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
De plus en plus de moins en moins
Serge Gainsbourg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Est-ce qu'elle va seulement me reconnaître ?
Du rêve à la réalité il y a une marge.
Ouais, tout est possible.
Elle peut aussi bien me trouver impossible.
Avec les photographies sait-on jamais…
Avec elle, tout est possible.
Pour moi ça sera merveilleux la première fois.
Et cela me fera de plus en plus mal.
Avec lui tout serait possible.
Malgré que ce ne soit jamais bien la première fois.
Ce serait sûrement pas mal, et puis de mieux en mieux.
Après quoi ça irait de plus en plus mal.
Mais si elle me trouve impossible ?
Encore que ce serait bien la première fois.
J'aurai tant de chagrin, chaque jour un peu plus.
Mon amour lui serait parfaitement égal.
Avec lui c'est impossible.
On se quitterait jamais bien la première fois.
J'aurai tant de chagrin.
Et puis de moins en moins.
Jusqu'à ce que ça me soit complètement égal.
Il m'suffirait de la voir pour savoir
Il lui suffirait de me voir, pour m'avoir
The lyrics of Serge Gainsbourg's song De plus en plus de moins en moins reflect on the universal theme of love and relationships that can be both exciting and daunting at the same time. The song is about the singer's desire for someone and his uncertainty about whether or not that person will reciprocate his feelings. In the first verse, he expresses the idea that everything is possible with her, but at the same time, he wonders if she will even recognize him. He acknowledges that the distance from dreams to reality is significant, and everything hinges on whether or not she sees him as a possible partner. The singer also recognizes that he may be perceived as impossible for her.
In the second verse, the singer contrasts the first candidate with someone else. He says that with this person, everything would be possible, even though it might not be perfect the first time around. While things may start out well, eventually, the relationship would deteriorate, and things would reach a point where they become completely indifferent towards one another. The singer seems to be on the verge of giving up hope for either relationship.
In the final verse, the singer concludes that seeing each other will be the deciding factor in their relationship. If they do see each other, they will know if there is any possibility between them. If they don't, they will continue to experience heartache and uncertainty. The song is a beautiful portrayal of the emotional and psychological roller coaster of love and relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
Avec elle, tout est possible.
With her, anything is possible.
Est-ce qu'elle va seulement me reconnaître ?
Will she even recognize me?
Du rêve à la réalité il y a une marge.
From dream to reality, there's a margin.
Ouais, tout est possible.
Yeah, anything is possible.
Elle peut aussi bien me trouver impossible.
She could just as easily find me impossible.
Avec les photographies sait-on jamais…
With photographs, one never knows...
Pour moi ça sera merveilleux la première fois.
For me, it will be marvelous the first time.
On se verra de moins en moins si je ne lui dis rien,
We'll see each other less and less if I don't say anything to her,
Et cela me fera de plus en plus mal.
And it will hurt me more and more.
Avec lui tout serait possible.
With him, anything would be possible.
Malgré que ce ne soit jamais bien la première fois.
Even though it's never quite right the first time.
Ce serait sûrement pas mal, et puis de mieux en mieux.
It would surely not be bad, and then better and better.
Après quoi ça irait de plus en plus mal.
After that, it would go increasingly bad.
Mais si elle me trouve impossible ?
But what if she finds me impossible?
Encore que ce serait bien la première fois.
Even though it would be the first time.
J'aurai tant de chagrin, chaque jour un peu plus.
I would have so much sorrow, every day a little more.
Mon amour lui serait parfaitement égal.
My love for her would be completely indifferent to her.
Avec lui c'est impossible.
With him, it's impossible.
On se quitterait jamais bien la première fois.
We would never leave each other right the first time.
J'aurai tant de chagrin.
I would have so much sorrow.
Et puis de moins en moins.
And then less and less.
Jusqu'à ce que ça me soit complètement égal.
Until it's completely indifferent to me.
Il m'suffirait de la voir pour savoir
All I'd need is to see her to know
Il lui suffirait de me voir, pour m'avoir
All she'd need is to see me, to have me
Contributed by Austin G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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