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 Petits Pavés
Serge Gainsbourg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
J'ai lancé deux petits pavés
Sur tes carreaux que j'ai crevés
Mais tu ne m'es pas apparue
Tu te moques de tout, je crois
Tu te moques de tout, je crois
Demain je t'en lancerai trois
Par-devant ta porte cochère
Pour faire tomber tes amis
Trois ou quatre pavés, j'ai mis
J'exècre tes amis, ma chère
Demain, je recommencerai
Demain, je recommencerai
Et tes amants, je les tuerai
Si tu ne changes pas d'allure
J'écraserai tes yeux, ton front
Entre deux pavés qui feront
À ton crâne, quelque fêlure
Je t'aime, je t'aime bien pourtant
Je t'aime, je t'aime bien pourtant
Mais tu m'en as fait tant et tant
Les gendarmes en cavalcade
M'arrêteront après ce coup
Pour me mettre la corde au cou
Je me construis ma barricade
Et sur les pavés je mettrai
Et sur les pavés je mettrai
Mon cœur durci par les regrets
Autant de pavés par le monde
De grands et de petits pavés
Autant de chagrins encavés
Dans ma pauvre âme vagabonde
Je meurs, je meurs de tout cela
Je meurs, je meurs de tout cela
Et ma chanson s'arrête là
The song "Les Petits Pavés" by Serge Gainsbourg is about a man who is fed up with waiting for his lover in the street. In frustration, he throws two small stones at her window, which break the panes of glass but do not bring her out. He believes that she is indifferent to his feelings and that she mocks everything he does. He decides to throw three stones the next day on her doorstep, trying to discredit her in front of her friends. In his anger, he threatens to kill her lovers and smash her skull between two stones, but despite everything, he still loves her.
The lyrics express the singer's feelings of despair, anger, and unrequited love. The stones he throws are symbols of his attempts to communicate and connect with his lover, but they are ineffective. He feels helpless and alone, misunderstood and unappreciated in his relationship. The final lines of the song suggest a sense of resignation and acceptance, as the singer resigns himself to his fate and his heartbreak.
Overall, "Les Petits Pavés" is a powerful and emotional song about the struggles of love and relationships. It highlights the pain that can come from unrequited love, and the difficulty of communicating one's feelings effectively. The imagery of the stones is powerful, representing both the singer's attempts to make himself known and his internal struggles with despair and heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
Las de t'attendre dans la rue
Tired of waiting for you in the street
J'ai lancé deux petits pavés
I threw two small paving stones
Sur tes carreaux que j'ai crevés
And smashed your tiles
Mais tu ne m'es pas apparue
But you did not appear for me
Tu te moques de tout, je crois
I believe you mock everything
Tu te moques de tout, je crois
I believe you mock everything
Demain je t'en lancerai troi
Tomorrow I will throw three
Par-devant ta porte cochère
In front of your gate
Pour faire tomber tes amis
To bring down your friends
Trois ou quatre pavés, j'ai mis
I placed three or four paving stones
J'exècre tes amis, ma chère
I loathe your friends, my dear
Demain, je recommencerai
Tomorrow, I will do it again
Demain, je recommencerai
Tomorrow, I will do it again
Et tes amants, je les tuerai
And I will kill your lovers
Si tu ne changes pas d'allure
If you don't change your ways
J'écraserai tes yeux, ton front
I will crush your eyes and your forehead
Entre deux pavés qui feront
Between two paving stones that will
À ton crâne, quelque fêlure
Cause some cracks on your skull
Je t'aime, je t'aime bien pourtant
I love you, I really do
Je t'aime, je t'aime bien pourtant
I love you, I really do
Mais tu m'en as fait tant et tant
But you have caused me so much pain
Les gendarmes en cavalcade
The police riding fast
M'arrêteront après ce coup
Will arrest me after this hit
Pour me mettre la corde au cou
To hang me
Je me construis ma barricade
I am building my barricade
Et sur les pavés je mettrai
And on the paving stones, I will place
Mon cœur durci par les regrets
My heart hardened by regrets
Autant de pavés par le monde
As many paving stones around the world
De grands et de petits pavés
Big and small paving stones
Autant de chagrins encavés
As many hidden sorrows
Dans ma pauvre âme vagabonde
In my poor wandering soul
Je meurs, je meurs de tout cela
I am dying, I am dying of all this
Je meurs, je meurs de tout cela
I am dying, I am dying of all this
Et ma chanson s'arrête là
And my song ends here
Contributed by Isabelle F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
user675
Pouvez vous poster votre archive de Gainsbourg des mots inutiles s’il vous plaît !! J’aimerai tellement la voir plus accessiblement sur YouTube
Helvete
Il est magnifique
Marina Hargrove
Mais quelle classe
Michel Davesnes
Le compositeur n'est pas Pierre Delmet mais Paul Delmet.
Daniel Bouju
Oui,plutôt.
francois huglo
Les versions Mouloudji et Nougaro sont très belles, mais quand on entend celle de Gainsbourg, on se dit qu'il pourrait avoir écrit cette chanson (ou si vous préférez : qu'il aurait pu l'écrire). C'est dans ses cordes : celles où s'effondre le boxeur K.O.
RAMLIA1
❤️❤️❤️
Sophie Clain
😂🤣
David B
Texte épouvantable de nos jours. Violence extrême contre les femmes. L’amour fou destructeur. La folie. Mais ne faut pas censurer pour autant. Il faut cependant bien en prendre conscience. Mélodie magnifique, encore plus dans les arrangements de Nougaro.