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
Intoxicated Man
Serge Gainsbourg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
À trop forte dose
Je vois
Des éléphants roses
Des araignées sur le plastron
De mon smoking
Des chauves-souris au plafond
Du living-room
Eh toi
Dis-moi quelque chose
Tu es là
Comme un marbre rose
Aussi glacé que le plastron
De mon smoking
Aussi pâle que le plafond
Du living-room
L'amour
Ne dit plus grand chose
Toujours
Ces éléphants roses
Ces araignées sur le plastron
De mon smoking
Ces chauves-souris au plafond
Du living-room
Eh toi
Dis-moi quelque chose
Tu es là
Comme un marbre rose
Aussi glacé que le plastron
De mon smoking
Aussi pâle que le plafond
Du living-room
The song "Intoxicated man" by Serge Gainsbourg is a melancholic and introspective piece about the pitfalls of excessive drinking and the numbness that follows after. The opening line "Je bois, à trop forte dose" (I drink, in excessive amounts) sets the tone for the entire song, as Gainsbourg proceeds to describe the strange and hallucinatory experiences he has while intoxicated. He sees pink elephants and spiders crawling on his tuxedo, as well as bats flying around his living room. The lyrics convey a sense of disorientation and detachment from reality, as if the world around him is morphing into something unfamiliar and unsettling.
The chorus of the song repeats the lines "Eh toi, dis-moi quelque chose" (Hey you, say something to me) as if Gainsbourg is desperately seeking a connection with someone, anyone, to break through the haze of his drunkenness. The phrase "Comme un marbre rose" (Like a pink marble) is used to describe both the person he is addressing and the lapel of his tuxedo, suggesting a parallel between their respective emotional states. The repetition of the phrase "L'amour ne dit plus grand chose" (Love doesn't really mean anything anymore) highlights the sense of disillusionment that underlies the song, as if Gainsbourg has lost his capacity to feel deeply.
In many ways, "Intoxicated man" is a song about emotional numbness and the search for meaning in a world that feels increasingly surreal and empty. The use of vivid and surreal imagery, as well as the melancholic melody and sparse instrumentation, add to the haunting and introspective mood of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Je bois
I drink
À trop forte dose
In excessive amounts
Je vois
I see
Des éléphants roses
Pink elephants
Des araignées sur le plastron
Spiders on the lapel
De mon smoking
Of my dinner jacket
Des chauves-souris au plafond
Bats on the ceiling
Du living-room
In the living room
Eh toi
Hey you
Dis-moi quelque chose
Tell me something
Tu es là
You are here
Comme un marbre rose
Like a pink marble
Aussi glacé que le plastron
As frozen as the lapel
Aussi pâle que le plafond
As pale as the ceiling
L'amour
Love
Ne dit plus grand chose
Doesn't mean much anymore
Toujours
Always
Ces éléphants roses
These pink elephants
Ces araignées sur le plastron
These spiders on the lapel
De mon smoking
Of my dinner jacket
Ces chauves-souris au plafond
These bats on the ceiling
Du living-room
In the living room
Eh toi
Hey you
Dis-moi quelque chose
Tell me something
Tu es là
You are here
Comme un marbre rose
Like a pink marble
Aussi glacé que le plastron
As frozen as the lapel
Aussi pâle que le plafond
As pale as the ceiling
Lyrics © MELODY NELSON PUBLISHING, Universal Music Publishing Group, WARNER CHAPPELL MUSIC FRANCE
Written by: Serge Gainsbourg
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jackcagliostro36
Je bois
À trop forte dose
Je vois
Des éléphants roses
Des araignées sur le plastron
De mon smoking
Des chauves-souris au plafond
Du living-room
Eh toi
Dis-moi quelque chose
Tu es là
Comme un marbre rose
Aussi glacé que le plastron
De mon smoking
Aussi pâle que le plafond
Du living-room
L'amour
Ne dit plus grand chose
Toujours
Ces éléphants roses
Ces araignées sur le plastron
De mon smoking
Ces chauves-souris au plafond
Du living-room
Eh toi
Dis-moi quelque chose
Tu es là
Comme un marbre rose
Aussi glacé que le plastron
De mon smoking
Aussi pâle que le plafond
Du living-room
@rachrach8647
Grande classe !!! Meme s'il n'aimait pas sa voix de cette époque, ca reste une chanson d'une grande élégance... Vive Lucien ! ;)
@mewrth
Définitivement un des meilleurs enregistrements d'orgue Hammond de tous les temps.
@Charlie-fx9dp
Gainsbourg jazz... Excellent...
@francoisegille3887
Excellent...pas mal...
Des sacres textes...
Personne unique en son genre...❤
@RedSonja9965
I love this song!!
@user-ge5xs2li9k
Ces chansons des débuts étaient avant-gardistes et formidables.
Mais elles ne conqueraient qu'un petit public
@jpbskb
J' ADORE inoubliable Serge :-)
@djmusicjac
beautiful french romanticism music, the french produce best romantic music in the world, must be french accent and the beautiful music composing
@LeGabrielCantal
It's song about drinking alcool and being drunk.
@alexdesslin
superbissime !