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 madrague
Serge Gainsbourg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Coquillages et crustacés
Qui l'eût cru déplore la perte de l'été
Qui depuis s'en est allé
On a rangé les vacances
Dans des valises en carton
Et c'est triste quand on pense à la saison
Du soleil et des chansons
Tout refleurira nous reviendrons
Mais en attendant je suis en peine
De quitter la mer et ma maison
Le mistral va s'habituer
A courir sans les voiliers
Et c'est dans ma chevelure ébouriffée
Qu'il va le plus me manquer
Le soleil mon grand copain
Ne me brûlera que de loin
Croyant que nous sommes ensemble un peu fâchés
D'être tous deux séparés
Le train m'emmènera vers l'automne
Retrouver la ville sous la pluie
Mon chagrin ne sera pour personne
Je le garderai comme un ami
Mais aux premiers jours d'été
Tous les ennuis oubliés
Nous reviendrons faire la fête aux crustacés
De la plage ensoleillée
De la plage ensoleillée
De la plage ensoleillée
The lyrics to Serge Gainsbourg's song La madrague describe the end of summer and the melancholy feeling that comes with it. The abandoned beach is filled with seashells and sea creatures, which serve as reminders of the passing season. The singer reflects on the sadness of packing up their vacation belongings in cardboard suitcases, and laments the loss of the warm sun and joyful songs that characterized the summer.
Despite the sadness, the singer expresses hope for the next year, when everything will bloom again and they will return to the beach. But for now, they are sad to leave the sea and their home behind. They acknowledge the change in the wind, which will no longer carry the sails of boats, and they will miss the feeling of the wind blowing through their hair. The singer reassures their friend, the sun, that they are not angry with it - they are simply sad to be separated.
The singer's train will take them back to the city, where they will face the rainy autumn alone with their grief. However, they will keep their sadness close to them like a friend. Despite this, they look forward to the first days of summer, when they can once again forget their troubles and party with the sea creatures on the sunny beach.
Overall, the song is a wistful reflection on the passing of time and the inevitable cycles of life. It captures the bittersweet feeling of saying goodbye to something wonderful, while holding onto the hope that it will return again.
Line by Line Meaning
Sur la plage abandonnée
On the abandoned beach
Coquillages et crustacés
Seashells and crustaceans
Qui l'eût cru déplore la perte de l'été
Who would have thought regrets the loss of summer
Qui depuis s'en est allé
Which has since passed away
On a rangé les vacances
We have packed up our vacations
Dans des valises en carton
In cardboard suitcases
Et c'est triste quand on pense à la saison
And it's sad when we think of the season
Du soleil et des chansons
Of the sun and the songs
Pourtant je sais bien l'année prochaine
However, I know that next year
Tout refleurira nous reviendrons
Everything will bloom again and we will come back
Mais en attendant je suis en peine
But in the meantime, I am in pain
De quitter la mer et ma maison
Of leaving the sea and my house
Le mistral va s'habituer
The mistral will get used to
A courir sans les voiliers
Running without the sailboats
Et c'est dans ma chevelure ébouriffée
And it's in my disheveled hair
Qu'il va le plus me manquer
That I will miss the most
Le soleil mon grand copain
The sun, my great friend
Ne me brûlera que de loin
Will only burn me from afar
Croyant que nous sommes ensemble un peu fâchés
Thinking that we are a little upset with each other
D'être tous deux séparés
For being separated from each other
Le train m'emmènera vers l'automne
The train will take me to autumn
Retrouver la ville sous la pluie
To find the city under the rain
Mon chagrin ne sera pour personne
My sorrow will be for no one
Je le garderai comme un ami
I will keep it as a friend
Mais aux premiers jours d'été
But in the first days of summer
Tous les ennuis oubliés
All the troubles forgotten
Nous reviendrons faire la fête aux crustacés
We will come back to celebrate with the crustaceans
De la plage ensoleillée
Of the sunny beach
De la plage ensoleillée
Of the sunny beach
De la plage ensoleillée
Of the sunny beach
Lyrics © WARNER CHAPPELL MUSIC FRANCE
Written by: GERARD ROBERT EDOUARD BOURGEOIS, JEAN MAX RIVIERE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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