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
La Noyée
Serge Gainsbourg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sur la rivière du souvenir
Et moi, courant sur la rive,
Je te crie de revenir
Mais, lentement, tu t'éloignes
Et dans ma course éperdue,
Peu à peu, je te regagne
Un peu du terrain perdu.
De temps en temps, tu t'enfonces
Dans le liquide mouvant
Ou bien, frôlant quelques ronces,
Tu hésites et tu m'attends
En te cachant la figure
Dans ta robe retroussée,
De peur que ne te défigurent
Et la honte et les regrets.
Tu n'es plus qu'une pauvre épave,
Chienne crevée au fil de l'eau
Mais je reste ton esclave
Et plonge dans le ruisseau
Quand le souvenir s'arrête
Et l'océan de l'oubli,
Brisant nos cœurs et nos têtes,
A jamais, nous réunit.
The lyrics of Serge Gainsbourg's song "La Noyée" (The Drowned Woman) depict a person lost in the river of memories after a failed relationship. The singer is left behind on the river banks, watching their former lover drift away slowly. As they try to catch up, they regain some of the lost ground but ultimately feel helpless as they see their partner becoming more and more distant.
The lyrics elicit a sense of sadness and desperation, as the singer begs their lover to come back. However, the other person seems to be lost in their own thoughts, sometimes disappearing under the water or hesitating on the riverbank. Despite this, the singer remains loyal, even when their lover is described as a "poor wreck" and a "dead dog in the water".
The final lines suggest that even though the memories and emotions may be painful, they will ultimately bring the two former lovers back together, in the "ocean of forgetfulness" that washes away all differences and pain.
Overall, the lyrics of "La Noyée" paint a poignant picture of a love story gone awry, as the singer struggles to accept the end of the relationship and clings to the memories of a love that is fading away.
Line by Line Meaning
Tu t'en vas à la dérive
You are adrift
Sur la rivière du souvenir
On the river of memories
Et moi, courant sur la rive,
And me, running on the bank
Je te crie de revenir
I shout for you to come back
Mais, lentement, tu t'éloignes
But you slowly move away
Et dans ma course éperdue,
And in my desperate run,
Peu à peu, je te regagne
Gradually, I catch up with you
Un peu du terrain perdu.
A bit of the lost ground
De temps en temps, tu t'enfonces
From time to time, you sink
Dans le liquide mouvant
Into the moving water
Ou bien, frôlant quelques ronces,
Or touching some brambles,
Tu hésites et tu m'attends
You hesitate and wait for me
En te cachant la figure
Hiding your face
Dans ta robe retroussée,
With your dress rolled up
De peur que ne te défigurent
Afraid of being disfigured
Et la honte et les regrets.
By shame and regret
Tu n'es plus qu'une pauvre épave,
You are nothing but a poor wreck,
Chienne crevée au fil de l'eau
A dead dog in the water
Mais je reste ton esclave
But I remain your slave
Et plonge dans le ruisseau
And dive into the stream
Quand le souvenir s'arrête
When the memory stops
Et l'océan de l'oubli,
And the ocean of oblivion,
Brisant nos cœurs et nos têtes,
Breaking our hearts and minds,
A jamais, nous réunit.
Brings us together forever.
Contributed by Avery F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@reik6229
Tu t'en vas à la dérive
Sur la rivière du souvenir
Et moi, courant sur la rive,
Je te crie de revenir
Mais, lentement, tu t'éloignes
Et dans ma course éperdue,
Peu à peu, je te regagne
Un peu du terrain perdu.
De temps en temps, tu t'enfonces
Dans le liquide mouvant
Ou bien, frôlant quelques ronces,
Tu hésites et tu m'attends
En te cachant la figure
Dans ta robe retroussée,
De peur que ne te défigurent
Et la honte et les regrets.
Tu n'es plus qu'une pauvre épave,
Chienne crevée au fil de l'eau
Mais je reste ton esclave
Et plonge dans le ruisseau
Quand le souvenir s'arrête
Et l'océan de l'oubli,
Brisant nos cœurs et nos têtes,
A jamais, nous réunit
@reik6229
Tu t'en vas à la dérive
Sur la rivière du souvenir
Et moi, courant sur la rive,
Je te crie de revenir
Mais, lentement, tu t'éloignes
Et dans ma course éperdue,
Peu à peu, je te regagne
Un peu du terrain perdu.
De temps en temps, tu t'enfonces
Dans le liquide mouvant
Ou bien, frôlant quelques ronces,
Tu hésites et tu m'attends
En te cachant la figure
Dans ta robe retroussée,
De peur que ne te défigurent
Et la honte et les regrets.
Tu n'es plus qu'une pauvre épave,
Chienne crevée au fil de l'eau
Mais je reste ton esclave
Et plonge dans le ruisseau
Quand le souvenir s'arrête
Et l'océan de l'oubli,
Brisant nos cœurs et nos têtes,
A jamais, nous réunit
@peterpluim7912
Merci.
@TITIA75-
Merci beaucoup. Un des poèmes les plus beaux ❤❤
@antoninotroisi6585
mercis beaucoup 👍👍
@pedroa.cantero9449
Poème en valse, doublement métaphorique par la cadence même et l’évocation des désirs jamais aboutis. Ce temps qui fuit et les mots avec, en boucle perpétuel… «Tu t'en vas à la dérive/ sur la rivière du souvenir/ et moi, courant sur la rive, / je te crie de revenir…» Démocrite est là et Jorge Manrique, Baudelaire et Rimbaud «Oui tu mourus, enfant, par un fleuve emporté!»… Mais, surtout, il y a cette façon propre à Gainsbourg de sangler les mots à la mélodie comme chair à l'os, sans qu’on se lasse d’écouter – à nous de récréer ! « Quand le souvenir s'arrête/ et l'océan de l'oubli, / brisant nos cœurs et nos têtes, / à jamais, nous réunit ». Hélas ! Sans le tempo qu’il les imprime, les mots sonnent creux. Abandonnons nous à sa voix.
@BelAge
Delicieux commentaire. Merci Pedro!
@bouddah93
Très jolie critique de connaisseur
@bouddah93
Mon triste cœur bave à la poupe. Mon coeur couvert de caporal... Rimbaud
@joeg7843
Such beautiful insights. Thank you.
@sundromos9456
Such a beautiful interpretation…almost as good as the song. Merci.