He was born Lucien Ginzburg in Paris, France, the son of Jewish Russian parents who fled to France after the 1917 Bolshevik uprising. His childhood was profoundly affected by the occupation of France by Nazi Germany, during which he and his family, as Jews, were forced to wear the yellow star and eventually flee from Paris. He had a daughter, Charlotte Gainsbourg, with English singer and actress Jane Birkin; and a son, Lulu, with his last partner, Bambou (Caroline Von Paulus, who is related to Friedrich Paulus). Before he was 30 years old, Lucien Ginsburg was a disillusioned painter but earned his living as a piano player in bars. Daughter Charlotte would later become an actress and singer.
His early songs were influenced by Boris Vian and were largely in the vein of "old-fashioned" chanson. Very early, however, Gainsbourg began to move beyond this and experiment with a succession of different musical styles: jazz early on, English pop in the 60's, reggae in the 70's, even hip-hop in the 80's.
Success began to arrive when, in 1965, his song "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" was the Luxembourg entry in the Eurovision Song Contest. Performed by French teen singer France Gall, it won the grand prize. (The song was covered in English as "A Lonely Singing Doll" by British teen idol Twinkle.) He arranged other Gall songs and LPs that were characteristic of the late 1960s psychedelic styles, among them Gall's '1968' album. Another of Serge's songs "Boum Bada Boum" was entered in by Monaco in the 1967 contest, sung by Minouche Barelli; It came 5th.
In 1969, he released what would become his most famous song in the English-speaking world, "Je t'aime... moi non plus", which featured simulated sounds of female orgasm. The song appeared that year on an LP, "Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg". Originally recorded with Brigitte Bardot, it was released with future girlfriend Birkin when Bardot backed out. While Gainsbourg declared it the "ultimate love song," it was considered too "hot"; the song was censored in various countries, and in France, even the toned-down version was suppressed. Even the Vatican made a public statement citing the song as offensive. Its notoriety led it to reaching no. 1 in the UK singles chart. A long-standing rumor maintains that Gainsbourg and Birkin were actually having sex during the recording session (asked about it in an interview, Gainsbourg answered that if this was true, the song would have lasted longer than 4 minutes).
The seventies
His most influential work came near the start of the seventies with Histoire de Melody Nelson, released in 1971. This concept album, produced and arranged by Jean-Claude Vannier, tells the story of a Lolita-esque affair, with Gainsbourg as the narrator and Jane Birkin as the eponymous English heroine. It features prominent string arrangements and even a massed choir at its tragic climax. At the time, sales were poor, but the album has proven influential with artists such as Air, David Holmes and Beck.
In 1975, he released the album Rock Around the Bunker, a rock album written entirely on the subject of the Nazis. Gainsbourg used black humour, as he and his family suffered during World War II. While a child in Paris, Gainsbourg himself had worn the Yellow badge as the mark of a Jew.
The next year saw the release of another major work, L'Homme à la Tête de Chou (Cabbage-Head Man), featuring the new character Marilou and sumptuous orchestral themes.
In Jamaica in 1978 he recorded "Aux Armes et cetera," a reggae version of the French national anthem "La Marseillaise", with Robbie Shakespeare, Sly Dunbar and Rita Marley. This song earned him death threats from right-wing veterans of the Algerian War of Independence who were opposed to certain lyrics. Shortly afterwards, Gainsbourg bought the original manuscript of La Marseillaise. He was able to reply to his critics that his version was, in fact, closer to the original as the manuscript clearly shows the words "Aux armes et cætera..." for the chorus.
The next year saw him in the new look of Gainsbarre, officially introduced in the song "Ecce Homo."
Final years
In the 1980's, approaching the end of his life, Gainsbourg became a regular figure on French TV. His appearances seemed devoted to his controversial sense of humour and provocation. He would frequently show up drunk and unshaven on stage. Perhaps his most famous incident came when, on Michel Drucker's live Saturday evening show with the American singer Whitney Houston, he exclaimed, "I want to fuck her."
During this period he released Love On The Beat and his last studio album, You're Under Arrest, (which saw him adapt his style to the hip-hop genre), as well as two live recordings. His third and last Eurovision Song Contest entry came in 1990 with the French entry "White and Black Blues", sung by Joëlle Ursull. It came second in a tie with Ireland. His songs became increasingly eccentric in this period, ranging from the anti-drug "Les Enfants de la Chance" to the duet with his daughter Charlotte called "Lemon Incest (Un zeste de citron)." The title of the latter demonstrates Gainsbourg's love of puns (another example is "Bowie, Beau oui comme Bowie").
Discography :
1958 : Du Chant À La Une !
1959 : Serge Gainsbourg N°2
1961 : L'étonnant Serge Gainsbourg
1962 : Serge Gainsbourg N° 4
1963 : Gainsbourg Confidentiel
1964 : Gainsbourg Percussions
1968 : Initials B.B.
1968 : Bonnie And Clyde ( with Brigitte Bardot )
1969 : Jane Birkin-Serge Gainsbourg
1971 : Histoire de Melody Nelson ( with Jane Birkin )
1973 : Vu de l'extérieur
1975 : Rock around the bunker
1976 : L'Homme à tête de chou
1979 : Aux armes et cætera
1981 : Mauvaises Nouvelles Des Étoiles
1984 : Love on the Beat
1987 : You're Under Arrest
Cannabis
Serge Gainsbourg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Au regard transparent
Son corps habile au raffinement de l'amour
Me prendra pour toujours
Elle m'appelle par mon nom
Quand soudain je perds la raison
Est-ce un maléfice
Du cannabis?
Elle m'appelle par mon nom
Quand soudain je perds la raison
Est-ce un maléfice
Ou l'effet subtil
Du cannabis?
La mort ouvrant sous moi ses jambes et ses bras
S'est refermée sur moi
Son corps m'arrache enfin les râles du plaisir
Et mon dernier soupir
This hauntingly beautiful song presents a vivid poetic depiction of the experience of being under the influence of cannabis. Serge Gainsbourg uses death as a metaphor for the drug, expressing how it takes hold of the mind, body and soul, until the user becomes consumed by it. The lines "La mort a pour moi le visage d'une enfant au regard transparent" ("Death has, for me, the face of a child with a transparent gaze"), create a striking introduction to the idea of death as an entity that is both dark and innocent.
The singer of the song is caught in the grasp of the drug, and is unable to resist its call. He personifies the drug as a seductive woman who tantalizingly calls out his name, drawing him ever deeper into its clutches. The lines "Elle m'appelle par mon nom quand soudain je perds la raison" ("She calls me by name when suddenly I lose my mind"), convey the sense of helplessness that the user feels in the face of the drug's allure. The repeated refrain of the song encapsulates the repeated questioning of whether the overpowering feelings he is experiencing are due to a spell cast on him, or simply the subtle effects of cannabis.
Overall, the song is a poetic meditation on the seductive powers of the drug cannabis, and the sense of being caught in its grip as it takes over one's senses and emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
La mort a pour moi le visage d'une enfant
To me, death appears as innocent as a child
Au regard transparent
With a clear gaze
Son corps habile au raffinement de l'amour
Her body skillful in the refinement of love
Me prendra pour toujours
Will take me forever
Elle m'appelle par mon nom
She calls me by name
Quand soudain je perds la raison
When suddenly I lose my mind
Est-ce un maléfice
Is it a curse
Ou l'effet subtil
Or the subtle effect
Du cannabis?
Of cannabis?
La mort ouvrant sous moi ses jambes et ses bras
Death opening its legs and arms under me
S'est refermée sur moi
Closed around me
Son corps m'arrache enfin les râles du plaisir
Her body finally tears moans of pleasure from me
Et mon dernier soupir
And my last breath
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Jean Claude Vannier, Serge Gainsbourg
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Evelyne Osmont
AH ,SUBLISSIME CHANSON ,L'EXTASE ,
QUELLE MELODIE ! Avec le parfum de 1970 '! Voilà le génie sensuel de Serge Gainsbourg ,quelle voix ! Bravo Serge ,
On t'aime et on ne t'oubliera JAMAIS ...
Dros
J ecoute cette chanson quand je suis gaze comme gainsbour mdrrr
roger Bruno
Dros toujours gazé se bon vieux gainsbourg
fooman65
just sublime
Aude Condette
superbe chanson de gainsbourg
Dros
J ecoute cette chanson quand je suis gaze comme gainsbour mdrrr
ROELENS Stéphane
eh oui, très en avance sur son temps, et maintenant intemporelle
Scott.E Taliano
Oh son, your missus is a nutter,
Leave her at home, your missus is a nutter
Sugar Daddy
Arrangement acid rock exquis de JC Vannier. L'essence de Melody Nelson déjà distillée ici...
Nouveau NouvelObs
Incroyable incredible increible incr.