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
Coco And Co
Serge Gainsbourg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Le gars qui jazzote
T'entends
Ah, comme il saxote
Il est
Camé à zéro
Coco and co
Ses compatriotes
Au pia-
No c'ui qui pianote
Comme lui c'est la coco
Coco and co
À la
Basse, c'ui qui croqu'note
C'est l'é-
Ther qui lui botte
T'as pas
Vu il est K.O
Coco and co
Aux drums
C'ui là qui tapote
C'est un
Crack, c'est un pote
Lui c'est
La fleur de pavot
Coco and co
C'ui qui
Joue pas, qui sirote
C'est un
Des gars du Blue Note
Mais lui
Ça s'rait plutôt la
Marijuana
The song Coco And Co by Serge Gainsbourg describes a jazz band and its members' use of drugs. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of the band, starting with the saxophonist who is high on drugs and playing jazz music. They are described as jazzing, saxing, and camé (meaning stoned). The pianist is compared to the singer, with the former being smoother and reminiscent of cocaine, which is referred to as la coco. The bassist is in love with the ether used to enhance their performance, which leaves them knocked out after the performance. The drummer is a skilled musician and is referred to as la fleur de pavot, meaning poppy flower, another type of drug. Lastly, the person who is not playing but drinking instead is said to be a member of Blue Note, and the choice of drug for him is marijuana.
The song can be interpreted as a commentary on the culture surrounding jazz music in the 1960s and 70s, where drug use was prevalent. It also highlights how drug use was somewhat idolized in the music industry and how it affected the performance of musicians who relied on them to enhance their skills. Furthermore, the song can also be seen as a reflection of Serge Gainsbourg's own tendencies towards substance abuse.
Line by Line Meaning
Écoute
Listen up
Le gars qui jazzote
The guy who's jazzing it up
T'entends
Do you hear?
Ah, comme il saxote
Oh, how he's saxing it up
Il est
He is
Camé à zéro
Stoned out of his mind
Coco and co
Coco and his buddies
Un de
One of
Ses compatriotes
His compatriots
Au pia-
On the piano,
No c'ui qui pianote
You know, the guy who's playing it
Comme lui c'est la coco
Like him, it's Coco
Coco and co
Coco and his buddies
À la
On the
Basse, c'ui qui croqu'note
Bass, the one who's crunching notes
C'est l'é-
It's the, uh
Ther qui lui botte
Theremin that he likes
T'as pas
You haven't
Vu il est K.O
Seen how knocked out he is
Coco and co
Coco and his buddies
Aux drums
On the drums,
C'ui là qui tapote
The one who's tapping away
C'est un
He's a
Crack, c'est un pote
Crack, and he's a buddy
Lui c'est
Him, he's
La fleur de pavot
The poppy flower
Coco and co
Coco and his buddies
C'ui qui
The one who
Joue pas, qui sirote
Isn't playing, but is drinking
C'est un
He's a
Des gars du Blue Note
One of the guys from the Blue Note
Mais lui
But him
Ça s'rait plutôt la
It's probably more like
Marijuana
Marijuana
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Serge Gainsbourg
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Elian
on Ford Mustang
We're swapping spits / We're snorting lines [double entendre] (On s' fait des "lines")
In a Ford Mustang
And then, "Bang"
We're banging in [triple entendre]
To the plane trees / And then, "Bang," we're getting high ("embrasser les platanes = planer" [ French] (=to get high)
"Mus" to the left
"Tang" to the right
And to the left, to the right
A windshield wiper
A pack of Kool
A badge with the inscription
"Keep Cool"
A bar of
Chocolate
A Coca-Cola
We're swapping spits / We're snorting lines
In a Ford Mustang
And then, "Bang"
We're banging in
To the plane trees
"Mus" to the left
"Tang" to the right
And to the left, to the right
A bottle
Of make-up fluid
A flashgun
A Browning (automatic pistol)
A phonograph
A volume
Of Edgar A. Poe
And a plain brass ZIPPO
We're swapping spits / We're snorting lines
In a Ford Mustang
And then, "Bang"
We're banging in
To the plane trees
"Mus" to the left
"Tang" to the right
And to the left, to the right
An edition
Of Superman
A nut from
Paco
Rabanne
A pic of
Marilyn
A tube of aspirin
We're swapping spits / We're snorting lines
In a Ford Mustang
And then, "Bang"
We're banging in
To the plane trees
"Mus" to the left
"Tang" to the right
And to the left, to the right