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
Des vents des pets des poums
Serge Gainsbourg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Elle manque pas d'air celle-là!
Je devais l'emmener souper dans un grill-room
En l'attendant je fais des vents des pets des poums
Non mais pour qui elle s'prend celle-là pour la Bégum
Après on devait aller danser au Voom-Voom
En l'attendant je fais des vents des pets des poums
Saint-Tropez c'est râpé pour toi pauvre clown
Elle t'a pété dans la main cette fille-là, badaboum
En l'attendant je fais des vents des pets des poums
Tiens, celui-là était pas mal du tout il a fait boum
Et celui-ci il est parti comme une balle doom-doom
En l'attendant je fais des vents des pets des poums
Et celui-là dis donc pschtt, un vrai simoun
Celui-ci pardon, il a fait aussi chaud qu'au Cameroun
En l'attendant tu fais des vents des pets des poums.
En l'attendant tu fais des vents des pets des poums.
Tiens c'lui-ci était bien envoyé, il a fait voom
Et celui-là vlan, il a fait vroom
En l'attendant je fais des vents des pets des poums
The lyrics to Serge Gainsbourg's "Des vents des pets des poums" depict a man waiting outside his date's door, frustrated and annoyed that she is taking so long. He was supposed to take her out to dinner and dancing, but she is taking her time. To pass the time, he entertains himself by farting, burping, and making other bodily noises. The lyrics show a level of immaturity and disrespect toward his date.
Line by Line Meaning
Déjà deux heures que j'fais l'pet d'vant sa porte comme un groom
I've been waiting outside her door for two hours like a servant
Elle manque pas d'air celle-là!
She's quite bold!
Je devais l'emmener souper dans un grill-room
I was supposed to take her out to eat at a fancy restaurant
En l'attendant je fais des vents des pets des poums
While waiting, I'm passing time by making various sounds
Non mais pour qui elle s'prend celle-là pour la Bégum
Who does she think she is, the queen?
Après on devait aller danser au Voom-Voom
Later, we were supposed to go dancing at a club
Saint-Tropez c'est râpé pour toi pauvre clown
Forget about Saint-Tropez, you poor fool
Elle t'a pété dans la main cette fille-là, badaboum
This girl has blown you off, just like that, boom!
Tiens, celui-là était pas mal du tout il a fait boum
Hey, that one was pretty good, it went boom
Et celui-ci il est parti comme une balle doom-doom
And that one went off like a bullet, boom-boom
Celui-là dis donc pschtt, un vrai simoun
That one was more like a whisper, a true simoom
Celui-ci pardon, il a fait aussi chaud qu'au Cameroun
This one, excuse me, was as hot as Cameroon
En l'attendant tu fais des vents des pets des poums.
While waiting, you pass time by making various sounds.
Tiens c'lui-ci était bien envoyé, il a fait voom
Hey, that one was well delivered, it went voom
Et celui-là vlan, il a fait vroom
And that one went bang, it made a vroom sound
En l'attendant je fais des vents des pets des poums
While waiting, I'm passing time by making various sounds
Contributed by David F. 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