Jane Birkin et Serge Gainsbourg – Je T’aime… moi non plus
Jane: Je t’aime, je t’aime
Oui je t’aime
Serge: Moi non plus
Jane: Oh mon amour
Serge: Comme la vague irrésolue
Je vais, je vais et je viens
Entre tes reins
Je vais et je viens
Entre tes reins
Et je me retiens
Jane: Je t’aime, je t’aime
Oh oui, je t’aime
Serge: Moi non plus
Jane: Oh mon amour
Tu est la vague
Moi, l’île nue
Tu vas, tu vas et tu viens
Entre mes reins
Tu vas et tu viens
Entre mes reins
Et je te rejoins
Je t’aime, je t’aime
Oh oui, je t’aime
Serge: Moi non plus
Jane: Oh mon amour
Serge: Comme la vague irrésolue
Je vais, je vais et je viens
Entre tes reins
Je vais et je viens
Entre tes reins
Et je me retiens
Jane: Heavy breathing interlude
Tu vas, tu vas et tu viens
Entre mes reins
Tu vas et tu viens
Entre mes reins
Et je te rejoins
Je t’aime, je t’aime
Oh oui, je t’aime
Serge: Moi non plus
Jane: Oh mon amour
Serge: L’amour physique est sans issue
Je vais, je vais et je viens
Entre tes reins
Je vais et je viens
Je me retiens
Jane: Non! Maintenant! Viens!
(Very heavy breathing)
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English Translation:
Jane: I love you, I love you
Oh yes, I love you
Serge: Me neither
Jane: Oh my love
Serge: Like a vacillating wave
I go, I come and I go
Inside of you
I come and I go
Inside of you
And I hold myself back
Jane: I love you, I love you
Oh yes, I love you
Serge: Me neither
Jane: Oh my love
You are the wave, and I’m a desert island
You go, you come and you go
Inside of me
You come and you go
Inside of me
And I’m joining you
I love you, I love you
Oh yes, I love you
Serge: Me neither
Jane: Oh my love
Serge: Like a vacillating wave
I go, I come and I go
Inside of you
I come and I go
Inside of you
And I hold myself back
Jane: Heavy breathing interlude
You go, you come and you go
Inside of me
You come and you go
Inside of me
And I’m joining you
I love you, I love you
Oh yes, I love you
Serge: Me neither
Jane: Oh my love
Serge: Physical love, for its own sake
I go, I come and I go
Inside of you
I come and I go
I hold myself back…
Jane: No! Come! Now!
*Very heavy breathing*
###
Vocabulary from Je t’aime… moi non plus
At first glance, the vocabulary is very simple. But let’s dig into some of the more metaphorical phrases.
la vague: the wave
irrésolue: irresolute, vacillating, undecided
So what does Serge mean when he sings “comme la vague irrésolue”?
As I mentioned above, he could be saying that he is holding himself back, and so the physical sensation is like a wave the doesn’t crest. “An irresolute/unresolved wave.”
reins: kidneys
entre tes reins: between your loins, inside of you. This literally translates to “between your kidneys.” In this context it’s really like “in between your loins” and it’s quite explicit. Really Gainsbourg is just saying it this way because it rhymes “entre tes reins” is not a common French expression.
je me retiens (se retenir): I hold myself back (resist). Se retenir often refers to someone purposely suppressing a natural instinct (e.g. Se retenir de rire = holding back laughter). So you can see quite clearly that Serge is talking about holding himself back in a physical sense. It’s not hard to imagine what the means in the context of physical love.
l’île nue: the desert island
This is an interesting (and I’m sure deliberate) word choice: in this context “nue” means “deserted” or “barren.” In English we would say “a desert island” to connote an island with nothing on it. However “nue” normally translates as “naked” or “nude” or “bare.” So when Jane says “you are the wave, and I’m the desert/bare/naked island” she is again evoking that motion of waves breaking against the shore, coming in and pulling out and coming in again.
It is interesting to note that the imagery here is all natural – parallels are being drawn between the inevitability of the tides and the nature of making love. Both things are natural, both have their own rhythm, and according to Serge Gainsbourg, both deserve to be celebrated!
Je te rejoins (se rejoindre): I meet you (I join you)
This line states that Jane is trying to meet Serge where he is – likely at the brink of orgasm. It’s a mundane sentence (I’m meeting you) but in the context of the song it takes on a very erotic meaning.
L’amour physique est sans issue: Physical love, for its own sake (literally: physical love is without an outcome)
This line seems to be referring to physical love for its own sake. “issue” can mean a variety of things: result, outcome, etc. In this case it seems to be saying that this love making is “without a result/outcome” in the sense that they aren’t trying to have a child, this is simply making love for its own sake.