Editing Serge Gainsbourg (section)

=== 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Paris but after Bardot's husband, German businessman [[Gunter Sachs]], became aware of the recording, he demanded it be withdrawn.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>