"Lemon Incest" is a song recorded by French father and daughter Serge and Charlotte Gainsbourg. It was recorded in 1984 and released as a single from Serge's 1985 album '' Love on the Beat'' and on Charlotte's 1986 debut album '' Charlotte for Ever'', marking her musical debut. It is a pop song about a relationship between Serge and Charlotte, the latter of whom was 12 or 13 years old at the time, set to the melody of

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

's Étude Op. 10, No. 3. Its title is a play on the French term ''un zeste de citron'', which translates to lemon zest in English. "Lemon Incest" and its music video, which showed Serge and Charlotte half-naked together in bed, were highly controversial in France due to their implications of

pedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelled paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of pube ...

and

incest Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...

. As an adult, Charlotte routinely defended the song, which both she and Serge have denied was about incest. Retrospective reviews of the song have been generally negative, with some critics describing the lyrics as disturbing and the song as creepy. It peaked at number two in France, where it spent 14 weeks on the

Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique SNEP (, in English National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym SNICOP, the organisation was established in ...

(SNEP) chart and was also certified silver by the SNEP.

Release, composition and video

"Lemon Incest" is a "sultry" and "suggestive" pop duet and ballad recorded 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 ...

and his then-12- or 13-year-old daughter, Charlotte Gainsbourg, who made her musical debut with the song. It was recorded in 1984 and included on Serge's controversial new wave album '' Love on the Beat'', which was released the same year, as well as on Charlotte's 1986 debut album '' Charlotte For Ever''. The title of "Lemon Incest" is a play on the phrase ''un zeste de citron'', the French term for lemon zest. Its lyrics, written by Serge, describe an incestuous relationship between Serge and Charlotte, the latter of whom sings in French, "The love we will never make together is the most beautiful, the most violent, the purest." The song's melody is taken from Étude Op. 10, No. 3 in

E major E major is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, F-flat maj ...

. Critics have described her vocals as "wobbly", "shrill", "breathy", and a "cracking whisper". The song has a

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

beat and is backed by synths, keyboards, and a chorus singing the song's title. The music video for the song shows Serge, shirtless and in jeans, with Charlotte, wearing a blue dress shirt and panties. They lie side-by-side in a large white double bed. Serge caresses Charlotte and the two are surrounded by cracked rocks and covered by smoke.

Reception

Controversy

"Lemon Incest" and its accompanying music video were widely panned in France based on accusations that they glamorised paedophilia and incest, which Serge denied. Charlotte also later denied claims that the song was actually about incest, saying that, although the song uses the word "incest", " erge isjust talking about the infinite love of a father for his daughter and of a daughter for her father." According to ''

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''s Francine Gorman, "Lemon Incest" "caused one of the biggest scandals of ergeGainsbourg's career" and was "his most highly contested release". Sylvie Simmons wrote in her 2001 biography ''Serge Gainsbourg: A Fistful of Gitanes'' that the song's music video "hit 10 on the scandalometer". Simon Vozick-Levinson of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote that it "nearly outdid the scandal caused by her parents' explicit duet, ' Je t'aime... moi non plus,' in the late '60s". '' Far Out''s Sam Kemp and '' The Telegraph'' listed it as the most and one of the most controversial music videos of all time, respectively. Charlotte remained unaware of the controversy surrounding the song during its popularity, as she was attending boarding school in Switzerland when it was released. As an adult, Charlotte described both her and Serge's relationship and the song itself as "very innocent" and "very pure", adding that she understood the lyrics when she sang them. She also stated that it was "very generous" of her mother, actress

Jane Birkin Jane Mallory Birkin ( ; 14 December 1946 – 16 July 2023) was a British and French actress, singer, and designer. She had a prolific career as an actress, mostly in French cinema. A native of London, Birkin began her career as an actress, ...

—who called the song "a bit dodgy"—to "let erbe free like that". Birkin later stated that the song "never came as a shock or a surprise or even a worry o her knowing Serge's great love for Charlotte". Charlotte was, however, critical of the video, stating, "But that video—''ack''."

Critical reception

For ''

'', James Wignall wrote retrospectively that he "actually quite like the song and that its lyrics were "quite benign" despite accusations that they were pro-paedophilia. '' Flavorwire''s Alison Nastasi stated that the song was "pretty damn catchy" but "totally bizarre", calling "Charlotte’s trembling, adolescent delivery" "intriguing". AllMusic's Thom Jurek compared Charlotte's vocal performance on "Lemon Incest" to her mother's on "Je t'aime... moi non plus" and described the song as "one of a kind" and "sick, cheap, and somehow strangely compelling." He also wrote, however, that the song was "nothing special" musically. For '' Spin''s list of the "worst songs by otherwise great artists", Liza Lentini praised Charlotte's "beautiful" voice on the song, but wrote that its subject matter "never, ever sat quite right for er, also writing, "I don't think the song itself...has much merit." Derrick Clifton of Mic called "Lemon Incest" "perhaps one of the most disturbing songs and music videos ever recorded", and identified it as an example of rape culture in music videos due to its implications of

statutory rape In common law jurisdictions, statutory rape is nonforcible sexual activity in which one of the individuals is below the age of consent (the age required to legally consent to the behaviour). Although it usually refers to adults engaging in sex ...

. Josh Gray of '' Clash'' and ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

''s Kim Kelly called it "creepy". Melissa Anderson of ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'' wrote that it "provoke a certain unease" and Benjamin Ivry of '' The Forward'' described it as "salacious", "bizarre", and "icky". It was listed as one of the creepiest father-daughter duets of all time by VH1 in 2015. Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of the ''

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'' compared "Lemon Incest" to " Je t'aime... moi non plus", Serge's 1969 duet with Birkin, his then-wife, writing that Charlotte "disturbingly reprised the erotic role her mother played in the Serge-penned 1969 hit."

Legacy and aftermath

"Lemon Incest" was called Charlotte's only hit record by Shawn Levy of ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

''. A snippet of "Lemon Incest" was included on Serge's 1985

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th centur ...

, '' Gainsbourg Live'', in which the song begins before he stops to tell the audience, in French, "Charlotte has to go to school tomorrow, she has homework to do." Two years after the release of "Lemon Incest", Serge directed the film '' Charlotte for Ever'', which he starred in alongside Charlotte. In it, Serge plays a screenwriter who becomes sexually attracted to his daughter, played by Charlotte. The controversy surrounding "Lemon Incest" further increased when Serge kissed Charlotte on the lips after she won the

César Award for Most Promising Actress Cesar or César may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''César'' (film), a 1936 French romantic drama * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt Places * Cesar, Portugal * Cesar Department, Colombia * Cesar River, in Colombia * Cesar ...

in 1986 for her role in '' An Impudent Girl''. Serge produced Charlotte's debut album of the same name, which was released the same year and featured two other duets between the two: "Plus Doux Avec Moi" and the title track. On the latter, she sings, in French, "Daddy, daddy, I'm afraid to taste your flavor." She did not return to music until over a decade later, and her sophomore album, '' 5:55'', was released in 2006. , she regularly closes her tours with a performance of "Lemon Incest". The track was also used in the 2009 film '' Genova''. It was covered by French singer Alex Beaupain for his remake of ''Love on the Beat'' in 2021.

Chart performance

On the

SNEP SNEP (, in English National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym SNICOP, the organisation was established in ...

's Top 50 chart, "Lemon Incest" debuted at number four for the week of 27 October 1985, then peaked at number two the following week. The song spent a total of 14 weeks on the chart, 10 of which were spent in the top-10 of the chart. The song did not make an impact in the United States.

Charts

Certifications

Notes

Fictional References

"Lemon Incest" is the title of one of the chapters in the novel Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner. Among other things, the song is heard from the open window of a car that appears multiple times in the novel.

References

{{authority control 1980s ballads 1984 songs 1985 singles Charlotte Gainsbourg songs Fiction about incest Obscenity controversies in music Serge Gainsbourg songs Songs written by Serge Gainsbourg Male–female vocal duets Pop ballads Frédéric Chopin Music video controversies Popular songs based on classical music New wave ballads French new wave songs Songs about fathers