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
Mes petites odalisques
Serge Gainsbourg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tu m'l'as déjà servie
Si t'as des trous d'mémoire
Pas la peine de l'faire voir
Je la connais par cœur
C'est la même que ta sœur
Toujours la même chanson
Je la connais à fond
C'est toujours l'même disque
Mes p'tites odalisques
Tournez, tournez, tournez en rond
Trent'-trois p'tits tours et puis s'en vont
S'en vont les fredaines
Restent les rengaines
Alors s'en vont les amoureux
Rêver à la chaleur du pieu
Du pieux souvenir de celles
Qui furent un jour infidèles
Parce qu'elles en avaient assez
Assez d'entendre ressasser
Toujours l'même disque
Mes p'tites odalisques
Tournez, tournez, tournez en rond
Comme tourne ma chanson
Toi qu'as la bague au doigt
Si ça te gêne, enlève-la
Et tu pourras au lit
Oublier ton mari
Les rythmes Américains
Nous mettront dans le bain
On tourn'ra en bourrique
Je connais la musique
C'est toujours l'même disque
Mes p'tites odalisques
Tournez, tournez, tournez en rond
Trent'-trois p'tits tours et puis s'en vont
S'en vont en Espagne
Dans nos quarts champagne
Les châteaux que nous avons rêvé
En nous rapp'lant le temps passé
Passé à faire et refaire
Faire et refaire l'inventaire
De tout c'qu'y avait juste en d'ssous
Juste en d'ssous de vos dessous
C'est toujours le même disque
Mais qu'est-ce que tu risques?
Puisque tu sais qu'c'est du bidon
Tu n'as qu'à pas te donner à fond
In Serge Gainsbourg's song "Mes petites odalisques", he speaks to his lover, essentially telling her not to bother telling him about her life because he's heard it all before. The repetition of the same story, the same song, is what he's addressing, and he knows it all by heart. Gainsbourg then goes on to describe how the same old records keep spinning, and how his "petites odalisques" are continuing to turn and turn, like they're stuck in a circle. The lovers keep coming and going, but the same old tunes remain.
Gainsbourg's message in "Mes petites odalisques" is clear - he implores his lover to forget about her duties and her commitments, to take off her wedding ring, and to indulge in their love affair instead. He promises her that the American rhythms will take them on a wild ride, and that it's a song she already knows by heart. But he cautions her, too, to keep herself from giving too much, because she knows it's all a sham.
This song is famous for its catchy melody and its playfulness, but it also has a deeper meaning. It speaks to the human tendency to repeat the same old patterns, in love and in life, and shows how difficult it can be to break free from these cycles. The song is both fun and poignant, and offers a vision of love that is both thrilling and somewhat tragic.
Line by Line Meaning
Ne m'raconte pas ta vie
Don't tell me your life story
Tu m'l'as déjà servie
You've already told it to me
Si t'as des trous d'mémoire
If you have holes in your memory
Pas la peine de l'faire voir
No need to show it
Je la connais par cœur
I know it by heart
C'est la même que ta sœur
It's the same as your sister's
Toujours la même chanson
Always the same song
Je la connais à fond
I know it inside out
C'est toujours l'même disque
It's always the same record
Mes p'tites odalisques
My little harem girls
Tournez, tournez, tournez en rond
Turn, turn, turn around
Trent'-trois p'tits tours et puis s'en vont
33 little turns and then they're gone
S'en vont les fredaines
Frivolities disappear
Restent les rengaines
Only the same old tunes remain
Alors s'en vont les amoureux
So the lovers go away
Rêver à la chaleur du pieu
To dream of warmth in bed
Du pieux souvenir de celles
Of the pious memory of those
Qui furent un jour infidèles
Who were once unfaithful
Parce qu'elles en avaient assez
Because they had enough
Assez d'entendre ressasser
Enough of hearing the same things over and over again
Toi qu'as la bague au doigt
You who wear the ring on your finger
Si ça te gêne, enlève-la
If it bothers you, take it off
Et tu pourras au lit
And you can in bed
Oublier ton mari
Forget your husband
Les rythmes Américains
American rhythms
Nous mettront dans le bain
Will immerse us
On tourn'ra en bourrique
We'll spin around
Je connais la musique
I know the music
S'en vont en Espagne
They go to Spain
Dans nos quarts champagne
In our champagne districts
Les châteaux que nous avons rêvé
The castles we dreamt of
En nous rapp'lant le temps passé
Remembering the past
Passé à faire et refaire
Spent on doing and redoing
Faire et refaire l'inventaire
Doing and redoing the inventory
De tout c'qu'y avait juste en d'ssous
Of everything just below
Juste en d'ssous de vos dessous
Just below your underwear
Mais qu'est-ce que tu risques?
But what do you have to lose?
Puisque tu sais qu'c'est du bidon
Since you know it's fake
Tu n'as qu'à pas te donner à fond
Just don't give it your all
Lyrics © WARNER CHAPPELL MUSIC FRANCE, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: Serge Gainsbourg
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Myckael Ewing
Pas mal ce titre tu as selectionner dans l'intégrale de Serge Gainsbourg car j'ai cette musique dans l'intégrale !
Jonathan Rouah
L'intro est superbe!
G P
Absolument délicieux!
philippe amann
Très fort encore une fois.
cesar massane
Simple .....génial !
ヤドカルコ大帝奇名子
すごい、、
vsp Torn
Il me semble que c'est Francis Claude qui parle au début, ancien directeur du Milord l'Arsouille...
ced95570
il reprend pas son souffle le présentateur ou quoi,
Christian Rose
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