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
No Comment
Serge Gainsbourg Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Et quoi d'autre? ((No comment))
Si je baise? Affirmatif
Quoi? Des noms (no comment)
Des salopes? Affirmatif
Des actrices? (No comment)
Des gamines? Affirmatif
De quel âge? (Ooh-ooh-ooh)
(Ooh-ooh-ooh), si j'ai quoi? Affirmatif
Et quoi d'autre? (No comment)
Si je bande? Affirmatif
Pour qui ça? (No comment)
Pour des putes? Affirmatif
Et qui d'autre? (No comment)
Brunes blondes? Affirmatif
Et rouquines? (Ooh-ooh-ooh)
(Ooh-ooh-ooh), si j'ai quoi? Affirmatif
Et quoi d'autre? (No comment)
Si j'assure? Affirmatif
Quoi tout seul? (No comment)
De la technique? Affirmatif
Du doigté? (No comment)
Self control? Affirmatif
Comment ça? (Ooh ooh ooh)
(Ooh-ooh-ooh), si j'ai quoi? Affirmatif
Et quoi d'autre? (No comment)
Si j'aime ça? Affirmatif
Quel côté? (No comment)
Peut importe? Affirmatif
Ce que je préfère? (No comment)
Obsédé? Affirmatif
Sexuel? (ooh-ooh-ooh)
(Ooh-ooh-ooh), si j'ai quoi? Affirmatif
Et quoi d'autre? (No comment)
Si j'assure? Affirmatif
Quoi tout seul? (No comment)
De la technique? Affirmatif
Du doigté? (No comment)
Self control? Affirmatif
Comment ça? (Ooh-ooh-ooh)
(Ooh-ooh-ooh), si j'ai quoi? Affirmatif
Et quoi d'autre? (No comment)
Si j'aime ça? Affirmatif
Quel côté? (No comment)
Peut importe? Affirmatif
Ce que je préfère? (No comment)
Obsédé? Affirmatif
Sexuel? (ooh-ooh-ooh)
(Ooh-ooh-ooh)
(No comment)
(No comment)
(No comment)
(Ooh-ooh-ooh)
(Ooh-ooh-ooh)
(No comment)
(No comment)
(No comment)
(Ooh-ooh-ooh)
(Ooh-ooh-ooh)
(No comment)
(No comment)
(No comment)
(Ooh-ooh-ooh)
The lyrics of Serge Gainsbourg's "No Comment" reflect on questions that are commonly asked about one's sexual life, but without any concrete answers. The lines repeat in the form of questions and responses, each time exchanging one aspect of sexuality for another, with the only response being "no comment." This suggest a sense of rebellion towards societal norms of withholding information about one's sexual life, and encourages a sense of freedom in one's own sexual preferences, desires, and actions.
The repetition of the phrase "no comment" reinforces the idea that one's sexual life is no one's business but their own, and that we should not feel pressured to conform to the expectations of others. The song seems to be a critique of the voyeurism of modern day culture and highlights the importance of personal boundaries and respect for privacy.
Line by Line Meaning
(Ooh-ooh-ooh), si j'ai quoi? Affirmatif
Asking if he has something and the answer is yes
Et quoi d'autre? (No comment)
Asking for additional information and declines to answer
Si je baise? Affirmatif
Asking if he has sex and the answer is yes
Quoi? Des noms (no comment)
Asking with whom he has sex and declines to answer
Des salopes? Affirmatif
Asking if he has sex with sluts and the answer is yes
Des actrices? (No comment)
Asking if he has sex with actresses and declines to answer
Des gamines? Affirmatif
Asking if he has sex with underage girls and the answer is yes
De quel âge? (Ooh-ooh-ooh)
Asking for the age of the girls and declines to answer
(Ooh-ooh-ooh), si j'ai quoi? Affirmatif
Asking if he has something and the answer is yes
Et quoi d'autre? (No comment)
Asking for additional information and declines to answer
Si je bande? Affirmatif
Asking if he gets an erection and the answer is yes
Pour qui ça? (No comment)
Asking for whom he gets an erection and declines to answer
Pour des putes? Affirmatif
Asking if he gets an erection for prostitutes and the answer is yes
Et qui d'autre? (No comment)
Asking for whom else he gets an erection and declines to answer
Brunes blondes? Affirmatif
Asking if he gets an erection for brunettes and blondes and the answer is yes
Et rouquines? (Ooh-ooh-ooh)
Asking if he gets an erection for redheads and declines to answer
(Ooh-ooh-ooh), si j'ai quoi? Affirmatif
Asking if he has something and the answer is yes
Et quoi d'autre? (No comment)
Asking for additional information and declines to answer
Si j'assure? Affirmatif
Asking if he is good at something and the answer is yes
Quoi tout seul? (No comment)
Asking if he is good at something alone and declines to answer
De la technique? Affirmatif
Asking if he is good at the technical aspects of something and the answer is yes
Du doigté? (No comment)
Asking if he is good at the finer points of something and declines to answer
Self control? Affirmatif
Asking if he has self control and the answer is yes
Comment ça? (Ooh ooh ooh)
Asking for an explanation of his self control and declines to answer
(Ooh-ooh-ooh), si j'ai quoi? Affirmatif
Asking if he has something and the answer is yes
Et quoi d'autre? (No comment)
Asking for additional information and declines to answer
Si j'aime ça? Affirmatif
Asking if he likes something and the answer is yes
Quel côté? (No comment)
Asking which aspect of it he likes and declines to answer
Peut importe? Affirmatif
Asking if it matters and the answer is no
Ce que je préfère? (No comment)
Asking what he prefers and declines to answer
Obsédé? Affirmatif
Asking if he is obsessed with something and the answer is yes
Sexuel? (ooh-ooh-ooh)
Asking if his obsession is sexual in nature and declines to answer
(Ooh-ooh-ooh)
(No comment)
(No comment)
(No comment)
(Ooh-ooh-ooh)
(Ooh-ooh-ooh)
(No comment)
(No comment)
(No comment)
(Ooh-ooh-ooh)
(Ooh-ooh-ooh)
(No comment)
(No comment)
(No comment)
(Ooh-ooh-ooh)
Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: Serge Gainsbourg
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kathy F
Plus qu'un génie, c'était un super mec. RESPECT.. Poème avant tout.❤️🙏🙏
Phil Torres
Pas la meilleure du beau Serge !
Kathy F
@Phil Torres Quel est là la meilleure pour vous....
Phil Torres
@Kathy F A peu près toutes sauf celle ci, et Sea Sex nd Sun.
Christian Muller
Dans Gainsbourg, il y a tout. La poésie, l'humour, la provoc, le désespoir, l'amour, le sexe, l'alcool... Gainsbourg, c'est nous tous. Sans faux-nez, beau et laid à la fois. Et puis, il y a le jazz, la java...naise, le reggae, le rock, le funk... Du "Poinçonneur des Lilas" à "Love on the Beat", il a tout compris.. Musicien, compositeur, poète, écrivain, acteur, réalisateur, peintre, " l'homme à la tête de chou " fut avant tout un immense mélodiste et un auteur de génie qui savait manier la langue française avec un talent très personnel
Camille M.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Nathalie H-F
NO COMMENT
Gregory N
Affirmatif
b4b0uche
Un avant-gardiste! Il était trop en avance sur son temps et ses détracteur n’ont jamais pu le comprendre.
Maryse GOSSE
CT 1 génie..