Serge Gainsbourg (April 2, 1928 – March 2, 1991) was a French poet-songwrit… Read Full Bio ↴Serge Gainsbourg (April 2, 1928 – March 2, 1991) was a French poet-songwriter, singer, actor, novelist, painter and director. Gainsbourg's varied style and individuality made him difficult to categorize. Although famous in France for many years, he did not achieve his first No. 1 album until 1979, when he released Aux Armes et caetera more than twenty years after his music career had begun. But since the 1980s, his legacy has been firmly established.

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

Torrey Canyon
Serge Gainsbourg Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Je suis né dans les chantiers japonais
En vérité, j'appartiens aux Américains

Une filiale d'une compagnie navale
Dont j'ai oublié l'adresse à Los Angeles

Cent vingt mille tonnes de pétrole brut!
Cent vingt mille tonnes

Dans le Torrey Canyon
Le Torrey Canyon

Aux Bermudes
À trente degré d'latitude
Se tient la Barracuda
Tanker Corporation

Son patron m'a donné en location
À l'Union Oil Company de Californie

Cent vingt mille tonnes de pétrole brut!
Cent vingt mille tonnes
Dans le Torrey Canyon
Le Torrey Canyon

Si je bats pavillon du Liberia
Le captain et les marins sont tous italiens
Le mazout dont on m'a rempli les soutes
C'est celui du consortium British Petroleum

Cent vingt mille tonnes espèces de brutes!
Cent vingt mille tonnes
Dans le Torrey Canyon!
Le Torrey Canyon, le Torrey Canyon!

Le Torrey Canyon, le Torrey Canyon!
Le Torrey Canyon, le Torrey Canyon!

Overall Meaning

The song "Torrey Canyon" by Serge Gainsbourg is a commentary on the real-life oil spill that occurred in 1967 when the oil tanker "Torrey Canyon" crashed on the rocks off the coast of Cornwall, England. The lyrics describe the origins of the ship, how it was rented by the Union Oil Company of California and filled with 120,000 tons of crude oil from the consortium British Petroleum. Gainsbourg highlights the international nature of the ship and those involved, as it was built in Japanese shipyards but ultimately belonged to the Americans. The ship was registered under the flag of Liberia, but the captain and crew were Italian.

The song's chorus, "Cent vingt mille tonnes de pétrole brut!" ("One hundred and twenty thousand tons of crude oil!"), is repeated throughout, emphasizing the magnitude of the disaster. The lyrics are critical of the various corporations and countries involved, highlighting their irresponsibility and disregard for the environment. Gainsbourg's use of the first person voice of the ship itself adds to the song's commentary on blame and responsibility.

Overall, "Torrey Canyon" can be viewed as a warning against the dangers of unchecked industrialization and globalization, and the need for responsibility and accountability in the face of disasters such as oil spills.

Line by Line Meaning

Je suis né dans les chantiers japonais
I was built in Japanese shipyards

En vérité, j'appartiens aux Américains
In truth, I belong to the Americans

Une filiale d'une compagnie navale
A subsidiary of a shipping company

Dont j'ai oublié l'adresse à Los Angeles
Whose address in Los Angeles I have forgotten

Cent vingt mille tonnes de pétrole brut!
One hundred and twenty thousand tonnes of crude oil!

Cent vingt mille tonnes
One hundred and twenty thousand tonnes

Dans le Torrey Canyon
In the Torrey Canyon

Le Torrey Canyon
The Torrey Canyon

Aux Bermudes
At the Bermuda Islands

À trente degré d'latitude
At thirty degrees latitude

Se tient la Barracuda
Stands the Barracuda