"La Javanaise" is a song written and composed by Serge Gainsbourg originally for

Juliette Gréco Juliette Gréco (; 7 February 1927 – 23 September 2020) was a French singer and actress. Her best known songs are "Paris Canaille" (1962, originally sung by Léo Ferré), "La Javanaise" (1963, written by Serge Gainsbourg for Gréco) and "Désh ...

, and interpreted by both her and Serge Gainsbourg in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

. The first recordings of both artists constituted the B-sides of each of the two 45s.

Recording Information

* By Serge Gainsbourg : ** Recording Date : January 1963 at Studio Fontana (

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

) ** Arrangements and conducting : Harry Robinson ** Producer :

Jacques Plait Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

** Format : 45 rpm EP

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...

432-862 (Title: "Vilaine fille mauvais garçon") ** Duration : ** Release Date : March 1963Source : volume 6 of ''L'Éternel Féminin'' by Juliette Gréco ( Mercury, 2003). * By Juliette Gréco : ** Recording Date : 4 April 1963 at Studio Blanqui (Paris) ** Arrangements and conducting : Jean-Michel Defaye ** Format : 45 rpm S

373-156 ** Duration : ** Release Date : May 1963 * Publishers : Warner Chappel Music Publishing, Melody Nelson Publishing

Genesis

One summer evening in 1962, Gréco and Gainsbourg spent the evening listening to records and drinking champagne in the huge lounge at 33, rue de Verneuil. The next day, he sent her ''La Javanaise''. ..It seems that Gréco had debuted it in March 1963 by placing it at the beginning of her cabaret tour ''La Tête de l'art''. The title is a pun playing on the Parisian

java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

dancing and the

javanais Javanais () is a type of French slang where the extra syllable is infixed inside a word after every consonant that is followed by a vowel, in order to render it incomprehensible. Some common examples are ''gros'' (, "fat") which becomes ''gravo ...

style of speaking. The song heavily employs unaltered French words that naturally have an sequence; thus the lyrics resemble the word game of javanais.

In films

* Bruno Podalydès used this song in the comedy '' Dieu seul me voit (Versailles-Chantiers)'' (1998). * In

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...

's '' Da Vinci Code'' (2006), this song is played in the car of a French police officer. * Pascale Ferran used this song in the film '' Bird People'' (2014). * Madeleine Peyroux's 2006 recording was used in Guillermo del Toro's ''

The Shape of Water ''The Shape of Water'' is a 2017 romantic fantasy film directed by Guillermo del Toro and written by del Toro and Vanessa Taylor. It stars Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Octavia Spencer ...

'' (2017).

References

External links

Serge Gainsbourg - La Javanaise (1968)
Les archives de la RTS at

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Javanaise, La 1963 songs Serge Gainsbourg songs Songs written by Serge Gainsbourg 1963 singles Philips Records singles Songs about Indonesia