Editing Serge Gainsbourg (section)

== Biography ==

=== 1928–1956: Early years ===
Serge Gainsbourg was born in Paris on 2 April 1928. He was the son of [[Russian-Jewish]]<ref name="Forward" /> immigrants, Joseph and Olga{{efn|Short version: Olia, his mother's baptist name was Olga, as written on [[:Image:Serge Gainsbourg Grave.jpg|Gainsbourg's grave]]}} Ginsburg,<ref name="Salon">{{cite web |first=Sylvie|last=Simmons|title=Tolstoy's granddaughter. Dali's sleek couch. How Serge Gainsbourg became Serge Gainsbourg |date=6 June 2015 |url=https://www.salon.com/2015/06/05/tolstoys_granddaughter_dalis_sleek_couch_how_serge_gainsbourg_became_serge_gainsbourg/ |website=[[Salon (website)|Salon]] |access-date=22 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203012942/https://www.salon.com/2015/06/05/tolstoys_granddaughter_dalis_sleek_couch_how_serge_gainsbourg_became_serge_gainsbourg/ |archive-date=3 December 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref> who fled to Paris via [[Istanbul]] after the 1917 [[Russian Revolution]].<ref name="Forward">{{cite web |last1=Ivry |first1=Benjamin |title=The Man With the Yellow Star: The Jewish Life of Serge Gainsbourg |url=https://forward.com/culture/14621/the-man-with-the-yellow-star-02882/ |website=[[The Forward]] |access-date=3 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310012424/https://forward.com/culture/14621/the-man-with-the-yellow-star-02882/ |archive-date=10 March 2021 |date=26 November 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> Joseph met Olga during his stay in [[Crimea]], and they later married. Olga was a singer born in Crimea under the [[Russian Empire]], and Joseph was a classically trained pianist who performed primarily at cabarets and casinos. Joseph taught Serge and his twin sister Liliane to play the piano.<ref name="vanityfair.com" />

Gainsbourg's childhood was profoundly affected by the [[German military administration in occupied France during World War II|occupation of France]] by Germany during [[World War II]]. The identifying [[yellow badge|yellow star]] that Jews were required to wear haunted Gainsbourg; in later years he was able to transmute this memory into creative inspiration.<ref name="Forward" /> During the occupation, the Ginsburg family fled from Paris to [[Limoges]] using forged documents. At the time, Limoges was part of [[zone libre]], an area of France governed by the [[Vichy government|Vichy regime]] that was not occupied by Germany, but it became unsafe for Jews after Germany eventually [[Case Anton|occupied]] the area in 1942.<ref name="vanityfair.com" />

Serge attended [[Lycée Condorcet]] in Paris, but dropped out before completing his ''[[Baccalauréat]]''.<ref name="Salon" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/13/anger-over-plan-to-name-metro-station-after-misogynist-serge-gainsbourg|title=Anger over plan to name Métro station after 'misogynist' Serge Gainsbourg|work=the guardian|date=13 December 2023 |last1=Chrisafis |first1=Angelique }}</ref> In 1945, Gainsbourg's father enrolled him in [[Beaux-Arts de Paris]], a prestigious art school.<ref name="Salon" /> Serge later transferred to the Académie de Montmartre, where his professors included the likes of [[André Lhote]] and [[Fernand Léger]].<ref name="RTL">{{cite web |last1=Giuliani |first1=Morgane |date=2 March 2016 |title=Serge Gainsbourg : 9 lieux à visiter à Paris pour mieux connaître le chanteur |url=https://www.rtl.fr/culture/musique/serge-gainsbourg-9-lieux-a-visiter-a-paris-pour-mieux-connaitre-le-chanteur-7782155235 |publisher=[[RTL (French radio)|RTL]] |access-date=22 January 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128205534/https://www.rtl.fr/culture/musique/serge-gainsbourg-9-lieux-a-visiter-a-paris-pour-mieux-connaitre-le-chanteur-7782155235 |archive-date=28 January 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Searle |first1=Adrian |title=Fernand Léger: New Times, New Pleasures review – humanity in a machine age |date=25 November 2018 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/nov/25/fernand-leger-new-times-new-pleasures-tate-liverpool-adrian-searle |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=22 January 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218072649/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/nov/25/fernand-leger-new-times-new-pleasures-tate-liverpool-adrian-searle |archive-date=18 December 2020}}</ref> There, Gainsbourg met his first wife, Elisabeth "Lize" Levitsky, the daughter of [[Russian aristocracy|Russian aristocrat]]s and a part-time model.<ref name="Salon" /> Serge and Lize were married on November 3, 1951, and the marriage ended in divorce in 1957.<ref name="Salon" />

In 1948, Serge was conscripted by the military for twelve months of service in [[Courbevoie]]. He never saw action, spending his time playing dirty songs on guitar, visiting prostitutes, and drinking. Serge later claimed that the military service turned him into an alcoholic.<ref name="Salon" /> Gainsbourg obtained work teaching music and painting at a school in [[Le Mesnil-le-Roi]], just outside of Paris. The school was founded under the auspices of local rabbis to serve the orphaned children of murdered deportees. Here, Gainsbourg heard accounts of Nazi Germany's acts of persecution and genocide, and these stories inspired his songwriting several decades later.<ref name="Forward" />

===1957–1963: Early work as a pianist and chanson singer===
Gainsbourg was disillusioned with his school painting gig and instead moved on to working odd jobs playing the piano in bars, usually as a stand-in for his father.<ref name="Salon" /> He soon became the venue pianist at the drag cabaret club [[Madame Arthur]].<ref name="Coggle">{{cite web |title=Discovering Serge Gainsbourg's Paris |date=March 2018 |url=https://www.coggles.com/life/culture/discovering-serge-gainsbourgs-paris/ |publisher=[[Coggle]] |access-date=22 January 2021|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128034839/https://www.coggles.com/life/culture/discovering-serge-gainsbourgs-paris/ |archive-date=28 January 2021}}</ref> Whilst filling in a form to join the songwriting society [[SACEM]], Gainsbourg decided to change his first name to Serge. According to his future partner [[Jane Birkin]], "Lucien reminded him of a hairdresser's assistant."<ref name="vanityfair.com" /> He chose Gainsbourg as his last name, an homage to the English painter [[Thomas Gainsborough]], whom he admired.

Gainsbourg had a revelation when he saw [[Boris Vian]] performing at the Milord l'Arsouille club, whose provocative and humorous songs would influence Serge's own compositions.<ref>''L'Arc'' Journal (#90) special issue devoted to Boris Vian, 1984</ref> At the Milord l'Arsouille, Gainsbourg accompanied singer and club star [[Michèle Arnaud]] on the guitar.<ref name="RTL" /> In 1957, Arnaud and the club's director Francis Claude discovered Gainsbourg's compositions while visiting his home to see his paintings. The next day, Claude urged Gainsbourg to perform on stage on his own. Despite his stage fright, Gainsbourg performed his own repertoire, including "Le Poinçonneur des Lilas,"<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rollet |first1=Thierry |title=Léo Ferré an artist's life |date=26 July 2018 |page=196}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Verlant |first1=Gilles |title=Gainsbourg |date=15 November 2000 |publisher=Albin Michel |pages=132 to 134}}</ref> which describes a day in the life of a [[Paris Métro]] ticket man, whose job is to validate passenger tickets by stamping holes in them. In the song, the job is described as so monotonous, that the ticket man eventually thinks of putting a hole through his head and being buried in another hole.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Grabar |first1=Henry |date=12 April 2013 |title=Could Paris End Up With a Metro Station Named After Serge Gainsbourg? |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-04-12/could-paris-end-up-with-a-metro-station-named-after-serge-gainsbourg |publisher=[[Bloomberg News|Bloomberg CityLab]] |access-date=22 January 2021}}</ref> After the debut, Serge was given a steady performance segment at the club, where he was eventually spotted by talent agent [[Jacques Canetti]], who helped advance Gainsbourg's career with a regular performance segment at the Théâtre des Trois Baudets, as well as by touring.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kirkup |first1=James |title=Obituary: Jacques Canetti |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/obituary-jacques-canetti-5563624.html |website=[[The Independent]] |access-date=4 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210504005907/https://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/obituary-jacques-canetti-5563624.html |archive-date=4 May 2021 |date=10 June 1997 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1958, Arnaud began recording several interpretations of Gainsbourg's songs.

His debut album, ''[[Du chant à la une !...]]'' (1958), was recorded in the summer of 1958, backed by arranger [[Alain Goraguer]] and his orchestra, beginning a fruitful collaboration. It was released in September, becoming a commercial and critical failure, despite winning the grand prize at [[Académie Charles Cros|L'Academie Charles Cross]] and the praise of Boris Vian, who compared him to [[Cole Porter]].<ref name="Encyclopedia.com">{{cite web |title=Serge Gainsbourg |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/serge-gainsbourg |publisher=[[Encyclopedia.com]] |access-date=4 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419135626/https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/serge-gainsbourg |archive-date=19 April 2021 |date=29 May 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> His next album, ''[[N° 2]]'' (1959), suffered a similar fate. He made his film debut in 1959 with a supporting role in the French-Italian co-production ''[[Come Dance with Me (1959 film)|Come Dance with Me]]'', starring his future lover [[Brigitte Bardot]].{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=31}} In the following year, he featured as a Roman officer in the Italian [[sword-and-sandal]]s epic-film ''[[The Revolt of the Slaves]]''.<ref name="ActingRoles">{{cite web |last1=Morain |first1=Jean-Baptiste |title=Gainsbourg et le cinéma : je t'aime, moi non plus... |url=https://www.lesinrocks.com/musique/gainsbourg-et-le-cinema-je-taime-moi-non-plus-157608-22-02-2021/ |website=[[Les Inrockuptibles]] |access-date=3 June 2021 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603223026/https://www.lesinrocks.com/musique/gainsbourg-et-le-cinema-je-taime-moi-non-plus-157608-22-02-2021/ |archive-date=3 June 2021 |date=23 February 2021}}</ref> He would continue playing "nasty characters" in similar productions, including ''[[Samson (1961 Italian film)|Samson]]'' (1961) and ''[[The Fury of Hercules]]'' (1962).{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=34}} Gainsbourg's first commercial success came in 1960 with his single "L'Eau à la bouche", the title song from the [[L'eau a la bouche|film of the same name]], for which he had composed the score.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dale |first1=Paul |title=Five Great Serge Gainsbourg film soundtracks |url=https://www.list.co.uk/article/27331-five-great-serge-gainsbourg-film-soundtracks/ |website=[[The List (magazine)|The List]] |access-date=3 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308140051/https://www.list.co.uk/article/27331-five-great-serge-gainsbourg-film-soundtracks/ |archive-date=8 March 2021 |date=23 July 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[L'Étonnant Serge Gainsbourg]]'' (1961), his third LP, included what would become one of his best known songs from this period, "La Chanson de Prévert", which lifted lyrics from the [[Jacques Prévert]] poem "Les feuilles mortes".<ref name="10ofBest">{{cite web |last1=Allen |first1=Jeremy |date=15 January 2014 |title=10 of the best: Serge Gainsbourg |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/jan/15/10-of-the-best-serge-gainsbourg |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=22 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210401002645/https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/jan/15/10-of-the-best-serge-gainsbourg |archive-date=1 April 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> After a night of drinking champagne and dancing with singer [[Juliette Gréco]], Gainsbourg went home and wrote "[[La Javanaise]]" for her.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Guyard |first1=Bertrand |date=24 September 2020 |title=Ne vous déplaise, Serge Gainsbourg a écrit La Javanaise pour Juliette Gréco |url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/musique/ne-vous-deplaise-serge-gainsbourg-a-ecrit-la-javanaise-pour-juliette-greco-20200924 |website=[[Le Figaro]] |access-date=23 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126062120/https://www.lefigaro.fr/musique/ne-vous-deplaise-serge-gainsbourg-a-ecrit-la-javanaise-pour-juliette-greco-20200924 |archive-date=26 January 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> They would both release versions of the song in 1962, but it is Gainsbourg's rendition that has endured.<ref name="10ofBest" /> His fourth album, ''[[Serge Gainsbourg N° 4]]'' was released in 1962, incorporating Latin and rock and roll influences whilst his next, ''[[Gainsbourg Confidentiel]]'' (1963), featured a more minimalistic jazz approach, accompanied only by a double bass and electric guitar.<ref>{{cite web |title=Serge Gainsbourg No. 4 |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/no-4-mw0000739762 |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=3 June 2021}}</ref><ref name="Spectrum">{{cite web |last1=Bromfield |first1=Daniel |title=Serge Gainsbourg: Gainsbourg Confidentiel |url=https://spectrumculture.com/2019/01/06/serge-gainsbourg-gainsbourg-confidentiel-review/ |website=Spectrum Culture |access-date=3 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603231714/https://spectrumculture.com/2019/01/06/serge-gainsbourg-gainsbourg-confidentiel-review/ |archive-date=3 June 2021 |date=6 January 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== 1963–1966: Eurovision and involvement in the yé-yé movement ===
[[File:Eurovision Song Contest 1965 - Serge Gainsbourg, France Gall & Mario del Monaco.jpg|thumb|Gainsbourg, Gall, and del Monaco at the Eurovision Song Contest, 20 March 1965]]
Despite initially mocking [[yé-yé]], a style of French pop typically sung by young female singers, Gainsbourg would soon become one of its most important figures after writing a string of hits for artists like Brigitte Bardot, [[Petula Clark]] and [[France Gall]].<ref name="Haaretz">{{cite web |last1=B. Green |first1=David |title=This Day in Jewish History 1991: Controversial French Singer Serge Gainsbourg Dies |url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-1991-serge-gainsbourg-dies-1.5327754 |website=[[Haaretz]] |access-date=3 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025002137/https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-1991-serge-gainsbourg-dies-1.5327754 |archive-date=25 October 2020 |date=2 March 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> He had met Gall after being introduced by a friend as they were [[Philips Records]] labelmates,{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=42}} thus beginning a successful collaboration that would produce hits like "N'écoute pas les idoles", the frequently covered "[[Laisse tomber les filles]]", and "[[Poupée de cire, poupée de son]]", the latter of which was the [[Luxembourg in the Eurovision Song Contest 1965|Luxembourgish winning entry]] at the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1965]].<ref name="GallObit">{{cite web |last1=Genzlinger |first1=Neil |title=France Gall, Adaptable French Singing Star, Is Dead at 70 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/08/obituaries/france-gall-french-singing-star-dead-at-70.html |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=3 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421004035/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/08/obituaries/france-gall-french-singing-star-dead-at-70.html |archive-date=21 April 2021 |date=8 January 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Inspired by the 4th movement (Prestissimo in F minor) from [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]'s ''[[Piano Sonata No. 1 (Beethoven)|Piano Sonata No. 1]]'', the song featured [[double entendre]]s and wordplay, a staple of Gainsbourg's lyrics.<ref name="ParisMatch">{{cite web |last1=Mahé |first1=Patrick |title=Gainsbourg, le dandy des mots |url=https://www.parismatch.com/Culture/Musique/Serge-Gainsbourg-le-dandy-des-mots-1720560 |website=[[Paris Match]] |access-date=3 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307071329/https://www.parismatch.com/Culture/Musique/Serge-Gainsbourg-le-dandy-des-mots-1720560 |archive-date=7 March 2021 |date=15 January 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> The controversially risqué "[[Les sucettes]]" ("Lollipops"), featured references to [[oral sex]], unbeknownst to the 18-year-old Gall, who thought the song was about lollipops.<ref name="GallObit" /> In 2001, Gall expressed displeasure at Gainsbourg's earlier antics, stating she felt "betrayed by the adults around me."<ref>{{cite web |date=6 January 2010 |title=France Gall & Serge Gainsbourg – The story behind "Les Sucettes" |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9ajuEVNfb0 | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/A9ajuEVNfb0| archive-date=30 October 2021|via=YouTube |access-date=3 June 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Gainsbourg married a second time on 7 January 1964, to Françoise-Antoinette "Béatrice" Pancrazzi, with whom he had two children: a daughter named Natacha (b. 8 August 1964) and a son, Paul (born in spring 1968).<ref name="Wives">{{cite web |last1=Marain |first1=Alexandre |title=Serge Gainsbourg: the 8 women in his life |url=https://www.vogue.fr/culture/a-voir/story/8-femmes-marquantes-dans-la-vie-de-serge-gainsbourg-brigitte-bardot-jane-birkin-catherine-deneuve/3259 |website=[[Vogue France|Vogue Paris]] |access-date=3 May 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210408055402/https://www.vogue.fr/culture/a-voir/story/8-femmes-marquantes-dans-la-vie-de-serge-gainsbourg-brigitte-bardot-jane-birkin-catherine-deneuve/3259 |archive-date=8 April 2021 |date=2 April 2021}}</ref> He divorced Béatrice in February 1966.<ref name="Wives" />

His next album, ''[[Gainsbourg Percussions]]'' (1964), was inspired by the rhythms and melodies of African musicians [[Miriam Makeba]] and [[Babatunde Olatunji]].<ref name="Percussions">{{cite web |last1=Tangari |first1=Joe |title=Serge Gainsbourg Gainsbourg Percussions |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15717-gainsbourg-percussions/ |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |access-date=3 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210402135239/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15717-gainsbourg-percussions/ |archive-date=2 April 2021 |date=11 August 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Olatunji later sued Gainsbourg for lifting three tracks from his 1960 album ''[[Drums of Passion]]''.{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=40}} Nevertheless, the album has been hailed as being ahead of its time for its incorporation of world music and lyrical content depicting interracial love.<ref name="Percussions" /> Between 1965 and 1966, Gainsbourg composed the music and sang the words of science fiction writer [[André Ruellan]] for several songs made for a series of animated ''Marie-Mathematics'' shorts created by [[Jean-Claude Forest]].<ref name="Marie">{{cite web |last1=Loret |first1=Eric |title=When Gainsbourg fooled around with Barbarella's sister |url=https://www.liberation.fr/musique/2011/02/18/quand-gainsbourg-fricotait-avec-la-soeur-de-barbarella_715984/ |website=[[Libération]] |access-date=6 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210706013220/https://www.liberation.fr/musique/2011/02/18/quand-gainsbourg-fricotait-avec-la-soeur-de-barbarella_715984/ |archive-date=6 July 2021 |date=18 February 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> He would reunite with Michèle Arnaud for the duet "Les Papillons noirs" from her 1966 comeback record.{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=44}}

=== 1967–1970: Famous muses and duets ===
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In 1967, Gainsbourg wrote the script and provided the soundtrack for the musical comedy television film ''[[Anna (1967 film)|Anna]]'' starring [[Anna Karina]] in the titular role.<ref name="Anna">{{cite web |last1=Whitmore |first1=Greg |title=Anna Karina, French new wave icon – a life in pictures |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/gallery/2019/dec/15/anna-karina-french-new-wave-icon-godard-a-life-in-pictures |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=22 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210714082939/https://www.theguardian.com/film/gallery/2019/dec/15/anna-karina-french-new-wave-icon-godard-a-life-in-pictures |archive-date=14 July 2021 |date=15 December 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=44}} Another Gainsbourg song, "[[Boum-Badaboum]]" by [[Minouche Barelli]], was entered by [[Monaco]] in the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1967]], coming in fifth place.{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=44}} In that year, Gainsbourg would have a brief but ardent love affair with [[Brigitte Bardot]]. One day she asked him to write the most beautiful love song he could imagine and, that night, he wrote the duets "{{Lang|fr|[[Je t'aime... moi non plus]]}}" and "[[Bonnie and Clyde (Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot song)|Bonnie and Clyde]]" for her.<ref name="FT">{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Helen |title=How Serge Gainsbourg's Je t'aime . . . moi non plus whipped up a scandal |url=https://www.ft.com/content/868b5554-33f0-11e7-99bd-13beb0903fa3 |website=[[Financial Times]] |access-date=22 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525033025/https://www.ft.com/content/868b5554-33f0-11e7-99bd-13beb0903fa3 |archive-date=25 May 2021 |date=8 May 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The erotic yet cynical "Je t'aime", describing the hopelessness of physical love, was recorded by the pair in a small glass booth in Paris but after Bardot's husband, German businessman [[Gunter Sachs]], became aware of the recording, he demanded it be withdrawn. Bardot pleaded with Gainsbourg not to release it, and he complied.<ref name="SimmonsGuardian" />

Bardot's LP ''Brigitte Bardot Show 67'' contained four songs penned by Gainsbourg, including duets such as the playful "Comic Strip" and the string-laden "Bonnie and Clyde", which tells the story of the [[Bonnie and Clyde|American criminal couple]] and was based on a poem written by Bonnie Parker herself.<ref name="Fact" /> His own ''[[Initials B.B.]]'' (1968) included these duets and was his first album in nearly four years. It blended orchestral pop with the style of rock characteristic of London in the [[Swinging Sixties]], where the album was largely recorded.<ref name="200Best">{{cite web |author1=''Pitchfork'' Staff |title=The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-200-best-albums-of-the-1960s/?page=5 |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |access-date=22 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411001647/https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-200-best-albums-of-the-1960s/?page=5 |archive-date=11 April 2021 |date=22 August 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Gainsbourg borrowed heavily from [[Antonín Dvořák]]'s ''[[Symphony No. 9 (Dvořák)|New World Symphony]]'' for the title track, named after and dedicated to Bardot.<ref name="10ofBest" /> Phillips subsidiary [[Fontana Records]] also issued the compilation LP ''[[Bonnie and Clyde (Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot album)|Bonnie and Clyde]]'' (1968) comprising their duets and other previously recorded material.<ref name="Bonnie and Clyde">{{cite web |last1=Neate |first1=Wilson |title=Bonnie and Clyde |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/bonnie-clyde-mw0000803674?1626967460355 |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=22 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210722162717/https://www.allmusic.com/album/bonnie-clyde-mw0000803674?1626967460355 |archive-date=22 July 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

His percussion-heavy 1968 single "Requiem pour un con" was performed onscreen by Gainsbourg in the crime film ''[[Pasha (film)|Le Pacha]]'', for which he was the composer.<ref name="Pasha">{{cite web |last1=Banerji |first1=Atreyi |title=Watch refurbished footage of Serge Gainsbourg in 'Le Pacha' |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/serge-gainsbourg-le-pacha-watch/ |website=Far Out |access-date=22 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301042623/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/serge-gainsbourg-le-pacha-watch/ |archive-date=1 March 2021 |date=8 February 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> Shortly after being left by Bardot, Gainsbourg was asked by [[Françoise Hardy]] to write a French version of the song "It Hurts to Say Goodbye". The result was "[[Comment te dire adieu]]", which is notable for its uncommon rhymes and has become one of Hardy's signature songs.<ref name="Comment">{{cite web |last1=Martin |first1=Anthony |title=Françoise Hardy: discover the original version of "Comment te dire adieu" |url=https://www.rtl.fr/culture/musique/francoise-hardy-decouvrez-la-version-originale-de-comment-te-dire-adieu-7800917085 |publisher=[[RTL (French radio)|RTL]] |access-date=22 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223125138/https://www.rtl.fr/culture/musique/francoise-hardy-decouvrez-la-version-originale-de-comment-te-dire-adieu-7800917085 |archive-date=23 February 2021 |date=5 November 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Anna-Karina-Italie.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Anna Karina]], in 1967, for whom he wrote the musical pop opera film ''[[Anna (1967 film)|Anna]]'' for television that year]]

In mid-1968 Gainsbourg started a relationship with English singer and actress [[Jane Birkin]], 18 years his junior, whom he met when she was cast as his co-star in ''[[Slogan (film)|Slogan]]'' (1969).<ref name="vanityfair.com" /> In the film, Gainsbourg starred as a commercial director who has an affair behind the back of his pregnant wife with a younger woman, played by Birkin.{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=50}} Gainsbourg also provided the soundtrack and dueted with Birkin on the title theme "La Chanson de Slogan". The relationship would last for over a decade.<ref name="Charlotte">{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |title=French Chanteuse Charlotte Gainsbourg |url=http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1956411,00.html#ixzz1Va7NJr9U |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100129050454/http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1956411,00.html?#ixzz1Va7NJr9U |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 January 2010 |first=William Lee |last=Adams |date=26 January 2010}}</ref> In July 1971 they had a daughter, [[Charlotte Gainsbourg|Charlotte]], who would become an actress and singer.{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=68}} Although many sources state that they were married,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.life.com/gallery/44901/image/2661198/best-looking-couples-ever#index/2 |title=Best-Looking Couples Ever |website=Life.com |publisher=See Your World LLC }}{{Dead link|date=January 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}<br />{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/inside-travel-pooches-in-paris-2309010.html |title=Inside Travel: Pooches in Paris |date=9 July 2011 |first=JoAnne |last=Good |newspaper=[[The Independent]] }}<br />{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/8309301/Serge-Gainsbourgs-women-the-music.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/8309301/Serge-Gainsbourgs-women-the-music.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Serge Gainsbourg's women: the music |date=7 February 2011|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]}}{{cbignore}}<br />{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/gainsbourg-the-movie/birkin-bardot |title=Birkin, Bardot and Gainsbourg, the accidental sex symbol |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=5 July 2010 }}<br />{{cite web |url=https://music.apple.com/us/artist/jane-birkin/45830 |title=Jane Birkin |publisher=Apple Inc }}</ref> according to Charlotte this was not the case.<ref name="Charlotte"/> After filming ''Slogan'', Gainsbourg asked Birkin to re-record "Je t'aime..." with him.<ref name="SimmonsGuardian">{{cite web |first=Sylvie |last=Simmons |title=The eyes have it |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/feb/02/culture.features |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=11 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226180137/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/feb/02/culture.features |archive-date=26 February 2022 |date=2 February 2001 |url-status=live |ref=none}}</ref> Her vocals were an octave higher than Bardot's, contained suggestive heavy breathing and culminated in simulated orgasm sounds. Released in February 1969, the song topped the [[UK Singles Chart]] after being temporarily banned due to its overtly sexual content. It was banned from the radio in several other countries, including Spain, Sweden, Italy and France before 11pm.<ref name="Scandals" /> The song was even publicly denounced by [[Holy See|The Vatican]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Spencer |first1=Neil |title=The 10 most x-rated records |url=https://www.theguardian.com/observer/omm/the10/story/0,,1487369,00.html |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=27 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624142129/https://www.theguardian.com/observer/omm/the10/story/0,,1487369,00.htm |archive-date=24 June 2021 |date=22 May 2005 |url-status=live}}</ref> It was included on the joint album ''[[Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg]]'', which also contained "Élisa" and new recordings of songs written for other artists including "Les sucettes", "L'anamour" and "Sous le soleil exactement". In 2017, ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' named it the 44th best album of the 1960s.<ref name="200Best" /> He and Birkin would share the screen in another Gainsbourg-scored film, ''[[Cannabis (film)|Cannabis]]'' (1970), in which he played an American gangster who falls in love with a girl from a wealthy family.<ref name="Cannabis">{{cite news |title=CANNABIS (1970) |newspaper=Bfi |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6fc179ff |publisher=[[British Film Institute]] |access-date=15 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127212805/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6fc179ff |archive-date=27 November 2020 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== 1971–1977: Concept albums ===

[[File:Serge gainsbourg May 1 1971.png|left|thumb|Gainsbourg in 1971]]

Following the success of "Je t'aime... moi non plus", his record company had expected Gainsbourg to produce another hit. But after having already made a fortune, he was uninterested, deciding to "move onto something serious".{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=62}} The result was his 1971 concept album ''[[Histoire de Melody Nelson]]'', which tells the story of an illicit relationship between the narrator and the teenage Melody Nelson after running her over in his [[Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost]].<ref name="PitchforkMelody">{{cite web |last1=Ewing |first1=Tom |title=''Histoire de Melody Nelson'' |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12852-histoire-de-melody-nelson/ |date=26 March 2009 |website=[[Pitchfork (magazine)|Pitchfork]] |access-date=15 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208114520/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12852-histoire-de-melody-nelson/ |archive-date=8 February 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> The album heavily features Gainsbourg's distinctive half-spoken, half-sung vocal delivery, loose drums, guitar, and bass evoking funk music, and lush string and choral arrangements by [[Jean-Claude Vannier]].<ref name="PitchforkMelody" /> Despite only selling around 15,000 copies upon release, it has become highly influential and is often considered his ''[[magnum opus]]''.<ref name="PitchforkMelody" /> An accompanying television special starring Gainsbourg and Birkin was also broadcast.{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=65}}

He suffered a heart attack in May 1973, but refused to cut back on his smoking and drinking.<ref name="Scandals">{{cite web |last1=Gorman |first1=Francine |title=Serge Gainsbourg's 20 most scandalous moments |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2011/feb/28/serge-gainsbourg-20-scandalous-moments |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=27 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125060411/https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2011/feb/28/serge-gainsbourg-20-scandalous-moments |archive-date=25 January 2021 |date=28 February 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Gainsbourg's next record ''[[Vu de l'extérieur]]'' (1973) was not strictly a concept album like its predecessor and follow-ups, despite its focus on [[scatology]] throughout. It largely failed to connect with critics and listeners.{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=62}}<ref name="Vu de L'exterieur">{{cite web |last1=Thompson |first1=Dave |title=Vu de L'exterieur Review |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/vu-de-lexterieur-mw0000465467 |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=6 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209064610/https://www.allmusic.com/album/vu-de-lexterieur-mw0000465467 |archive-date=9 December 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> In that year, Gainsbourg also wrote all of the tracks on Birkin's debut solo album ''[[Di doo dah]]'' and he would continue to write for her until his death.<ref name="BirkinVogue">{{cite web |last1=Ruffner |first1=Zoe |title=Jane Birkin on Her New Album and the Only Three Makeup Products She Uses at 74 |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/jane-birkin-interview-oh-pardon-tu-dormais |website=[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]] |access-date=8 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301165058/https://www.vogue.com/article/jane-birkin-interview-oh-pardon-tu-dormais |archive-date=1 March 2022 |date=22 January 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1975, Gainsbourg released the darkly comic album ''[[Rock Around the Bunker]]'', performed in an upbeat 1950s rock and roll style and written on the subject of [[Nazi Germany]] and the [[Second World War]], drawing from his experiences as a Jewish child in occupied France.{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=75}} The next year saw the release of yet another concept album, ''[[L'Homme à tête de chou]]'' (''The Cabbage Head Man''), a nickname used by Gainsbourg himself in reference to his large ears.<ref name="CabbageHead">{{cite news |last1=Carroll |first1=Jim |title=Serge Gainsbourg |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/serge-gainsbourg-1.313463 |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |access-date=8 March 2022 |date=16 June 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308025730/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/serge-gainsbourg-1.313463?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fserge-gainsbourg-1.313463|archive-date=8 March 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> This album marked Gainsbourg's first foray into the Jamaican [[reggae]] genre, a style he would revisit for his next two albums.{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=87}}

In 1976, Gainsbourg also made his directorial debut with ''[[Je t'aime moi non plus (film)|Je t'aime moi non plus]]'', an offbeat drama named after his song of the same name. It starred Birkin in the lead role, with American actor [[Joe Dallesandro]] playing the gay man she falls in love with.<ref name="NYTimesReview">{{cite web |last1=Kenny |first1=Glenn |title=Je T'Aime Moi Non Plus' Review: Serge Gainsbourg's Oddball Directorial Debut |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/10/movies/je-taime-moi-non-plus-review.html |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=8 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024185337/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/10/movies/je-taime-moi-non-plus-review.html |archive-date=24 October 2021 |date=10 October 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The film received positive critical notices from the French press and acclaimed director [[François Truffaut]].<ref name="NYTimesReview" /> Having previously turned down the offer to score the popular [[softcore pornography]] film ''[[Emmanuelle (1974 film)|Emmanuelle]]'' (1974), he agreed to do so for one of its sequels ''[[Goodbye Emmanuelle]]'' in 1977.{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=82}}

=== 1978–1981: Reggae period ===
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In 1978, Gainsbourg dropped plans to record another concept album and contacted several Jamaican musicians including rhythm section players [[Sly and Robbie]] with the intention of recording a reggae album.{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=86}} He set off for [[Kingston, Jamaica]] in September to begin recording ''[[Aux armes et cætera (album)|Aux armes et cætera]]'' (1979) with the likes of Sly and Robbie and the female backing singers [[The I-Threes]] of [[Bob Marley and the Wailers]];{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=87}} thus making him the first white musician to record such an album in Jamaica.<ref name="JewishRenaissance">{{cite web |last1=Lynskey |first1=Dorian |title=The House That Serge Built |url=https://www.jewishrenaissance.org.uk/blog/the-house-that-serge-built |website=[[Jewish Renaissance]] |access-date=9 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309184433/https://www.jewishrenaissance.org.uk/blog/the-house-that-serge-built |archive-date=9 March 2022 |date=15 November 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> The album was immensely popular, achieving [[Music recording certification|platinum]] status for selling over one million copies. But it was not without controversy, as the title track—a reggae version of the French national anthem "[[La Marseillaise]]"—received harsh criticism in the newspaper ''[[Le Figaro]]'' from [[Michel Droit]], who condemned the song and opined that it may cause a rise in [[antisemitism]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Serge Gainsbourg responds to an article by Michel Droit |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1979/06/19/serge-gainsbourg-repond-a-un-article-de-michel-droit_2777487_1819218.html |website=[[Le Monde]] |access-date=9 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201115090100/https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1979/06/19/serge-gainsbourg-repond-a-un |archive-date=15 November 2020 |date=19 June 1979 |url-status=live}}</ref> Gainsbourg also received death threats from right-wing veteran soldiers of the [[Algerian War of Independence]], who were opposed to their national anthem being arranged in reggae style.<ref name="guardian je t'aime"/> In 1979, a show had to be cancelled, because an angry mob of French Army parachutists came to demonstrate in the audience. Alone onstage, Gainsbourg raised his fist and answered: "The true meaning of our national anthem is revolutionary" and sang it ''[[A cappella|a capella]]'' with the audience.<ref name="RFI">{{cite web |last1=Hird |first1=Alison |title=Gainsbourg: still France's favourite bad boy three decades on |url=https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20210303-serge-gainsbourg-still-france-s-favourite-bad-boy-three-decades-after-death-singer-songwriter-lemon-incest-metoo |publisher=[[Radio France Internationale|RFI]] |access-date=9 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123233721/https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20210303-serge-gainsbourg-still-france-s-favourite-bad-boy-three-decades-after-death-singer-songwriter-lemon-incest-metoo |archive-date=23 January 2022 |date=3 March 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Birkin left Gainsbourg in 1980, but the two remained close, with Gainsbourg becoming the godfather of Birkin and [[Jacques Doillon]]'s daughter [[Lou Doillon|Lou]] and writing her next three albums.<ref name="IndependentIE">{{cite web |last1=Egan |first1=Barry |title='People say turn over the page, but you don't want to, so I wrote songs' – Jane Birkin on her daughter's death, Serge Gainsbourg and Je t'aime |url=https://www.independent.ie/style/people-say-turn-over-the-page-but-you-dont-want-to-so-i-wrote-songs-jane-birkin-on-her-daughters-death-serge-gainsbourg-and-je-taime-40088229.html |website=[[Irish Independent]] |access-date=9 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210405123006/https://www.independent.ie/style/people-say-turn-over-the-page-but-you-dont-want-to-so-i-wrote-songs-jane-birkin-on-her-daughters-death-serge-gainsbourg-and-je-taime-40088229.html |archive-date=5 April 2021 |date=14 February 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> His first live album ''[[Enregistrement public au Théâtre Le Palace]]'' (1980), exhibited his reggae-influenced style at the time. Also in 1980, Gainsbourg dueted with actress [[Catherine Deneuve]] on the hit song "[[:fr:Dieu fumeur de havanes|Dieu fumeur de havanes]]" from the film ''[[Je vous aime]]'' and published a novella entitled ''Evguénie Sokolov'', the tale of an [[avant-garde]] painter who exploits his [[flatulence]] by creating a style known as "gasograms".<ref name="Mortaigne">{{cite book |last1=Mortaigne |first1=Véronique |title=Je T'aime The Legendary Love Story of Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg |date=2019 |publisher=Icon Books Limited |isbn=9781785785047 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QJh5DwAAQBAJ |access-date=11 March 2022}}</ref> His final reggae recording, ''[[Mauvaises nouvelles des étoiles]]'' (1981), was recorded at [[Compass Point Studios]] in The Bahamas with the same personnel as its predecessor.<ref name="Compass">{{cite web |last1=Pessis |first1=Jacques |title=Le jour où... Gainsbourg est devenu Gainsbarre |url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/musique/le-jour-ou-gainsbourg-est-devenu-gainsbarre-20210302 |website=[[Le Figaro]] |access-date=11 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129212305/https://www.lefigaro.fr/musique/le-jour-ou-gainsbourg-est-devenu-gainsbarre-20210302 |archive-date=29 January 2022 |date=2 March 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Bob Marley]], husband to The I Threes singer [[Rita Marley]], was reportedly furious when he discovered that Gainsbourg had made his wife Rita sing erotic lyrics.<ref name="guardian je t'aime"/> New posthumous dub mixes of ''Aux armes et cætera'' and ''Mauvaises Nouvelles des Étoiles'' were released in 2003.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lavaine |first1=Bertrand |title=Jamaican Gainsbourg |url=http://www1.rfi.fr/musiqueen/articles/060/article_7112.asp |publisher=[[Radio France Internationale|RFI]] |access-date=9 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309230411/http://www1.rfi.fr/musiqueen/articles/060/article_7112.asp |archive-date=9 March 2022 |date=27 June 2003 |url-status=live}}</ref> During this period, Gainsbourg also had success writing material for other artists, mostly notably "[[:fr:Manureva (chanson)|Manureva]]" for [[Alain Chamfort]], a tribute to French sailor [[Alain Colas]] and the titular [[trimaran]] he disappeared at sea with.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Minonzio |first1=Pierre-Etienne |title='Manureva', un tube qui vient de loin |url=https://www.franceinter.fr/emissions/la-victoire-en-chantant/la-victoire-en-chantant-08-novembre-2020 |publisher=[[France Inter]] |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629023627/https://www.franceinter.fr/emissions/la-victoire-en-chantant/la-victoire-en-chantant-08-novembre-2020 |archive-date=29 June 2021 |date=8 November 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== 1982–1991: Final years, Eurovision Again and death ===
[[File:Gainsbourgb.jpg|thumb|Gainsbourg in 1982]]
In 1982, Gainsbourg contributed his songwriting to French rock singer [[Alain Bashung]]'s fourth studio album ''[[Play blessures]]'', which was a left turn creatively for Bashung and is often considered a [[cult classic]] despite negative contemporary reviews.<ref name="Telerama">{{cite web |last1=Porte |first1=Sébastien |title=Gaetan Roussel : 'Play blessures est l'album le plus risqué de Bashung' |url=https://www.telerama.fr/sortir/gaetan-roussel-play-blessures-est-l-album-le-plus-risque-de-bashung,128842.php |website=[[Telerama]] |access-date=11 March 2022 |date=4 July 2015 }}</ref> His second film as a director, ''[[Équateur (film)|Équateur]]'' (1983), was adapted from the 1933 novel ''[[Tropic Moon]]'' by Belgian writer [[Georges Simenon]] and is set in colonialist [[French Equatorial Africa]].<ref name="Équateur">{{cite web |last1=Siclier |first1=Jacques |title='ÉQUATEUR', de Serge Gainsbourg Les Blancs malades de l'Afrique noire |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1983/08/20/equateur-de-serge-gainsbourg-les-blancs-malades-de-l-afrique-noire_3076353_1819218.html |website=[[Le Monde]] |access-date=11 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311005547/https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1983/08/20/equateur-de-serge-gainsbourg-les-blancs-malades-de-l-afrique-noire_3076353_1819218.html |archive-date=11 March 2022 |date=20 August 1983 |url-status=live}}</ref>

''[[Love on the Beat]]'' (1984) saw Gainsbourg move on from reggae and onto a more electronic, [[New wave music|new wave]] inspired sound.<ref name="LoveOnTheBeat">{{cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=Darran |title=Serge Gainsbourg's Histoire de Melody Nelson |date=24 October 2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-62356-597-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PZXFAgAAQBAJ |access-date=11 March 2022 |language=en}}</ref> The album is known for addressing taboo sexual subject matters, with Gainsbourg dressed in drag on the cover and the highly controversial duet with his daughter [[Charlotte Gainsbourg|Charlotte]], "[[Lemon Incest]]", which seemed to clearly refer to his fantasy of wanting to make love to his child.<ref name="LoveOnTheBeat" /><ref name="Scandals" /> The music video for the song featured a half-naked Gainsbourg lying on a bed with Charlotte, leading to further controversy.<ref name="Scandals" /> Nevertheless, it was Gainsbourg's highest-charting song in France. In March 1984, he illegally [[money burning|burned]] three-quarters of a 500-[[French franc|French-franc]] bill on television to protest against taxes rising up to 74% of income.<ref name="vanityfair.com" /> In April 1986, on [[Michel Drucker]]'s live Saturday evening television show ''Champs-Élysées'', with the American singer [[Whitney Houston]], he objected to Drucker's translating his comments to Houston and, in English, stated: "I said, I want to fuck her"—Drucker, utterly embarrassed, insisted that this meant "He says you are great..."<ref name="guardian je t'aime">{{cite web |last1=Chrisafis |first1=Angelique |title=Gainsbourg, je t'aime |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2006/apr/14/7 |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=9 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717072523/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2006/apr/14/7 |archive-date=17 July 2021 |date=14 April 2006 |url-status=live}}</ref> That same year, in another talk show interview, he appeared alongside [[Les Rita Mitsouko]] singer [[Catherine Ringer]]. Gainsbourg spat out at her, "You're nothing but a filthy whore" to which Ringer replied, "Look at you, you're just a bitter old alcoholic... you've become a disgusting old parasite."<ref name="GuardianDrag">{{cite web |last1=Kent |first1=Nick |title=What a drag |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/apr/15/popandrock |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=12 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614224912/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/apr/15/popandrock |archive-date=14 June 2021 |date=15 April 2006 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Gainsbourg's final partner until his death was the model [[Caroline Paulus]], better known by her stage name Bambou.<ref name="Wives" /> They had a son, Lucien (b. 5 January 1986), who now goes by the name Lulu and is a musician.<ref name="Wives" /><ref name="ALLMUSIC">{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/serge-gainsbourg-gmn0000174822/biography|title=Serge Gainsbourg Biography, Songs, & Albums|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=2 September 2021}}</ref> His 1986 film ''[[Charlotte for Ever (film)|Charlotte for Ever]]'' further expanded on the themes found in "Lemon Incest". He starred in the film alongside Charlotte as a widowed, alcoholic father living with his daughter.<ref name="Scandals" /> An [[Charlotte for Ever|album of the same name]] by Charlotte was also written by Gainsbourg.<ref name="CForever">{{cite web |last1=Hunter-Tilney |first1=Ludovic |title='I like being manipulated' |url=https://www.ft.com/content/97796e0a-3bb2-11e1-bb39-00144feabdc0 |website=[[Financial Times]] |access-date=12 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610103249/https://www.ft.com/content/97796e0a-3bb2-11e1-bb39-00144feabdc0 |archive-date=10 June 2021 |date=13 January 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Serge Gainsbourg, cimetière Montparnasse.jpg|thumb|180px|left|Tributes left at his gravesite]]

His sixteenth and final studio album, ''[[You're Under Arrest (Serge Gainsbourg album)|You're Under Arrest]]'' (1987), largely retained the funky new wave sound of ''Love on the Beat'', but also introduced [[hip hop music|hip hop]] elements.{{sfn|Simmons|2001|p=115-116}} A return to concept albums for Gainsbourg, it tells the story of an unnamed narrator and his drug-addicted girlfriend in New York City. The album's anti-drug message was exemplified by the single "Aux enfants de la chance".

In November 1988, Gainsbourg appeared on the show ''Sébastien c'est fou !'' on [[TF1]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chartsinfrance.net/Serge-Gainsbourg/news-125749.html|title=Mais c'est quoi cette vidéo de Serge Gainsbourg, devenue virale dans le monde entier ?|date=13 August 2023|website=www.chartsinfrance.net}}</ref> and was surprised by the Petits Chanteurs d'Asnières boys' choir, who dressed up as him, with sunglasses, [[sport coat]]s, jeans, painted-on stubble, and [[prop]] cigarettes and whiskey glasses;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://magnonsmeanderings.blogspot.com/2023/07/les-petits-chanteurs-dasnieres-rendent.html|title=Magnon's Meanderings: Les Petits Chanteurs d'Asnières rendent hommage à Serge Gainsbourg|first=Cro|last=Magnon|date=20 July 2023}}</ref> they sang "Je suis venu te dire que je m'en vais" ('I came to tell you that I’m leaving'), changing the words to "On est venu te dire qu’on t’aime bien" ('We came to tell you that we love you').<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/serge-gainsbourg-hommage-les-petits-chanteurs-dasnieres-rendent-hommage-a-serge-gainsbourg|title=Serge Gainsbourg Hommage / Les Petits Chanteurs d'Asnières Rendent Hommage À Serge Gainsbourg|date=27 September 2023|website=Know Your Meme}}</ref> A clip of the performance, in which Gainsbourg appeared to be deeply [[wikt:moved|moved]] by the children's tribute,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fulguropop.com/en/2020/10/12/fulgurotube-on-est-venu-te-dire-quon-taime-bien/|title=FulguroTube : "On est venu te dire qu'on t'aime bien''|date=12 October 2020}}</ref> went [[Viral video|viral]] on the Internet in 2023–24, inspiring [[Halloween costumes]] and [[Internet memes]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2286415/this-fall-were-dressing-as-french-children-paying-tribute-to-serge-gainsbourg-on-an-80s-tv-show/news/|title=This Fall We’re Dressing As French Children Paying Tribute To Serge Gainsbourg On An ’80s TV Show|date=4 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/serge-gainsbourg-childrens-choir-halloween-costume.html|title=Zut Alors! We Did Not See 2024’s Most Online Costume Coming|first=Bethy|last=Squires|date=3 November 2024|website=Vulture}}</ref>

In December 1988, while a judge at a film festival in [[Val d'Isère]], he was extremely intoxicated at a local theatre where he was to do a presentation. While on stage he began to tell an obscene story about [[Brigitte Bardot]] and a champagne bottle, only to stagger offstage and collapse in a nearby seat.<ref name="GuardianDrag" /> Subsequent years saw his health deteriorate, undergoing liver surgery in April 1989.<ref name="LAObit">{{cite web |author1=''Los Angeles Times'' Staff & Wire Reports |title=S. Gainsbourg; French Singer and Composer |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-03-06-mn-291-story.html#:~:text=Gainsbourg%2C%2062%2C%20a%20heavy%20drinker,and%20sang%20scores%20of%20songs. |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=13 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220313165505/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-03-06-mn-291-story.html |archive-date=13 March 2022 |date=6 March 1991 |url-status=live}}</ref> In his ill health, he retired to a private apartment in [[Vézelay]] in July 1990, where he would spend six months.<ref name="Vezelay">{{cite web |last1=Mathieu |first1=Clement |title=Gainsbourg, his last days of happiness |url=https://www.parismatch.com/Culture/Musique/Serge-Gainsbourg-derniers-jours-hotel-restaurant-Marc-Meneau-1726995 |website=[[Paris Match]] |access-date=13 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417120348/https://www.parismatch.com/Culture/Musique/Serge-Gainsbourg-derniers-jours-hotel-restaurant-Marc-Meneau-1726995 |archive-date=17 April 2021 |date=2 May 1991 |url-status=live}}</ref> He continued to write for other artists, including the lyrics to "[[White and Black Blues]]" by [[Joëlle Ursull]], the [[France in the Eurovision Song Contest|French]] entry in the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1990]], coming in second place.<ref name="JewishRenaissance" /> He similarly wrote all of the lyrics for popular singer [[Vanessa Paradis]]'s album ''[[Variations sur le même t'aime]]'' (1990), declaring "Paradis is hell" after its release.<ref name="Paradis">{{cite web |last1=Whitman |first1=Chloe |title=Vanessa Paradis rétablit sa vérité sur sa relation avec Serge Gainsbourg |url=https://www.gala.fr/l_actu/news_de_stars/vanessa-paradis-retablit-sa-verite-sur-sa-relation-avec-serge-gainsbourg_476327 |website=[[Gala (magazine)|Gala]] |access-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309104459/https://www.gala.fr/l_actu/news_de_stars/vanessa-paradis-retablit-sa-verite-sur-sa-relation-avec-serge-gainsbourg_476327 |archive-date=9 March 2022 |date=13 September 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> His final film, ''Stan the Flasher'', starred [[Claude Berri]] as an English teacher who engages in [[exhibitionism]].<ref name="STF">{{cite web |title='Stan the Flasher', la débandade d'une vie avec Claude Berri |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/a-la-une/article/2011/03/02/stan-the-flasher-la-debandade-d-une-vie-avec-claude-berri_1487475_3208.html |website=[[Le Monde]] |access-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200419040453/https://www.lemonde.fr/a-la-une/article/2011/03/02/stan-the-flasher-la-debandade-d-une-vie-avec-claude-berri_1487475_3208.html |archive-date=19 April 2020 |date=2 March 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Gainsbourg's last album of original material was Birkin's ''[[Amours des feintes]]'' in 1990.<ref name="UnfinishedSympathy">{{cite web |title=Unfinished sympathy: Jane Birkin on Serge Gainsbourg |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/28mhhzgbRJCLNNqCZSB5HCY/unfinished-sympathy-jane-birkin-on-serge-gainsbourg |publisher=[[BBC]] |access-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190612021605/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/28mhhzgbRJCLNNqCZSB5HCY/unfinished-sympathy-jane-birkin-on-serge-gainsbourg |archive-date=12 June 2019 |date=20 June 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Gainsbourg, who smoked five packs of unfiltered [[Gitanes]] cigarettes a day,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/20/french-smokers-fume-france-plans-ban-gitanes-gauloises-cigarettes|title=Smokers fume as France mulls ban on 'too cool' Gitanes and Gauloises|first=Kim|last=Willsher|date=20 July 2016|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> died from a heart attack at his home on 2 March 1991, aged 62.<ref name="Scandals" /> He was buried in the Jewish section of the [[Montparnasse Cemetery]] in Paris.<ref name="Haaretz" /> French President [[François Mitterrand]] paid tribute by saying, "He was our [[Charles Baudelaire|Baudelaire]], our [[Guillaume Apollinaire|Apollinaire]]&nbsp;... He elevated the song to the level of art."<ref name="SimmonsGuardian"/> In her first interview after her father's death, his daughter Charlotte told Vanity Fair: "He was a poet. What he did was way ahead of its time. You can just read his lyrics—he plays with words in such a way that there are double meanings that don't work out in English. He was just so very authentic. He was so shy, and very touching. And he was very generous. Every time I get into a taxi [in Paris] I hear a story about my father, because he used to take taxis all day long and [the drivers] tell me how sweet he was. One day a taxi driver told me my father had paid for his teeth to be mended; somebody else's roof needed to be mended and he paid for that. He just had real relationships with people from the street. He was selfish in ways that artists can be, but there was no snobisme. He was always amazed at the fact that he had money. I remember going to lovely hotels with him and he was like . . . ‘Oooh, how fun this is.' He had the eyes of a child."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/11/gainsbourg200711 | title=The Secret World of Serge Gainsbourg | website=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] | date=15 October 2007 }}</ref>