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
Le poiçonneur des Lilas
Serge Gainsbourg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Le gars qu'on croise et qu'on n' regarde pas
Y a pas de soleil sous la terre
Drôle de croisière
Pour tuer l'ennui j'ai dans ma veste
Les extraits du Reader Digest
Et dans ce bouquin y a écrit
Que des gars se la coulent douce à Miami
Au fond de la cave
Paraît que y a pas de sot métier
Moi je fais des trous dans des billets
Je fais des trous, des petits trous, encore des petits trous
Des petits trous, des petits trous, toujours des petits trous
Des trous de seconde classe
Des trous de première classe
Je fais des trous, des petits trous, encore des petits trous
Des petits trous, des petits trous, toujours des petits trous
Des petits trous, des petits trous,
Des petits trous, des petits trous
Je suis le poinçonneur des Lilas
Pour Invalides changer à Opéra
Je vis au cœur de la planète
J'ai dans la tête
Un carnaval de confettis
J'en amène jusque dans mon lit
Et sous mon ciel de faïence
Je ne vois briller que les correspondances
Parfois je rêve je divague
Je vois des vagues
Et dans la brume au bout du quai
Je vois un bateau qui vient me chercher
Pour me sortir de ce trou où je fais des trous
Des petits trous, des petits trous, toujours des petits trous
Mais le bateau se taille
Et je vois que je déraille
Et je reste dans mon trou à faire des petits trous
Des petits trous, des petits trous, toujours des petits trous
Des petits trous, des petits trous,
Des petits trous, des petits trous
Je suis le poinçonneur des Lilas
Arts-et-Métiers direct par Levallois
J'en ai marre j'en ai ma claque
De ce cloaque
Je voudrais jouer la fille de l'air
Laisser ma casquette au vestiaire
Un jour viendra j'en suis sûr
Où je pourrais m'évader dans la nature
Je partirai sur la grande route
Et coûte que coûte
Et si pour moi il n'est plus temps
Je partirai les pieds devant
Je fais des trous, des petits trous, encore des petits trous
Des petits trous, des petits trous, toujours des petits trous
Y a de quoi devenir dingue
De quoi prendre un flingue
Se faire un trou, un petit trou, un dernier petit trou
Un petit trou, un petit trou, un dernier petit trou
Et on me mettra dans un grand trou
Où je n'entendrai plus parler de trou plus jamais de trou
De petits trous de petits trous de petits trous
The song "Le poiçonneur des Lilas" by Serge Gainsbourg tells the story of a man who works as a train station hole-puncher in the Lilas neighborhood of Paris. He is a lowly figure, unnoticed and ignored by those around him. He fills his idle moments in the underground world of the metro by reading Reader's Digest and dreaming of escaping the monotony of his life. He longs to leave his job and become a pilot, to fly away from the dirty and claustrophobic metro tunnels. In the end, the singer imagines taking his own life by putting a "last small hole" in his head with a gun, symbolically taking himself out of the endless cycle of "small holes" he has been punching in train tickets.
Line by Line Meaning
Je suis le poinçonneur des Lilas
I am the ticket puncher at Lilas metro station
Le gars qu'on croise et qu'on n' regarde pas
I am a person who people ignore as they pass by
Y a pas de soleil sous la terre
It is always dark and gloomy underground
Drôle de croisière
It's a strange experience working in the subway
Pour tuer l'ennui j'ai dans ma veste
To kill boredom, I carry Reader's Digest articles in my jacket
Les extraits du Reader Digest
Selected articles from Reader's Digest
Et dans ce bouquin y a écrit
And in one of the articles, it is written that
Que des gars se la coulent douce à Miami
Guys in Miami are living the good life
Pendant ce temps que je fais le zouave
Meanwhile, I act silly
Au fond de la cave
Deep in the subway station
Paraît que y a pas de sot métier
They say there is no foolish job
Moi je fais des trous dans des billets
My job is to punch holes in tickets
Je fais des trous, des petits trous, encore des petits trous
I punch holes, small holes, more small holes
Des petits trous, des petits trous, toujours des petits trous
Small holes, small holes, always small holes
Des trous de seconde classe
Second-class holes
Des trous de première classe
First-class holes
Je suis le poinçonneur des Lilas
I am the ticket puncher at Lilas metro station
Pour Invalides changer à Opéra
To change from Invalides station to Opéra station
Je vis au cœur de la planète
I live in the heart of the earth
J'ai dans la tête
I have in my mind
Un carnaval de confettis
A carnival of confetti
J'en amène jusque dans mon lit
I even bring them to my bed
Et sous mon ciel de faïence
And under my blue sky
Je ne vois briller que les correspondances
I only see the metro connections shining
Parfois je rêve je divague
Sometimes I daydream
Je vois des vagues
I see waves
Et dans la brume au bout du quai
And in the fog at the end of the platform
Je vois un bateau qui vient me chercher
I see a boat coming to pick me up
Pour me sortir de ce trou où je fais des trous
To get me out of this hole where I punch holes
Mais le bateau se taille
But the boat sails away
Et je vois que je déraille
And I realize that I am losing my mind
Et je reste dans mon trou à faire des petits trous
And I stay in my hole, punching small holes
Des petits trous, des petits trous, toujours des petits trous
Small holes, small holes, always small holes
Y a de quoi devenir dingue
Enough to drive you crazy
De quoi prendre un flingue
Enough to grab a gun
Se faire un trou, un petit trou, un dernier petit trou
To make a hole, a small hole, one last small hole
Un petit trou, un petit trou, un dernier petit trou
One last small hole, one last small hole, one last small hole
Et on me mettra dans un grand trou
And they will put me in a big hole
Où je n'entendrai plus parler de trou plus jamais de trou
Where I will no longer hear about holes, never again
Je suis le poinçonneur des Lilas
I am the ticket puncher at Lilas metro station
Arts-et-Métiers direct par Levallois
Arts-et-Métiers station, direct to Levallois
J'en ai marre j'en ai ma claque
I am fed up, I've had enough
De ce cloaque
Of this miserable place
Je voudrais jouer la fille de l'air
I would like to play the girl in the air
Laisser ma casquette au vestiaire
Leave my hat at the cloakroom
Un jour viendra j'en suis sûr
One day, I am sure
Où je pourrais m'évader dans la nature
I will be able to escape into nature
Je partirai sur la grande route
I will set off on the highway
Et coûte que coûte
No matter what it costs
Et si pour moi il n'est plus temps
And if it's too late for me
Je partirai les pieds devant
I will leave with my feet first
Je fais des trous, des petits trous, encore des petits trous
I punch holes, small holes, more small holes
Des petits trous, des petits trous, toujours des petits trous
Small holes, small holes, always small holes
Des petits trous, des petits trous,
Small holes, small holes
Des petits trous, des petits trous
Small holes, small holes
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., SHAPIRO BERNSTEIN & CO. INC.
Written by: SERGE GAINSBOURG
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