Top Comments: the Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg edition

A look at a past musical duo ... now being remembered, after the jump ….

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This past weekend’s CBS Sunday Morning noted a musical tour by the English-born, French-residing singer and film star Jane Birkin— although today, her name is more associated with a famous Hermés handbag that was created for her (and is much-in-demand, even on Sex and the City). This tour is dedicated to someone who was never her husband but was her great love, the late French singer Serge Gainsbourg— and with her tour set to have its one US performance next week: their story is worth telling.

Jane Birkin was born in London in December, 1946 and came from a noteworthy family: her father was a Royal Navy lieutenant, her mother acted on the West End stage and was the first (in 1940) to premiere the classic ballad (written by her then-boyfriend) A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, and her brother Andrew became a noted film maker — working on a script for an adaptation of Albert Speer’s Inside the Third Reich (which was never made) and working with The Beatles on their Magical Mystery Tour film, among some of his early works.

Jane Birkin married the composer John Barry (who wrote the music for many James Bond films) in 1965 at age eighteen and she says that had the marriage lasted, she would have been content to be his muse (he cast her in the musical Passion Flower Hotel). But he left her for another, and their marriage ended in 1968. In the interim, she had acting roles in several films and became an integral part of the London scene.

 Jane with …. George Harrison and Ringo Starr

Despite not speaking French well, she auditioned for the lead role in the 1969 film Slogan — and worked with Serge Gainsbourg, whom she did not take to at first. She complained about him to her brother, even calling him “Serge Bourguignon”. Yet he became the love of her life, remaining with him until 1980.

He was born Lucien Ginsburg in 1928 in Paris, the son of immigrants (in what is now Ukraine) who fled the Russian Revolution of 1917. His classical pianist father performed in cabarets and casinos, which his son did after the war. First, though, his family had to flee Paris when the Nazis took over, escaping to Limoges which was part of the collaborationist Vichy government, yet still had to wear the yellow Star of David. Before turning to music after the war, he had comparatively little success as a painter.

He chose his stage name thusly: Serge (to reflect his Russian heritage) and Gainsbourg as a French version of the English painter Thomas Gainsborough.

He was an eclectic, hail-fellow-well-met, and as Jane’s brother noted: though disliking the rise of Communism and the Paris student riots, “for all his capitalist airs, Serge was a true socialist: instead of using a wily accountant to save him money, once a year he would walk down to his local tax office and pay his taxes – in full”.

Along with the recently deceased Johnny Hallyday, he is the most well-known French popular musician of the 20th Century, whose songs have been recorded by many others. He wrote over 550 songs, which blended French traditional music with numerous other styles: jazz, reggae and rock (with some writers likening him to Bob Dylan) and were often racy. As one French-born DK poster related to me:

It’s hard to summarize his work except to say that he was one of the most important lyricists of his generation, he made music fun, and he & Juliette Gréco were at the vanguard of Parisian “beat” in the late 50s and 60s.

He met Birkin after he had left an affair with (a then-married) Brigitte Bardot, and asked her to record a song he had written for Bardot, which Brigitte did in 1967 … but later backed-out of, given the subject matter and her marital status. (Bardot later released it herself in 1986). Jane Birkin recorded it with Serge in 1969.

Je T’aime (Moi Non Plus)— “I love you … me neither”) features the two in a love song that … clearly moves into lust. Years before Donna Summer, this song featured sounds of simulated … well, you can hear at this link what was the buzz. Jane Birkin said that she first heard it played in Paris restaurant and diners … stopped dining. The song was banned first by the Vatican, then the BBC …. which ensured its success: #1 in Britain and #2 in Ireland.

During their relationship. Berkin continued to sing and act: appearing in two Agatha Christie films, Death on the Nile (1978) and Evil Under the Sun (1982).

Serge Gainsbourg had two major vices: smoking (five packs daily) and drinking. The first caused a heart attack in 1973 (at only age 45) and the drinking caused both liver surgery and Jane Birkin to leave him in 1980 (as he became increasingly unable to handle liquor). She moved-in with the French director Jacques Doillon, yet Gainsbourg continued to write songs for her.

Serge Gainsbourg died of a heart attack in March, 1991 — one month short of his 63rd birthday. France’s then-president François Mitterrand mourned the loss of “our Baudelaire, our Apollinaire,”  the man who had “elevated song to the level of art.”  A week before he died, he had called Jane Birkin to say that he was going to New Orleans to record a jazz record— entirely something within his abilities.

   Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg

The death of Serge Gainsbourg caused Jane Birkin to fall into despair, and eventually it led to the end of her relationship with Jacques Doillon that year.

Since then she has continued to record and act — with some English language films of note, including A Soldier’s Daughter Never Cries (starring Kris Kristofferson) and her most recent film from 2016, La Femme et le TGV (nominated for an Oscar for short films) which she says will be her last film.

She also spent time with her daughters from her three loves: her daughter Kate (with John Barry) committed suicide in 2013 while battling depression (which sent Birkin into seclusion for a time). Her daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg has had a most successful film and singing career, and her daughter Lou (with Jacques Doillon) has had similar success, winning the French equivalent of a Grammy.

At age 71, Jane Birkin has recorded a symphonic album of Serge Gainsbourg’s best-known works and has been touring with it. Next week (on February 1st) the tour will have its one US performance at Carnegie Hall (with a guest appearance by Rufus Wainwright). 

Jane Birkin on her current world tour One of the songs that Gainsbourg made famous (and Jane Birkin sings on the album, and on tour) is Requiem Pour un Con — “Requiem for a Jerk” is the most often cited translation (and perhaps the mildest). In the original recording (made for a 1968 film Le Pacha) it has a cool-jazz beat … and stinging lyrics. You can hear the (short) fifty year-old original film clip at this link— or hear the more elegant version by Jane Birkin below (with my best guess at translated lyrics).

Listen to the organs They play for you That tune is terrible I hope you like it It's quite beautiful, isn't it? It's the requiem for a jerk

I composed it especially for you In your sordid memory It's a pretty theme You don't find The resemblance to yourself? You poor jerk

x xYouTube Video

Now, on to Top Comments:

From ericlewis0:

In my own diary about the resignation of Trump’s 24-year-old Opioid Czar — I nominate this great comment made by aoeu.  

From Mike the Liberal:

In the diary by Karen Wehrstein about the case that is being built by Robert Mueller— I am nominating this comment from dsnottselliott  …. it’s thorough, informative, and has plenty of background for what he says.  Well done!

And from Ed Tracey, your faithful correspondent this evening ........

In the diary mentioned above by ericlewis0 — about the latest Trumpster aide to be cashiered, the barely-old-enough-to-shave Opioid Czar —  in regards to his next career move, BlueSue notes that in actuality, he is merely being demoted… yet carew388 suggests a different career move may be in order.

TOP PHOTOS January 24th, 2018 Next - enjoy jotter's wonderful *PictureQuilt™* below. Just click on the picture and it will magically take you to the comment that features that photo. (NOTE: Any missing images in the Quilt were removed because (a) they were from an unapproved source that somehow snuck through in the comments, or (b) it was an image from the DailyKos Image Library which didn't have permissions set to allow others to use it.)

And lastly: yesterday's Top Mojo - mega-mojo to the intrepid mik ...... who rescued this feature from oblivion:

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