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
Machin choses
Serge Gainsbourg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Moi machin
On se dit des choses
Des machins
Oh pas grand-chose
Des trucs comme ça
Entre Machine
Et moi Machin
Ces machins
Ça la rend chose
Tout ça
Ce sont des trucs
Qui ne s’expliquent pas
Ces jolies choses
Qu’on se dit tout bas
Machins trucs choses
Machins trucs très chouettes
Ces choses qu’on se dit
Machine et moi
Entre Machine
Et moi Machin
Il se passe des choses
Des machins
C’est quelque chose
Ces machin-là
Comme dit Machin,
Comment déjà?
Heu
Y’ a des choses
Qu’on n’ dit pas
Ou quelque chose
Comme ça
The lyrics of Serge Gainsbourg's song "Machins Choses" depict a conversation between two individuals nicknamed "Machine" and "Machin". The title lyrics, "Avec machine, moi machin, on se dit des choses, des machins", translate to "With machine, me machin, we say things, things". The conversation between the two is casual and lighthearted, focusing on the small, insignificant things in life. The lyrics state that these conversations are "trucs" (things), that cannot be explained or put into words, but are very special and meaningful between "Machine" and "Machin".
As the song progresses, the two characters begin to open up more to each other. There are hints of a deeper connection than just a casual conversation between acquaintances; "Il se passe des choses, des machins, c'est quelque chose, ces machins-là" translates to "There are things happening, things, it's something, these things". There is something unspoken between the two, an intimacy that transcends their casual conversation.
Overall, "Machins Choses" is a song about the beauty of human connection, the things that bring people together, and the unspoken bond that can develop between two people. The lyrics may seem simple or insignificant, but they reflect the power of a shared moment between two individuals.
Line by Line Meaning
Avec machine
With Machine
Moi machin
Me, Machin
On se dit des choses
We tell each other things
Des machins
About stuff
Oh pas grand-chose
Oh nothing much
Des trucs comme ça
Just things like that
Entre Machine
Between Machine
Et moi Machin
And me, Machin
C’est autre chose
It's something else
Ces machins
These things
Ça la rend chose
It makes her feel a certain way
Tout ça
All of that
Ce sont des trucs
These are just things
Qui ne s’expliquent pas
That can't be explained
Ces jolies choses
These beautiful things
Qu’on se dit tout bas
That we whisper to each other
Machins trucs choses
Stuff, things, and other things
Machins trucs très chouettes
Really cool stuff and things
Ces choses qu’on se dit
These things we tell each other
Entre Machine
Between Machine
Et moi Machin
And me, Machin
Il se passe des choses
Things happen
Des machins
Other stuff
C’est quelque chose
It's something
Ces machin-là
Those things
Comme dit Machin,
Like Machin said,
Comment déjà?
What was it again?
Heu
Uh
Y’ a des choses
There are things
Qu’on n’ dit pas
That we don't say
Ou quelque chose
Or something like that
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: SERGE GAINSBOURG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@dillatronic4757
Gainsbourg de haut niveau !!! De la Turquie.
@grazinona5358
Je suis une fan de Gainsbourg. Merci Carl 👍
@raoulduke6539
moi idem !!!
@soniagueudre9713
"machin",mot inventé par gainsbourg lui même
@327LZE
"de manière péjorative. Cette utilisation a pour origine une citation de Charles de Gaulle le 10 septembre 1960 à Nantes à propos du Congo : « Le machin qu'on appelle l'ONU ». Charles de Gaulle n'a employé qu'une seule fois cette expression pour désigner l'organisation internationale et des doutes subsistent sur le fait qu'il ait volontairement choisi ce terme pour désigner péjorativement l'ONU" source : wikipédia
@mathayco3809
C'est une reprise de Bachar Mar-Kalifé? OU ce dernier a repris la chanson de Gainsbourg?
@TheVirusBug
"Machins Choses" de Gainsbourg : 1964
Version de Bachar Mar-Kalifé : 2013
Voilà qui devrait répondre à votre question :-)
@Thefrenchiie
Ça ne laisse pas vraiment place au doute en effet haha