Gainsbourg, on his way to Parnassus ?

 

    "If we are talking about Serge Gainsbourg, then can someone please tell me how Lemon incest is art? I'm confused". That was Courtney's reaction (one of our readers) when I posted the music video of "Comic Strip" sung by Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot. I was more than surprised by this comment because to me, Gainsbourg is a songwriter of genius.  Of course, I know  "Lemon Incest", but it is not the song I would choose as a reference in Gainsbourg's repertoire. First, the lyrics upset me as well as the music video, I mean he is erotizing his own daughter ! And also, I'm neither a fan of the 80's rhythms nor of Gainsbarre. In other words, provocative Gainsbourg yes please ; provocative Gainsbarre no thanks.

    Provocation is recurrent in Gainsbourg's work and it created success as well as lack of understanding, admiration as well as disdain for him. If he managed to disturb people in France, I can only imagine how shocked people were accross the Atlantic ! Courtney being an American college student, her question shouldn't have surprised me. I should have understood her perception of the subject was different only because of her nationality.
    Another noticeable element in Gainsbourg's work is his image. If he is provocative in his texts, he is all the more so in his attitude. Our reader being American, she probably cared about Gainsbourg's character more than the lyrics. Indeed, Gainsbourg constantly putting on a show, so much so that even though one doesn't understand the lyrics of "Lemon Incest",  the video itself is self-explanatory. But as I already told you, provocative Gainsbarre in an  ostentatious way, thanks but no thanks. That is why I would answer to Courtney: "no, Lemon Incest is not art, at least not for me. But I would still add that the music video upsets me more than the lyrics. Lyrics are as important as the video of course but the visual impact is such that it minimizes the meaning of the lyrics."

    As regards provocation, Gainsbourg is way more subtle than Gainsbarre. When I say Gainsbourg, I'm talking about the artist who wasalways wearing a black tux, shaved with well done hair, looking all shy and almost awkward. The artist who always had a cigarett in his hand to put on a blod front. It is the Gainsbourg from the 60's and the 70's that I'm talking about.

    Awkwardness and shyness are two characteristics that he managed to use for the sake of provocation. If I had to choose a song that sums up his personnality, I would choose "Les sucettes" (Lollipops) : it shows his talent in songwriting, performer and his will for provocation. The melody of the song is a bit silly and could mislead us into thinking that the song is a cute song for children and so could the lyrics talking about a girl who like anise lollipops. Take a look at the video:

Serge Gainsbourg Et France Gall - Les Sucettes A... par chirac94

    France Gall is 19 when she sings "Les sucettes" that Gainsbourg wrote especially for her. She is young and naive, her voice is pure and her hair is perfectly done. She is like the perfect little girl. It is then not by chance that  Gainsbourg wrote her that kind of song. Gainsbourg's mark is provocation. When France sings naively "Les sucettes", she is actually describing oral sex. I chose that video because it is not as explicit as Lemon Incest but still shows how Gainsbourg is conducting, you can see it in his gestures and his glance. Please take a look at how he looks at her, at the 44th second with a half-smile that I would translate this way: "you have no idea what you are singing..." (and he was probably laughing mentally).

   To me, that is where lies his genius: in the subtility of his lyrics. For someone who considered singing as a minor art compared to poetry, I feel like he deserves his spot in the Parnassus, sacred place of the poets. I probably exagerate when saying  that, but poetry, no matter the language, is a difficult genre because it is neither sung nor said but recited. Its particularity therefore lies in the rhythm and the sonorities, just like in singing. And Gainsbourg, who used to admire poets like  Paul Verlaine, Guillaume Apollinaire orCharles Baudelaire, was an excellent artist because he cared about the poetic form of his songs. I also think that this can explain why he was so succesful in foreign countries: even if one doesn't understand French, one can hear the sonorities and the rhythms in Gainsbourg's songs.

Shug'A'Very
(translated from French by Absolute B.)