"La Javanaise" is a song written and composed by

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French singer-songwriter, actor, composer, and director. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provocative rel ...

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 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 Cove ...

. The first recordings of both artists constituted the B-sides of each of the two 45s. The title is a pun playing on the Parisian

java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

dance 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 ''gravos' ...

argot A cant is the jargon or language of a group, often employed to exclude or mislead people outside the group.McArthur, T. (ed.) ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (1992) Oxford University Press It may also be called a cryptolect, argo ...

. The song heavily employs unaltered French words that naturally have an sequence; thus the lyrics resemble the argot.

Background

In 1962, Gréco and Gainsbourg spent a summer's evening listening to records and drinking champagne in the huge lounge at 33, rue de Verneuil. The next day, he sent her ''La Javanaise''. Gréco had debuted it in

March 1963 The following events occurred in March 1963: March 1, 1963 (Friday) *The Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) proposed building an orbiting space station, with a capacity for 18 people, to be built with hardware already under development for the ...

by placing it at the beginning of her cabaret tour ''La Tête de l'art''.

Recording information

* Gainsbourg recording: ** Recording date: January 1963 at Studio Fontana (

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

) ** Arrangements and conducting: Harry Robinson ** Producer: Jacques Plait ** Format: 45 rpm EP

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

432-862 (Title: "Vilaine fille mauvais garçon") ** Duration: ** Release date: March 1963Source: volume 6 of ''L'Éternel Féminin'' by Juliette Gréco ( Mercury,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

). * Gréco recording: ** Recording date: 4 April 1963 at Studio Blanqui (Paris) ** Arrangements and conducting:

Jean-Michel Defaye Jean-Michel Defaye (18 September 1932 – 1 January 2025) was a French pianist, composer, arranger and conductor known for his collaboration with French poet and singer-songwriter Léo Ferré. Life and career Defaye was born in Saint-Mandé, V ...

** Format: 45 rpm S

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

In films

Bruno Podalydès Bruno Podalydès (born 11 March 1961) is a French writer, film director, producer and actor. His brother Denis Podalydès is also an actor. Selected filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Podalydes, Bruno 1961 births L ...

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 filmmaker and actor. Howard started his career as a child actor before transitioning to directing films. Over his six-decade career, Howard has received List of awards and nominations r ...

's ''

Da Vinci Code ''The Da Vinci Code'' is a 2003 mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. It is “the best-selling American novel of all time.” Brown's second novel to include the character Robert Langdon—the first was his 2000 novel ''Angels & Demons''—''T ...

'' (2006), this song is played in the car of a French police officer. *

Pascale Ferran Pascale Ferran (; born 17 April 1960) is a French film director and screenwriter. In 2007, her film '' Lady Chatterley'' won five César Awards including Best Film, Best Cinematography and Best Adaptation. Her 2014 film '' Bird People'' was se ...

used this song in the film '' Bird People'' (2014). *

Madeleine Peyroux Madeleine Peyroux (born April 19, 1974) is an American jazz singer and songwriter who began her career as a teenager on the streets of Paris. She sang vintage jazz and blues songs before finding mainstream success in 2004 when her album ''Carele ...

's 2006 recording was used in

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born 9 October 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and artist. His work has been characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales, Gothic fiction, gothicism and horror fiction, horror often blending the genres ...

's ''

The Shape of Water ''The Shape of Water'' is a 2017 period romantic dark fantasy film directed and produced by Guillermo del Toro, who co-wrote the screenplay with Vanessa Taylor. It stars Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Micha ...

'' (2017). *

Emmanuel Mouret Emmanuel Mouret (born 30 June 1970) is a French actor, Film director, director and screenwriter. Life and career He was born on 30 June 1970 in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France. He graduated from La Fémis (9th ...

uses the song in his 2022 movie ''

Diary of a Fleeting Affair ''Diary of a Fleeting Affair'' () is a 2022 French romantic comedy-drama film directed by Emmanuel Mouret. It premiered on 21 May 2022 at the 75th Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Queer Palm. It was released in France on 14 Septe ...

''.

References

External links

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

RTS RTS may refer to: Medicine * Rape trauma syndrome, the psychological trauma experienced by a rape victim * Revised Trauma Score, a system to evaluate injuries secondary to violent trauma * Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome, a condition characterized by ...

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

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