâton
Elle prend ses jambes à son corps
Et retourne au drugstore
Pour quelques pennies
Annie
A ses sucettes à
L'anis
Elles ont la couleur de ses grands yeux
La couleur des jours heureux
Lorsque le sucre d'orge
Parfumé à l'anis
Coule dans la gorge d'Annie
Elle est au paradis
The song "Les sucettes" by Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg may sound like a cheerful tune about the joy of eating candy, but it's actually a cheeky and suggestive song about oral sex. The song is about Annie, a young girl who loves anise-flavored lollipops. The lyrics describe how the candy gives her kisses an anise flavor, and how she goes to the drugstore to buy more when she runs out. However, the metaphor becomes apparent in the chorus when the singer describes how Annie is in paradise when the anise candy "flows down her throat," hinting at the orgasmic pleasure of the act.
The lyrics are cleverly veiled in metaphor to elude censorship in the 1960s, but the double entendre was not lost on French audiences who understood the subtext immediately. The song was considered scandalous and caused controversy at the time of its release, but it became a hit nonetheless, and Jane Birkin's youthful and innocent voice added to the song's suggestive meaning. The song can also be interpreted as a critique of consumer culture where pleasure and desire are commodified, reduced to a few pennies for a tasty treat.
Line by Line Meaning
Annie aime les sucettes
Annie loves lollipops
Les sucettes à l'anis
The aniseed-flavored lollipops
Les sucettes à l'anis
The aniseed-flavored lollipops
De Annie
Belong to Annie
Donnent à ses baisers
Give her kisses
Un goût anisé
A taste of aniseed
lorsque le sucre d'orge
When the barley sugar
Parfumé à l'anis
Flavored with aniseed
Coule dans la gorge d'Annie
Flows down Annie's throat
Elle est au paradis
She's in heaven
Pour quelques pennies
For a few pennies
Annie
Annie
A ses sucettes à
Has her aniseed lollipops
L'anis
The aniseed flavor
Elles ont la couleur de ses grands yeux
They have the color of her big eyes
La couleur des jours heureux
The color of happy days
Quand elle n'a sur la langue
When she only has on her tongue
Que le petit bâton
The little stick
Elle prend ses jambes à son corps
She takes off running
Et retourne au drugstore
And goes back to the drugstore
Lorsque le sucre d'orge
When the barley sugar
Parfumé à l'anis
Flavored with aniseed
Coule dans la gorge d'Annie
Flows down Annie's throat
Elle est au paradis
She's in heaven
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, SIDONIE
Written by: Serge Gainsbourg
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind