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
Les Oubliettes
Serge Gainsbourg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Du pauvre poète
Se valsent musette
Dans les caboulots
Se valse musette
Le pauvre poète
Pour les gigolettes
Et les gigolos
Dieu que je regrette
Mes larmes fillette
Ce vin malhonnête
Qui monte au cerveau
Y a belle lurette
Que je n'ai plus cette
Fameuse piquette
Derrière mes fagots
Le pâle squelette
De mes amourettes
Joue des castagnettes
Comme un hidalgo
La nuit est longuette
Du pauvre poète
Voyez mes poulettes
Il a les grelots
Dans chaque guinguette
J'ai cherché Juliette
Je n'ai je regrette
Que trouvé Margot
De ces amourettes
Que l'on pickpockette
Sous sa chemisette
J'en ai plein le dos
S'il faut à perpète
Qu'à l'aube on regrette
Vaut mieux qu'on s'arrête
Mes petits oiseaux
Venez mignonnettes
Dans mes oubliettes
Que je vous y mette
Au pain et à l'eau
Les regrets fillettes
Du pauvre poète
Se valsent musette
Dans les caboulots
Se valse musette
Le pauvre poète
Pour les gigolettes
Et les gigolos
The song "Les Oubliettes" by Serge Gainsbourg tells the story of a poor poet who spends his nights drinking in cabarets, reminiscing about lost loves and regrets. The chorus describes the musette waltzes that play in these establishments, and how the poet waltzes with gigolettes (prostitutes) and gigolos (male prostitutes).
The first verse talks about the regrets of the poor poet, and how they dance to the musette waltzes in cabarets. The second verse is about the poet's regret for the life he has lived and the dishonest wine that he drinks. He talks about the women he has loved and lost, and how they are now just pale skeletons. The third verse is about the poet's search for love in the cabarets but finding only disappointment. He laments that he has only found Margot instead of Juliette, and that the pickpockets have taken all his love away.
The song captures the essence of the despair and loneliness of the poor poet, and how he finds solace in drinking and dancing with the gigolettes and gigolos. The musette-inspired sound of the song adds to the feeling of nostalgia and longing for a simpler time.
Line by Line Meaning
Les regrets fillettes
The girlish regrets
Du pauvre poète
Of the poor poet
Se valsent musette
Waltzing musette
Dans les caboulots
In the bars
Se valse musette
Waltz musette
Le pauvre poète
The poor poet
Pour les gigolettes
For the chorus girls
Et les gigolos
And the gigolos
Dieu que je regrette
God, how I regret
Mes larmes fillette
My girlish tears
Ce vin malhonnête
This dishonest wine
Qui monte au cerveau
That rises to the brain
Y? a belle lurette
It's been a long time
Que je n?ai plus cette
That I no longer have this
Fameuse piquette
Famous cheap wine
Derrière mes fagots
Behind my logs
Le pâle squelette
The pale skeleton
De mes amourettes
Of my love affairs
Joue des castagnettes
Plays castanets
Comme un hidalgo
Like a Spanish nobleman
La nuit est longuette
The night is quite long
Du pauvre poète
For the poor poet
Voyez mes poulettes
See my chicks
Il a les grelots
He has the jitters
Dans chaque guinguette
In each guinguette
J?ai cherché Juliette
I looked for Juliette
Je n?ai je regrette
I regret that I didn't
Que trouvé Margot
Find only Margot
De ces amourettes
Of these love affairs
Que l?on pickpockette
That are pickpocketed
Sous sa chemisette
Under her blouse
J?en ai plein le dos
I am sick of it
S?il faut à perpète
If we must forever
Qu?à l?aube on regrette
Regret at dawn
Vaut mieux qu?on s?arrête
It's better to stop
Mes petits oiseaux
My little birds
Venez mignonnettes
Come, my darlings
Dans mes oubliettes
In my oubliettes
Que je vous y mette
I will put you there
Au pain et à l?eau
On bread and water
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Serge Gainsbourg
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@yacineskottich
Les regrets fillettes
Du pauvre poète
Se valsent musette
Dans les caboulots
Se valse musette
Le pauvre poète
Pour les gigolettes
Et les gigolos
Dieu que je regrette
Mes larmes fillette
Ce vin malhonnête
Qui monte au cerveau
Y a belle lurette
Que je nai plus cette
Fameuse piquette
Derrière mes fagots
Le pâle squelette
De mes amourettes
Joue des castagnettes
Comme un hidalgo
La nuit est longuette
Du pauvre poète
Voyez mes poulettes
Il a les grelots
Dans chaque guinguette
Jai cherché Juliette
Je nai je regrette
Que trouvé Margot
De ces amourettes
Que lon pickpockette
Sous sa chemisette
Jen ai plein le dos
Sil faut à perpète
Quà laube on regrette
Vaut mieux quon sarrête
Mes petits oiseaux
Venez mignonnettes
Dans mes oubliettes
Que je vous y mette
Au pain et à leau
@saint-paulmahi5396
Les regrets fillettes
Du pauvre poète
Se valsent musette
Dans les caboulots
Se valse musette
Le pauvre poète
Pour les gigolettes
Et les gigolos
Dieu que je regrette
Mes larmes fillette
Ce vin malhonnête
Qui monte au cerveau
Y a belle lurette
Que je n'ai plus cette
Fameuse piquette
Derrière mes fagots
Le pâle squelette
De mes amourettes
Joue des castagnettes
Comme un hidalgo
La nuit est longuette
Du pauvre poète
Voyez mes poulettes
Il a les grelots
Dans chaque guinguette
J'ai cherché Juliette
Je n'ai je regrette
Que trouvé Margot
De ces amourettes
Que l'on pickpockette
Sous sa chemisette
J'en ai plein le dos
S'il faut à perpète
Qu'à l'aube on regrette
Vaut mieux qu'on s'arrête
Mes petits oiseaux
Venez mignonnettes
Dans mes oubliettes
Que je vous y mette
Au pain et à l'eau
Les regrets fillettes
Du pauvre poète
Se valsent musette
Dans les caboulots
Se valse musette
Le pauvre poète
Pour les gigolettes
Et les gigolos
@alexdesslin
sacré poète,
l'ami caouète,
et la trompette
fais une belle fête
à ta chansonnette !!
@Lithana69
Fabuleux poète, jamais d'oubliette, on chante à perpète... Rien ne va dans l'eau
@richardsimplon8772
Le texte est un petit bijou de français comme "Comment te dire adieu" chanté par Françoise Hardy.
@jeanclaude2179
Il est unique ,jadore sa voix sa music
@haidyelgamal220
Beautiful ❤️
@darius1976
De La Soul brought me here. Awesome!!! new fan of Serge.
@pedro.sh101
talking bout hey love
@Qwme5
#خلي_بالك_من_زيزي
@kaitokid9453
+1
@bonboona8
+2