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
L'Homme à tête de chou
Serge Gainsbourg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Moitié légume moitié mec
Pour les beaux yeux de Marilou
Je suis allé porter au clou
Ma Remington et puis mon break
J'étais à fond de cale à bout
De nerfs, j'avais plus un kopeck
Du jour où je me mis avec
Mon job à la feuille de chou
A scandales qui me donnait le bifteck
J'étais fini foutu échec
Et mat au yeux de Marilou
Qui me traitait comme un blanc-bec
Et me rendait moitié coucou.
Ah non tu peux pas savoir mec
Il lui fallait des discothèques
Et bouffer au Kangourou
Club alors je signais des chèques
Sans provision j'étais fou fou
A la fin j'y fis le caillou
Comme un melon une pastèque
Mais comment-Je ne vais pas du tout
Déballer comme ça aussi sec
Quoi ? Moi ? L'aimer encore ? Des clous.
Qui et où suis-je ? Chou ici ou
Dans la blanche écume varech
Sur la plage de Malibu
The lyrics of Serge Gainsbourg's song L'Homme à tête de chou are deeply melancholic, telling the story of a man who is in love with a woman named Marilou, but is being used and exploited by her. The man is described as being half man and half vegetable, a poetic metaphor for his emotional and mental state. He has given up everything for Marilou, including his job and his possessions, and is now at the mercy of her whims and desires. She takes him to expensive nightclubs and restaurants, and he signs cheques he cannot afford to pay, ultimately leading to his financial ruin. Despite all of this, the man still loves Marilou, but knows that his love is futile and will never be reciprocated. The final lines of the song are a surreal reflection of his state of mind, questioning where he is and who he is, as he drifts in a sea of confusion and despair.
The song L'Homme à tête de chou was released by Serge Gainsbourg in 1976 and was the title track of his album of the same name. The album is a concept album telling the story of a man who falls in love with a woman named Marilou, and the various stages of their tumultuous relationship. The album was produced by Jean-Claude Desmarty, who also co-wrote the songs with Gainsbourg.
Line by Line Meaning
Je suis l'homme à la tête de chou
I am a man who is half vegetable and half man
Moitié légume moitié mec
Half vegetable and half man
Pour les beaux yeux de Marilou
For the beautiful eyes of Marilou
Je suis allé porter au clou
I went and pawned
Ma Remington et puis mon break
My Remington typewriter and my station wagon car
J'étais à fond de cale à bout
I was at the very bottom and at my wits' end
De nerfs, j'avais plus un kopeck
Out of my mind with stress, and out of money
Du jour où je me mis avec
Since the day I got involved with
Elle je perdis à peu près tout,
Her, I lost almost everything
Mon job à la feuille de chou
My job at the scandal sheet newspaper
A scandales qui me donnait le bifteck
That gave me my bread and butter with all the scandals I wrote about
J'étais fini foutu échec
I was finished, done, a complete failure
Et mat au yeux de Marilou
And beaten in the eyes of Marilou
Qui me traitait comme un blanc-bec
Who treated me like a naive, inexperienced person
Et me rendait moitié coucou.
And drove me half-crazy
Ah non tu peux pas savoir mec
Oh no, you can't possibly know, man
Il lui fallait des discothèques
She needed to go to nightclubs
Et bouffer au Kangourou
And eat at the Kangaroo Club
Club alors je signais des chèques
So I would write checks for the club
Sans provision j'étais fou fou
Even though I had no funds, I was crazy for her
A la fin j'y fis le caillou
In the end, I hit rock bottom
Comme un melon une pastèque
Like a melon hitting the ground and breaking open
Mais comment-Je ne vais pas du tout
But how- I'm really not going to
Déballer comme ça aussi sec
Just blurt it all out like that
Quoi ? Moi ? L'aimer encore ? Des clous.
What? Love her again? No way.
Qui et où suis-je ? Chou ici ou
Who and where am I? Am I a vegetable or
Dans la blanche écume varech
In the white foam of seaweed
Sur la plage de Malibu
On the beach in Malibu
Contributed by Cole G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Tom1689
Quel instrumental, tous les musiciens sont au top. 🎸 De nos jours dans bon nombre de concerts on voit un bassiste sur scène faire de la figuration car on ne l'entend pas. Les musiciens ne sont pas forcément moins bons qu'en 1988 mais les ingé son y sont sans doute pour quelque chose.
@tatianaridel4571
L'orchestration est de l'ordre du génie.. Merci Serge ❤
@sk.sedlice
An immortal rebel who is as fresh today as when he lived, created and performed! 🔥👌
@constanza3697
couldnt have said it better ❤️
@sk.sedlice
@@constanzavaIentina❤
@grahamelliott7276
Gainsbourg's band really made this one rock. Billy Rush's guitar and Stan Harrison's saxophone in particular stand out. Naturally, Serge tops it off with his delivery and superb lyric !
@helena4580
Uma das minhas favoritas de Gainsbourg 😍😍😍!!! J'adore !!!!❤❤❤
@emmanuelmailhe1399
chanson magnifique serge etait un génie de la musique un don du Ciel avoir eu une personne comme Gainsbourg merci a notre légende une vraie légende serge Gainsbourg
@laurandiberti1767
Une pure merveille ❤
@sandrinehennebique
Problème d addiction mais quel poète cet homme ❤❤❤❤❤