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
Eva
Serge Gainsbourg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cet air là l'emmène au paradise
Au lit
Dans ses holi-
Days on ice
Eva aime smoke gets in your eyes
Ah comme parfois j'aimerais qu'elle aille
Dans mon nid d'aigle
Ses espiègles
Rires jaillissent
Ell' me fait voir sa petite barbe de maïs
Mais j'peux pas faire
L'amour mes nerfs
Me trahissent
Quand j'entends smoke gets in your eyes
Eva aime smoke gets in your eyes
Il faut que je casse ce disque
Avant que je la haïsse
Et que cet air américain m'envahisse
The above French lyrics are from the song "Eva" by Serge Gainsbourg. The song is about a woman named Eva who enjoys listening to a particular song called "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes." The opening line talks about how Eva loves this song and how it takes her to a paradise. She is often in bed during her "holidays on ice" while listening to this song. The next line says that Serge himself wishes that Eva would go away and have sex with someone else while listening to this song. Serge talks about how he cannot have sex with her because he gets nervous when he hears "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and how Eva makes him see her small beard of corn.
This song depicts a very complicated and confusing relationship between Serge and Eva. Serge loves Eva but is unable to have sex with her because of nerves. Eva loves listening to "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," which further exacerbates Serge's nerves. He wants to break the record before he starts to hate her or before the American tune of this song completely overwhelms him.
Line by Line Meaning
Eva aime smoke gets in your eyes
Eva aime cette chanson de Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
Cet air là l'emmène au paradise
Cette chanson l'emmène dans un état d'euphorie
Au lit
Elle est au lit
Dans ses holi- Days on ice
Elle se rappelle probablement de vacances sur la glace
Ah comme parfois j'aimerais qu'elle aille Se faire foutre avec smoke gets in your eyes
Parfois, j'aimerais qu'elle parte et ne revenir jamais
Dans mon nid d'aigle
Dans ma maison confortable
Ses espiègles Rires jaillissent
Elle rit innocemment
Ell' me fait voir sa petite barbe de maïs
Elle montre son charme irrésistible
Mais j'peux pas faire L'amour mes nerfs Me trahissent
Je ne peux pas avoir de relations sexuelles avec elle à cause de mes nerfs fragiles
Quand j'entends smoke gets in your eyes
C'est à cause de cette chanson que mes nerfs sont déclenchés
Il faut que je casse ce disque
Je dois se débarrasser de cette source de stress
Avant que je la haïsse Et que cet air américain m'envahisse
Avant que cette chanson ne me fasse détester Eva et l'Amérique tout entière
Contributed by Alyssa H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Alain Bruch
Quel album 1 de mes préférés
MARC DELENTE
Ça fait mal les ptits cocos aurait dit le génie hoo o o jai oublié les ptites cocottes ces mignons les ptites cocottes . Repose serge tu nous manquent .
laurent Sauvage
Le goût de la provoque de miister gainsbar