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
Chez Max coiffeur pour homme
Serge Gainsbourg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ou un jour j'entrais comme
Par hasard, me faire raser la couenne
Et rafraîchir les nouilles,
Je tombe sur cette chienne,
Shampouineuse,
Qui aussitôt m'aveugle, par sa beauté païenne
Et ses mains savonneuses.
Elle se penche, et voilà ses doudounes,
Comme deux rahat loukoum
À la rose, qui rebondissent sur ma nuque, boum boum.
Je pense à la fille du calife
De la mille et deuxième nuit
Et sens la pointe d'un canif
Me percer le cœur, je lui dis,
« Petite, je te sors ce soir, okay ? »
Elle a d'abord un petit rire comme un hoquet,
Puis sous le sirocco du séchoir dans mes cheveux,
La petite garce laisse choir, je veux !
The lyrics to Serge Gainsbourg's song "Chez Max coiffeur pour homme" tell the story of the singer's chance encounter with a beautiful shampoo girl while getting a shave and a haircut at Max's barber shop. Immediately struck by her stunning pagan beauty and soapy hands, the singer's thoughts turn to the daughter of the caliph from the tale of the Arabian Nights. As she leans over him to shampoo his hair, her breasts bounce against his neck and he feels as though his heart is being stabbed with a knife. In a bold move, he asks her out that night and after a small laugh, she ultimately agrees.
The lyrics are rich with sexual innuendo and exotic imagery, drawing heavily from Eastern mythology and culture. The shampoo girl is portrayed as a seductive and mysterious siren, with her "doudounes" (a French slang term for breasts) being likened to rose-flavored Turkish delights. The singer's reference to the daughter of the caliph is a nod to the idea of an exotic, sensual woman from the East. Overall, the song paints a vivid picture of a chance encounter between two people who are drawn to each other for their physical beauty and passion.
Line by Line Meaning
Chez Max, coiffeur pour homme,
At Max's, the barber for men,
Ou un jour j'entrais comme
Where one day I entered just like that,
Par hasard, me faire raser la couenne
By chance, to get a shave and a haircut,
Et rafraîchir les nouilles,
And to refresh my hair,
Je tombe sur cette chienne,
I stumble upon this dog,
Shampouineuse,
A shampoo girl,
Qui aussitôt m'aveugle, par sa beauté païenne
Who immediately blinds me, with her heathen beauty,
Et ses mains savonneuses.
And her soapy hands.
Elle se penche, et voilà ses doudounes,
She leans over, and there are her breasts,
Comme deux rahat loukoum
Like two Turkish delights,
À la rose, qui rebondissent sur ma nuque, boum boum.
Rose flavored, bouncing on my neck, boom boom.
Je pense à la fille du calife
I think of the caliph's daughter,
De la mille et deuxième nuit
From the one thousand and second night,
Et sens la pointe d'un canif
And I feel the point of a knife,
Me percer le cœur, je lui dis,
Piercing my heart, I say to her,
« Petite, je te sors ce soir, okay ? »
"Little one, I'm taking you out tonight, okay?"
Elle a d'abord un petit rire comme un hoquet,
She first has a small laugh like a hiccup,
Puis sous le sirocco du séchoir dans mes cheveux,
Then under the sirocco of the dryer in my hair,
La petite garce laisse choir, je veux !
The little bitch lets drop, I want to!
Contributed by Declan A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Vazquez Ramon
"Puis sous le sirocco du séchoir dans les cheveux La petite garce laisse choir Je veux"
Si ce n'est pas de la poésie !! Un pur diamant de la langue française
Le génie de la langue et de la musique réuni
Lord Of Glencoe
C'est vrai qu'il fallait trouver cette magnifique phrase , j'adore
HOUSSARD SEBASTIEN
Cette chanson fait parti d'un album magnifique!!!
Toke69
HOUSSARD SEBASTIEN Un monument tu veux dire, si je peux me permettre ! 🙏
HOUSSARD SEBASTIEN
@Toke69 monumental oui 🙂👍
ghostofblues
Ah, la beauté poétique de cette phrase "...qui aussitôt m'aveugle de sa beauté païenne et de ses mains savonneuses". L'écriture de cette chanson est une merveille. Elle ne pouvait tolérer que des dessins à sa hauteur. C'est fait. Bien dans l'esprit, avec un joli sens du raccourci (jeu de miroir sur la partie "mille et une nuit"), un cadrage pensé et un respect évident pour l'auteur. Du grand art ! Bravo C.Will !
C.WILL
ghostofblues Merci ! Votre commentaire me fait extrêmement plaisir !!
neoxiia
Magnifique
Yanis P.
J'aime beaucoup vos dessins et j'ADORE cet album :) !
C.WILL
Merci à vous :)