''Fais-moi mal, Johnny'' (in English: Hurt me, Johnny) is a French song written by

Boris Vian Boris Vian (; 10 March 1920 – 23 June 1959) was a French polymath who is primarily remembered for his novels. Those published under the pseudonym Vernon Sullivan were bizarre parodies of criminal fiction, highly controversial at the time of th ...

, composed by

Alain Goraguer Alain Goraguer (; 20 August 1931 – 13 February 2023) was a French jazz pianist, sideman of Boris Vian and Serge Gainsbourg, arranger and composer. Goraguer was a composer/arranger of music for Serge Gainsbourg, Salvatore Adamo and Jean Ferra ...

in 1955, and performed for the first time by

Magali Noël Magali Noël Guiffray (27 June 1931 – 23 June 2015), better known as Magali Noël (), was a French actress and singer. Biography Actress career Born in İzmir to French parents in the diplomatic service, she left Turkey for France in 1951, ...

in 1956. It is considered one of the first French

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

songs. The song tells the story of a woman who approaches a man for violent sex. The man does not understand the nature of her desire; the woman insults him to provoke him to hit her, stinging him to the quick, but then he hits her too hard and hurts her. The comedy comes from his incomprehension. ''Fais-moi mal, Johnny'' was prohibited from being broadcast on the radio, and criticized by the Catholic church.

References

1955 songs French rock songs Works by Boris Vian {{1950s-song-stub